By Preparing your home before winter is fully upon us is a worthwhile endeavor. The colder weather, snow, and ice can negatively affect your home’s exterior. Plus, when it’s freezing outside, no one wants to go outdoors and make repairs. If you’d like to get ahead of the game and prepare your home’s exterior for the winter, read on to learn some helpful tips.
Clean the Gutters
Your gutters collect all kinds of things throughout the year, including twigs, leaves, and dirt. Unfortunately, if those collections stay put, they can cause clogs, which eventually lead to a leaky roof. This issue becomes even worse in the winter when those stuck items freeze inside the gutters. To clean your gutters, grab a ladder and a pair of gloves and simply scrape everything out with your hand. You can also hire a gutter cleaning service.
Prepare Outdoor Play Areas
If you have an outdoor play area, you will need to pay it some attention before winter to ensure it’s ready to go again come spring. It’s also important to prepare a playground for the winter so that little ones don’t try to go on equipment that might be too slippery. Plus, some things, like plastic pieces, could freeze and crack in cold weather. Uninstall anything that can’t survive the winter or poses a danger during adverse weather.
Here are a few other outdoor play areas to consider:
- Trampolines: Take down the net if your trampoline uses one
- Sandbox: Cover it tightly
- Water tables: Empty the table completely and cover it or put it away
- Nets for volleyball or badminton: Pack them up until spring
- Basketball hoop: It’s wise to remove the net for the winter
Protect Outdoor Furniture
If you have the space to bring your outdoor patio or deck furniture inside, that’s great. If this is not an option, place furniture covers over your outdoor furniture to keep it dry and clean through the winter. Leaving snow to sit on your patio or deck furniture might lead to damaged seating in the spring.
Seal Cracks on the Concrete
Snow loves to make its way into the cracks on your walkways and driveway during winter, forcing the materials to expand. It’s wise to seal these cracks before the cold weather hit to ensure they don’t get worse. You can purchase crack sealing kits at home improvement stores.
Trim the Landscaping
If you want to see your lovely foliage pop up again in the spring, you must trim it back before winter hits. The following is a list of areas that need trimming before the first frost:
- Overgrown tree limbs
- Flowering bushes
- Grassy areas
- Weeds
Now is also the time to dump out all plant and flower containers, wash them, and store them away until spring.
Taking these few extra steps to prepare your home’s exterior for the winter is well worth it. You’ll be thankful you took the time to complete these tasks when the birds start chirping again and spring returns to your outdoor areas.
