Is Your Home Ready for Winter in Washington DC?

4 min read

With the start of Autumn approaching, temperatures are dropping fast, which means wintertime is right around the corner. Now is the time most homeowners think about preparing their homes for the colder months.

Every homeowner can benefit from taking at least a few steps toward winter readiness. In doing so, you can make sure that you and your family stay comfortable throughout the coldness of winter while also ensuring that your home emerges in tip-top shape when spring comes along.

If you haven’t started preparing your home for winter in Washington, DC, don’t fret – we’ve got you covered. Take a look at our list of essentials to perform to make sure your home is winter-ready below.

Check Your Drainage

Filing to drain your lawn before the winter can cause serious damage to your yard and your home’s foundation come springtime. Pools of water left undrained turn into solid patches of ice when temperatures are below freezing. When they thaw in the spring, these pools of water can drown your plants and grass and even seep into your home’s foundation, which leads to water damage.

Before winter, make sure to conduct some maintenance checks:

Check your drainage for low spots.
If you find any, drain standing water and fill them in with some soil.
Check your rain gutter downspouts to see if water is moved away from your home.

Doing so eliminates the risk of water damage when the water thaws.

Check Your Gutters

Checking your gutters for blockage is always recommended before winter comes. Water and snow may collect on your roof and gutters due to leaves and other debris impeding their flow. As a result, any water on your roof might freeze again and thaw together with snow in spring. This overwhelms your gutter system, which means water will make its way into your home and lead to even more problems.

As autumn ends and winter begins, keep your gutters free from leaves, twigs, and other debris. Make sure that your gutters are clog-free so they can continue to do what they are supposed to do: funnel water away from your roof and away from your home.

Prune and Trim Your Trees

Pruning and trimming your trees is one of the best ways to protect your home in the winter. Meanwhile, failing to do so can create more opportunities for trees to capture snow and ice during the snow season, which means a higher risk of tree damage and water damage.

When trimming your trees and shrubs, make sure to do so during winter and not before. Cutting trees too early encourages new growth instead of dormancy, which can be a problem if trees don’t have available food and water during winter.

Perform an Electrical Check and Energy Audit

An electrical check is essential before winter to see the overall health of your electrical connections and wiring. Through this thorough inspection, you ensure that your electrical system can handle the increased load due to an increased need for indoor heating. This also eliminates any potential risk of problems later on.

An energy audit is also helpful if you want to optimize energy efficiency. This means checking if your home is properly insulated. Inspect your door seals, fill out drafty outlets, and seal air leakages to create a warm, comfortable home ready for the Washington, DC winter.

Call the Water Restoration Experts in Washington, DC

Preparing your home for winter is absolutely essential to ensure that you and your family are well-prepared to face the cold months ahead. This should help you avoid any unforeseen circumstances that could deal considerable water damage to your property. Fortunately, water restoration experts in Washington, DC, are on standby to serve your needs. If you require emergency water damage restoration, call Restoration 1 of Washington, DC!