Get your home ready for winter

Despite the occasional Indian Summer tease, you can’t deny, this deep into autumn, that cold days are coming.

With the outdoor season for the most part behind you, why not devote a few of those idle weekend hours to getting your home ready for winter?

Consider taking a few preventative steps now - well before the holidays start consuming your time and attention - to ensure that you and your family are warm and safe by the time Old Man Winter starts beating at your door.

Try knocking a chore or two off the list every day or tackle a handful each weekend and by Thanksgiving you can claim a well-earned break. Most cost little or no money and may even save you money while keeping you warmer when temperatures drop.

Check for drafts and leaks: Having an improperly sealed home will result in up 15 percent of your heating bill going to waste, according to the California Energy Commission. Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts and seal with weatherstripping and caulk.

How do you know if you have a leak? Popular Mechanics magazine suggests testing by having someone on the outside blast a blow dryer around each window while someone else inside holds a lit candle. If the candle flickers or goes out you need to caulk or weatherstrip around the window frame.

Keep out drafts at the base of doors by making your own “draft snake” with a rolled bath towel, or stitch together your own out of leftover fabric or old clothing. Fill it with sand or even kitty litter.

If you have a fireplace with a regular chimney, close the damper when not in use. If you still sense a draft, the damper may be warped, worn or rusted. Install a chimney balloon into the flue to seal it. Otherwise it will function as a large open window, sucking the warm air out and letting cold drafts in.

Heating and ventilation: One of the easiest things you can do is set your ceiling fan in reverse. A clockwise rotation will push down and circulate warm air that has risen to your ceiling, cutting your heating bill by up to 10 percent.

Fire Safety: There are more structure fires in winter than any other season, according to the National Fire Administration, a national agency under the aegis of FEMA that collects fire data. This is the time when we’re cooking up a storm, creating atmosphere with candles and electric lights, firing up heaters and putting logs on the fire. Check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are working and replace the batteries if necessary.

Roof and gutters: Late autumn, after all the leaves have fallen, is a crucial time to clean your rain gutters. If you let them go it could cost you, with rainwater potentially seeping into your walls or waterlogged leaves and debris stressing your gutters to the breaking point.

It’s a job many people do themselves. But it’s also risky. For tips on how to do it safely check out safetyrisk.net/gutter-cleaning-safety/. If you have a fear of heights or are concerned about falls, pay a professional.

The average cost for gutter cleaning in Sonoma County is $237.56 according to corkd.com, which offers price estimates and comparisons for services.

Also make sure your gutters and downspouts are securely fastened.

TV’s home improvement specialist, Bob Vila, suggests that more advanced or determined DIYers might also check the flashing at the chimney, walls, skylights and vent pipes and at joints where water penetrates, using roofing cement and a caulking gun where needed.

Heating system tune-up: Some of this you can easily do yourself. Dust along vents and baseboard heaters and replace your heater’s air filter to improve efficiency.

If you’re more ambitious, crawl under the house and examine your heating ducts for leaks. Over time they can become torn, crushed or flattened.

For repairs, don’t use duct tape. Instead, cover a leak with fine mesh and paint the mesh with mastic sealant. You can also repair seams and joints of heating ducts, applying caulk mastic with a putty knife. It’s also a good idea to have your heating system checked at least once a year. Having the ducts inspected and cleaned, particularly if you’re not inclined to get under the house yourself, will improve the efficiency and reduce the amount of dust and particulates spewed into your house.

Bar the doors: Check all vents and openings from the outside and cover if necessary to prevent rodents, birds and other critters from gaining entry.

Wrap your water heater: If it doesn’t already have a blanket, buy one. Home improvement stores have thermal blankets for under $25. Fireplaces: Even gas fireplaces need servicing. Wayne Foresman of Eco Tech in Duncans Mills say it’s a good idea to get your gas fireplace or stove inspected and maintained at least every three years.

And if you are counting on it for atmosphere and warmth during the holidays, you should check it now to make sure it’s working. If not or if you are due for a servicing, call now. By Thanksgiving, the customer log backs up.

“It’s a relatively new specialty field,” said Foresman, “so there are not a whole bunch of people doing it yet. So you can’t expect 24-hour service. You generally have to wait one or two weeks.”

The average cost of an annual maintenance, including cleaning the glass, is $125 to $175, he said.

Chimneys: Most people know that if you burn wood, it’s important to get your chimney cleaned on a regular basis. But many don’t know that if you have a newer gas-burning fireplace, you also need to get your chimney inspected.

The Chimney Safety Institute of America says that even though a gas fireplace burns clean, without leaving creosote or soot in the chimney, the structure still needs to be inspected annually.

Moisture problems can cause the chimney to deteriorate and fail to function properly. If air moves through the chimney through cracks, the ventilation system will not work properly and could expose your family to deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.

Fallen debris or animal nests can also create ventilation problems.

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204.