Prepare your home for winter in Toronto

TRNTO X dNovo Group

As a homeowner, there are two important, but simple, things you can do to prepare your home for the winter.

A cold winter season will put any property to the test. You have to keep your home heated adequately and comfortably, no matter the conditions. You can prevent some emergency repairs and avoid the risks associated with clogged and dirty eavestroughs, or with an underperforming or poorly maintained furnace.

It’s sometimes hard to tell what’s ahead prior to the cold season or estimate how much rain and snow we’ll get. Don’t wait until the weather turns colder — this is the best time of year to prepare your property for the climate to come.

1. Prepare your furnace

>
When winter arrives, you should ideally be able to simply flick the heat switch on, and your furnace starts. Unfortunately, when they aren’t maintained, haven’t been inspected in some time, or are already partially malfunctioning, furnaces are at risk of a breakdown, leading to an emergency at inopportune times.

Furnace repair is crucial before the cold sets in because of the ways a furnace works. Its functionality decreases over time. Like any appliance, a furnace isn’t built to work in perpetuity. A routine tune-up can help replace parts as they break and extend a furnace’s lifespan while minimizing the cost of repair.

Prepping your furnace in the spring, summer, or early fall before the temperature turns means you aren’t relying on your furnace yet to heat your home. There is no rush to fix it. You can schedule an inspection weeks ahead of time and even budget for it.

This is a lot less stressful than having a furnace break down unexpectedly and then needing an immediate repair. A furnace technician might even find permanent damage to your furnace, necessitating a replacement and possible delay in parts availability.

At any time of year, that’s not good to hear. Now, imagine this happening in the midst of a cold winter month, especially during a harsh Toronto storm, which have increased in recent years due to extreme weather fluctuations. Your furnace is your home’s primary source of comfort for many months. There is no avoiding the repair or the unexpected expense. This type of emergency repair will likely cost more than if you planned ahead, able to catch a small repair early on.

No one wants to have their heat go out, or wake up in the morning to discover that your furnace broke down during the night. Inspections give you peace of mind and help avoid an inconvenient situation.

While 24/7 emergency furnace repair in Toronto is available, experienced homeowners know it’s best to have an inspection done to avoid the hassle.

2. Prepare your eavestrough

Your eavestroughs help rain, melting snow and ice and other debris run off your roof instead of building up and adding weight.

In an ideal world, your eavestroughs are going to work perfectly at all times. Over time, they can get clogged from dust, debris, and leaves. As this happens, come winter, any water that would normally drain, backs up. This can cause leaks, roof damage, and even structural damage to your property if it’s left unaddressed.

Fortunately, eavestrough repair and inspections completed before the cold sets in can identify problems, fix them, and ensure your property’s protected through winter. This involves emptying the contents of your eavestroughs, installing metal gutter screens to prevent this buildup from happening again, and other cost-effective maintenance solutions.

An eavestrough inspection before winter can also identify hazardous damage to eavestroughs. They can become broken, bent, and partially detached without a homeowner noticing. Should this get filled with ice, an eavestrough becomes heavy and could potentially come down at any time.

A clogged eavestrough builds up a pocket of moisture and water that’s likely to create a leak. The damage this can do over time can be as serious as compromising your home’s foundation.

Get your eavestrough repair done before winter. This way, any problems are dealt with, and your roofing and home will be protected from all the cold weather damage that can occur from clogged or damaged eavestroughs.

Do these two easy tasks every year before late fall and winter, and you’ll avoid experiencing major emergencies that some other homeowners unfortunately find out first-hand. All it takes is a quick inspection.