Birmingham, AL (205) 871-1007

Birmingham, AL  (205) 871-1007

Five Tips To Prep Your House For Winter!

Five Tips To Prep Your House For Winter

One thing we find during our Birmingham Home inspections are busted pipes and leaks that have resulted from freezes. Follow these steps to help protect your house from the cold weather!

 

1. Keep the pump running for your pool if you have one so that the water cannot freeze in pipes. Make sure the pipe valves are open for it.
2. Insulate your water heater if it is easily insulated and accessible. This has even more of an impact if the water heater is an area that is not conditioned like a basement or garage or crawlspace.

3. Disconnect your exterior hoses and plumbing pipes at the house. Some houses have easily accessible shut off valves for exterior pipes. Shut the valve off and then drain the pipe.

4. Insulate exterior hose pipes and bibs on the exterior of the house if you cannot shut off the water to them! Also insulate pipes in areas of the house that are not conditioned such as in the attic and the garage and even in the crawlspace at pipes that are close to the exterior vents.

5. Get your chimney cleaned. Getting your chimney cleaned out can really help reduce the dangers when it finally gets cold enough to use down here in Alabama. Creosote accumulations can build up and catch fire in chimneys and animals can nest in the flue pipes along with other problems a chimney technician can identify resolve while cleaning the chimney.