Winters can be harsh for properties, especially in cities like the Bronx, where snow, ice, and heavy winds can cause several major and minor damages. Ignoring routine maintenance can cause your home to become vulnerable and lead to expensive future repairs and discomfort.
Spending some time on the annual maintenance of your home before the winter season can save you from winter emergencies like HVAC problems, roof leaks, pipe damage, and sidewalk or driveway issues. Let us tell you about some of the important routine maintenance tasks that you can perform to have comfortable winters.
Insulate Exposed Pipes
During the winter months, water can freeze in the pipes and cause them to burst and flood your home. You can hire professional experts to insulate your pipa and allow the water in the pipes to be at a normal temperature even in extreme weather.
Clean Roof Gutters & Downspouts
If the gutters and downspouts of the roof are clogged during the winter season, they might soak up the ice. The weight of ice accumulated in one place can cause damage to the shingles.
Similarly, the frozen water in the gutter and downspout can cause it to expand and rupture. You might not even notice these damages until the summer when your roofs start leaking and showing major signs of damage. You can hire professional gutter and downspout cleaners so that they can unclog your gutters from leaves, dust, debris, and other things.
Remove Ice and Snow
The most important step on the checklist is to keep your home clear of all sorts of snow and ice. Whether it is your driveways or your sidewalks, you must ensure that there is no snow or ice on them. One thing to keep in mind is that you must use good-quality ice-melting products so that your concrete structures don’t get damaged. If your concrete structure gets damaged due to snow or any other reason, you must consider hiring professional contractors like Sidewalk Repairs Bronx for efficient repair and maintenance services.
Inspect Your Fireplace
Chimneys might seem sturdy on the outside but they are highly vulnerable to moisture. During the winter season, the bricks of the chimney might absorb water, which, after freezing, can cause the masonry to expand. Eventually, when the water thaws out, it causes the bricks to contract, resulting in spalling.
If you want to avoid major damage to your chimney and fireplace and abide by NYC Fire codes, you can consider hiring professionals for inspection and damage repair. You can also hire a chimney sweep so that your chimney and fireplace are clear of all sorts of buildup.
Check Smoke Alarms
As during the winter season we use heating systems and fireplaces more than usual, the risk of house fires might increase. To avoid a fire in the house, you must check your smoke detectors and ensure that they are working properly. You must also replace the batteries in your devices if you don’t have a sealed 10-year unit for smoke detection.
HVAC System Tune-up
You must schedule an annual heating maintenance appointment to prevent an unexpected breakdown of the system, especially during the winter season. You can hire professional technicians for the annual services.
They will clean the HVAC, replace the filters, clean the burners, and will also check gas lines, and much more. It will help your HVAC operate more efficiently, leading to reduced energy bills and less expensive future repairs.
Bottom Line
Getting your house prepared for winter and checking for damages is essential to ensuring the safety and security of everyone. With proper inspection and improvement of all the appliances and structure of your home, you can have a relaxing winter without worries.
Moreover, you save yourself from costly repairs. For proper and efficient repairs, you must consider hiring professional services. Professionals know how to maintain your property and ensure that the repairs last for a long time.
