Enjoy Your Home More than Ever!

Protect entryway flooring. With tracked-in wet from our rains and cold weather, entryway floors can really take a beating in the winter. Increase the longevity of your flooring by using floor mats both inside and outside each entrance to your home. Provide a boot scraper or brush outside for removing excess mud and debris, and a waterproof tray inside for placing wet shoes and boots.

Stop cold air from getting in. Feel a cold breeze? Take action as soon as you notice the problem. Boost your home’s energy efficiency and stop cold air in its tracks with these tips:

• Check and repair caulking around doors and windows and anywhere something penetrates a wall, like outside faucets and air vents.
• Check weatherstripping on doors and windows.
• Seal cracks in foundation walls.

Remove window screens. Removing screens from windows can boost natural light and improve solar heat gain.

Check batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. This is especially important during winter, when we keep windows closed and use wood-burning stoves and fireplaces more often.

Have your fireplace cleaned. If you haven’t done so yet, have your fireplace cleaned by a certified chimney sweep. Regular cleaning is a necessary safety measure for wood-burning fireplaces and wood stoves, since buildup of creosote (from past fires) inside the chimney can potentially cause a house fire. Gas fireplaces should be checked too — even though gas is a clean-burning fuel, there could be an old nest or other debris blocking the chimney. (This one will probably have to wait until after the new year, but put it on your "Must Do List" for January!