Preparing Your House for Winter

This week, we'll take a look at preparing your house for the winter.

The first step should always be to give your property one last thorough cleaning. This eliminates potential mold and mildew that may have grown over the summer and fall months with the high humidity. It also gets rid of food particles that rodents and the like can sniff out.

Take crisp white sheets and cover your furniture and electrical components like your tv and stereo. This prevents dust from getting on the upholstery or inside televisions, video players, computers and clocks.

Once you have identified a date that you’ll be leaving, for some it will be right after New Years, you may want to call a plumber and set an appointment to drain your water and shut it off. This will eliminate the threat of frozen pipes and damage. Be sure to leave your taps open both in the kitchen and bathroom. This lets extra water escape. OR if you’ll be coming to your house over the winter, be sure you have your boiler checked. Fill the oil or propane and set the thermostat to 60 degrees. I know that sounds high, but not as high as a bill for the repair of frozen pipes.

If you do leave your interior water on, at least make sure the water source to your exterior spigots is turned off and your spigots left open.

With this quick checklist complete, you can close the door to your vacation home and on what was hopefully a fun filled and relaxing summer and fall here on Cape Cod.