Three Ways To Prepare Your Home For Autumn
Summer is coming to an end, and with it, the good weather, blue skies and natural heat are fleeting.
Autumn is everybody’s favourite season for spooky Halloween fun and beautiful scenes of yellow and orange leaves. However, the sudden turn from the hot weather to the early winter chill can be jarring and cause damage and discomfort within your home.
In this blog, we’ll give you three ways to prepare your home for Autumn, so you can rest assured that you’ll be able to weather the next few months safely and comfortably.
Have A Great Plumber On Hand
At first glance, this may seem like a silly tip. However, Autumn is known for its rain, cold, and falling leaves.
Increased levels of rain can cause plumbing and sewage problems, while the cold weather can make your home feel inhabitable if your heating isn’t working. Before winter begins in full force, it’s important to get your central heating system checked by professionals for potential leakages or sludge build-ups. Nobody wants to come home to a freezing house, so it’s important that you can feel confident that this won’t happen to you.
Although falling leaves may be a pinnacle of autumnal beauty, they also have a nasty habit of clogging up gutters which can lead to flooding and blockages. Things such as gutter and heating issues can be dangerous to try and fix on your own, so it’s important that you have a great plumber to come and help you out if something goes awry with your plumbing or heating.
As Autumn is a notoriously busy time for plumbers due to the issues above, having a reliable, highly-rated plumber on your side is a great way to survive the threats of Autumn weather.
Ensure Your Windows Are Insulated
Windows are one of the main culprits for heat loss during Autumn; cracks in their seals can let in a lot of cold air, especially on older window frames. There are a few things you can do to prevent heat loss through windows, including:
- Pay for insulation – the easiest and most long-term solution would be to pay for someone to come and insulate your windows properly. This is cost-effective in the long run as you won’t have to invest in temporary insulation each year. However, if you’re renting, you may want to check in with your landlord before you do this, as it could require some re-working on the fixtures.
- Get thermal curtains – thermal curtains are a helpful way of keeping the cold air out of your room without altering the window itself. They also have the added benefit of coming in lots of interesting styles you can customise to fit your room design.
- Caulking – caulk can be another great way to fill in the gaps. However, you must be careful with how much you use and which type of caulk you use. For precision caulking, ask a professional for help.
- Tape – tape is a simple way to insulate your window, especially if the draft comes from one specific place. It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but it’s a great temporary fix that won’t cost you a lot of money.
- Magnetic insulation – magnetic insulation is an interesting new way to insulate your windows. It uses magnetic paint and tape to keep a vinyl panel in place when the windows are closed – blocking a draft and offering a great temporary fix.
Check Your Fireplace
The fireplace can be a lifesaver in Autumn; there’s nothing nicer than curling up in front of a warm, crackling fireplace and embracing the warmth of the flames after a long day outside. However, you must have your fireplace and chimney (if you have one) regularly checked for safety issues.
Just as you may have a yearly boiler check-up for maintenance, you should also check your fireplace for issues. Fires can be the perfect autumn addition to your home, but they can also be incredibly dangerous if not monitored.
A substance known as black creosote can build up on a chimney or around a fire when the wood is burnt. Large build-ups of this can be very dangerous and lead to massive house fires that are difficult to put out and incredibly damaging.
Things such as the introduction of a screen can help to prevent fire from spreading around your house. Getting a chimney sweep to ensure there are no blockages or build-up in your chimney will also allow for smoke to escape without spreading into the air in your home or debris from catching fire.
Stay Safe This Autumn
We hope these three ways to prepare your home for Autumn have helped give you some tips and tricks for weathering the changing seasons. Stay warm, get your gas and electrics checked as regularly as possible and stay safe this Autumn!