To prepare your home for winter, follow these simple suggestions:

• Keep doors and windows closed as much as possible. That includes overhead doors on attached garages.
• Replace screens on storm doors with plastic or glass fill-ins.
• Seal off unused rooms (as long as the room is less than 100 square feet and isn’t the room where the thermostat is located). Close the floor or wall registers and return air vents, and keep the doors closed.
• Open south-facing window curtains, drapes and blinds during the day. Close window coverings at night to keep the heat in.
• Use basement window well covers to prevent heat loss.
• Weatherstrip and caulk windows. Check window frames for cracks and fill them with caulk that contains silicon. Putty-like “rope caulk” can help seal large cracks and save you up to 5 percent on your energy bill.
• Check all exterior doors for air leaks and weatherstrip and caulk as needed. A one-eighth-inch gap around a door is equivalent to a 6-inch-square hole in the side of your house and causes a lot of energy loss. You can check doors two ways:
  1. Have someone stand on the other side of the door and shine a flashlight around the door’s perimeter. If you can see light through the cracks, your door needs sealing.
  2. Hold a piece of paper between the door and the frame and shut the door. If you can pull the paper out without tearing it, you should weatherstrip around the door.
• Check to see if your door is out of alignment. If it’s uneven at the bottom or along the side then you’ll have gaps that allow cool air in. You also won’t get a good seal if you apply weatherstripping. Check the hinges and adjust the strike plates and latches to bring your door back to alignment.

For more information or help with your windows and doors, please call us at (847) 318-8400.

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