Friendly Winter Care Reminders For Your Home

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You’ve made a big investment in your home and as the homebuyer's best friend, we’re here to help you take care of it. Below are some tips and tricks to add to your daily routine during Alberta’s cold winter months. As always, we recommend you refer to your homeowners guide for more information on your new home.

Home ventilation. To ensure proper ventilation in your home, run your kitchen’s hood fan while you’re cooking and always turn the HRV on during showering or bathing and for 40-60 minutes after as well. The HRV system removes moisture from the air inside your home without venting hot air outside. Proper ventilation helps keep your home energy-efficient, free from condensation build up, safe, and healthy.

Concrete protection. Protect your concrete by removing snow, ice, road slush and any chemical agents (such as de-icing agents) as soon as possible to avoid chipping and premature wear of the surface. Insiders tip: If you notice ice build up, we recommend you use sand for traction.

Cleaning the outside of your gas fireplace. On a chilly night, many of us will flip the switch on your gas fireplace and enjoy its soothing glow. You’ll notice a white haze on the glass as it heats up. This can be cleaned and the fireplace manual will offer specific instructions on how to do so. Usually, it’s with a specific cleaning substance so be sure to look into it before you go scrubbing.

Opening and closing your garage door. If you have an automatic garage door opener, it may need to be adjusted to work optimally during colder periods. Adjustments are conveniently located on the motor unit and more information can be found in your garage door instruction manual.

Keeping the condensation build-up off your windows. This is an easy fix. Turn your humidifier to the low end of the comfort zone and then raise the window coverings to help with airflow around the windows.

Drywall and paint cracks. Changes in temperature and humidity cause all building materials to expand and contract so you may see the effects of this as small cracks in drywall and paint. In most cases, caulk and paint are all that is needed by the homeowner to fix this.

Have you changed the filter for your furnace? Regular maintenance can save energy dollars and prolong the life of your furnace. Review the manufacturer’s guide on use and maintenance, and in particular, check to see if your filters need to be changed. Typically, these should be changed once a month so this is your friendly reminder!

We also have some winter safety tips for you! Click here to read.