Dark, cold and wet. January is seen by many people as a month to stay indoors and wrap up warm, but it’s actually the best month to run a maintenance check on your house. We’ve come up with the four most essential tasks you need to complete in January whilst you still have time-otherwise you’ll be living with these problems for another year.
Ensure your house doesn’t have water damage
In the colder months, it’s easy for ice and water to damage your home. Toxic mold, frozen pipes and flooded basements are all frequent occurrences.
January is a great time to spot drainage problems. Take a thorough look around the inside and outside of your home for signs of water stains, puddles, rotting wood or peeling paint.
Get your gutters cleared of ice and dead leaves to avoid expensive leaks, moldy walls and even damaged foundations.
Remove leaves and snow from your window sills to prevent moldy plaster, rotten wood and peeling paint.
Examine and clean any weep holes in the brickwork of your home, so they can efficiently allow moisture to drain.
Start your preparation for gardening
Prevent your landscape from being overrun with unwanted leaves, by readying yourself for spring. You’ll find less weeds and dead grass occurs.
Provide traction and keep water from freezing by laying ice-melting grit on your paths, drives and steps.
Raking away dead leaves and twigs from your garden will help to make the most of the soon arriving spring rains.
Prevent frozen pipes by disconnecting any hoses and covering exterior taps with insulators.
Depending on how harsh the winter has been, you may be able to start planting conifers, fruit trees and shrubs. If you want to grow vegetables, now is the time to start buying seeds.
Make your home energy efficient
It’s a common story of people having to decide every winter between a chilly home and an expensive heating bill.
Small changes to your home, such as putting weatherproofing strips around doors and caulking windows don’t take any effort, but will make a significant difference to your heating bill.
You may want to get an Energy Efficiency Audit for your home. This will give you an insight into your home’s efficiency and what you need to do to improve it.
If you tend to have a dry home in winter, you may want to get a humidifier. You can prevent rot and reduce allergies by adding moisture to the air. Your home will also feel warmer without you having to turn up the thermostat.
Declutter your home
Having spent the festive season indoors and indulging in excess, your home will begin to look chronically cluttered. Now is the perfect time to start your spring cleaning, whilst it’s still a bit too cold to enjoy being outside. A deep clean will allow you to focus on tasks usually overlooked the rest of the year.