Protecting Your Home From Extreme Cold

While tonight's extreme cold is not a week-long arctic snap, it's a good reminder of how the cold elements can impact your home. Here are some tips on how to deal:

Prevent Frozen Pipes

• Allow a faucet that is fed by pipes exposed to the cold drip. This will prevent water inside the pipes from freezing.
• If leaving your house for an extended period of time during cold weather, do not shut off the heat unless all the pipes and toilets are drained.
• Keeping the doors to rooms where the pipes and water meter are located, including sink cabinets, open so warm air can keep temperatures above freezing.
• Fill cracks and insulate walls, windows and outlets, especially where drafts might occur near pipes.
• Insulate exposed pipes under house with foam pipe insulation.

Keep Warm Inside

• We've said it before, but it's best practice to service and inspect your furnace prior to the cold weather. 


• Be sure the fireplace, chimney and flue have been recently cleaned prior to use.
• Draw drapes and blinds closed and consider insulation curtains in certain rooms that do not get direct sunlight or have larger windows.
• Insulate cracks near windows or doors with weather stripping and caulking.

Protect the Outside of Your Home

• Clear gutters and drains to prevent ice from forming in them.
• Check your car to insure adequate fuel, windshield fluid and antifreeze levels. 
• Clear and salt your walkways before extreme cold or winter weather. Alternatively, you can use kitty litter or sand.

For more tips, check out Ready, a national PSA campaign that educates Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies. 

Holiday Safety Tips

The holidays are a festive time of year, but all those decorations can present safety hazards. With travel and entertaining, it’s easy to become distracted. Here are some tips to keep your home and family safe.

      

Holiday Lighting

• When purchasing holiday decorations look for ones made with flame-resistant, flame-retardant and non-combustible materials. 

• Keep open flames away from decorations and other combustible materials. 

• Keep your Christmas tree away from the fireplace.

• Inspect your lights for loose or broken bulbs and replace damaged ones prior to stringing them up.

• Keep kids and pets away from light strings, battery-operated decor as well as fragile ornaments — broken glass can present a number of issues, from cuts to pets swallowing shards. 

• Check to make sure your outdoor lights are meant for exterior use.

• Before hanging lights outdoors, check labels to be sure they have been certified for outdoor use.  

• Make sure all Christmas tree lights are off and candles are completed extinguished before heading to bed.

Holiday Cooking

• Keep a close eye on your stove and oven to avoid stovetop or grease fires. 

• If there are young children, try to keep pots toward the back of the stovetop, and make sure handles aren’t easily accessible. 

• Store matches and alcohol in areas not accessible to kids. 

Christmas Tree Safety

• If buying a live tree, get as fresh a tree as possible and cut the trunk to help with watering. 

• Make sure the tree does not block exits/doorways and is not near a heat source.

• Water the tree every day, paying special attention to the first few days, when water absorption is highest.

Energy Efficiency

A few weeks back, we gave you some ideas on how to prepare your home for winter. Today, we will shed some light on how to step up your energy savings even more, and make the most of your home prep efforts. 

While a professional energy audit may be the most thorough (you can find information on selecting a professional via the the U.S. Department of Energy), homeowners themselves can perform an energy assessment.

• Locate and seal air leaks. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that this along can amount to a potential savings of anywhere from 5% to 30% annually, not to mention the comfort addressing drafts brings to your home. Leaks can be found wherever there are natural gaps, from doorways to areas along baseboards or electrical outlets. Remember to inspect the exterior of your home for gaps or cracks in the foundation, siding and windows.
• Check insulation. Your home — especially if it is an older one — may not have the proper level of insulation, resulting in heat loss. Check the attic for openings in pipes or ductwork. Inspect your basement, especially the crawl space or door to the exterior. Remember that for greater efficiency, your water heater, hot water pipes and furnace ducts can all be insulated.
• Updating systems and appliances. While replacing an older HCAV unit would certainly help your home’s efficiency, it may not be realistic for the budget. But even replacing light bulbs with energy efficient incandescents or LEDs can help, since lighting account for approximately 10 percent of your electricity bill. Inspect your appliances and consider unplugging certain ones when not in use or changing the setting to lower energy use.

Kruse Home Improvement has diagnostic capabilities such as thermal imaging to detect problem areas when we approach a project or renovation. This ability is especially useful on projects such as door and window replacements as well as additions to ensure that the work addresses any regions that are potentially problematic.

Fall 2014 KHI Newsletter

Check out the latest KHI newsletter for some insight into a recent renovation, as well as some great fall/winter home prepping tips!

KHI Fall 2014 Newsletter

Your Fall Checklist

Interior Checklist

1. Change your HVAC filter.
2. Test your Smoke Detector. Daylight Saving ends Sunday, November 2 this year – the perfect way to remember when to check your detectors and turn back clocks
3. Seal cracks and gaps with caulk or weather strips. Many areas of your home can be susceptible. Check the following:
   • Door and window frames. 
   • Gaps around electrical outlets, phone lines, and outdoor faucets.
   • At corners formed by siding.
   • Openings around drain pipes in bathrooms and kitchens. 
    

Grounds Checklist

1. Clear out gutters to ensure proper drainage
2. Properly store lawnmower by draining the gas tank or running it empty.
3. Clean and store tools 
4. Prepare plants for frost by covering when necessary.
5. Trim back tree limbs and prune shrubs and hedges to prepare for better spring growth.
6. Survey grounds for any trees that may need professional attention; sick or leaning tress can present a safety issue. 

 

Fun Facts

28 days until Thanksgiving

56 days until Christmas

Easy Fall Prep

Over the past week, warmer temperatures had it feeling more like summer than autumn. Nonetheless, it is fall and the chilly nights are here, soon to be followed by cooler days. Early fall is the prime time to do some housekeeping to ensure an organized and equipped home.

Clean up and clear out

Seasonal tools take up valuable space in garages and sheds. Take inventory of what you no longer need, or what you can swap out. Make rakes and leaf blowers accessible and put the planters away for the spring. Make use of shelving units to organize your space.

Lawn and garden

Prepping your lawn and garden might not be instantly gratifying, but you’ll thank yourself in the spring. Plus, the cooler weather means less sweat! Rake out old plants and seed bare spots in the grass. Adding a winter fertilizer will help guard against the cold. Top is off with pruning and mulching for the fall and planting bulbs for the spring.

Clear the way

Inspect your walkways to ensure proper drainage and even footing. Any dips will mean mud and pooling water in the fall and icy patches in the winter. With shorter days, consider adding some lighting to entrances – it can add to curb appeal and safety.