Household tips for the winter months
1. All garden hoses should be removed from outside spigots before the first freeze. If left connected to the home, even for one night when the temperature drops below freezing, the pipes can freeze causing water to leak into the basement when you use the spigot in the spring.
2. Condensation or frozen moisture on the inside of your windows can happen when the fog that appears on the glass in the cold weather freezes. It normally will appear on the glass and the frame of the window and can drip onto the window sill and ruin wood work. Window condensation is the result of excess humidity in the home. The glass provides a visible cold surface in which humidity can condense and freeze in very cold temperatures. These problems will start with damaging window sills but can also include rotting wood, mildew and even moisture spots on walls and ceilings.
What to do: In these very cold temperatures you may have to turn your humidifier off. Your normal lifestyle of bathing, washing dishes and clothes, mopping the floor, watering indoor plants and cooking will all add water vapor. Do not add more by keeping your humidifier on. If you still have too much humidity in your home run your bath fans longer and in bathrooms you may even have to crack a window to allow the stale humid air to escape and fresh drier air to enter (in extreme cases).
3. Changing your furnace filter on a regular basis and making sure it is clean will help increase the efficiency of your furnace. If you feel that your furnace is working overtime and isn't able to keep up, check this first and make sure the filter is clean and a lot of times this will help.
4. With the wind and extreme cold we experience here in Iowa it is not uncommon for the furnace exhaust pipe to freeze up with icicles that restricts air flow. This is hard on the blower units and these icicles should be cleared away from the vent on the outside of the home as it terminates through the siding. (On newer homes this is the PVC pipe exiting the home usually by your air conditioning unit) Same would be true for extra snow drifting in front of the intake area as this will shut a furnace down completely.
These are just a few of the added precautions you should take with your home in the cold winter months. If you have any questions please contact us.