With Thanksgiving behind us it’s time to think about getting your home ready for winter. It feels a little strange to be worried about winter with it 60 degrees and sunny outside, but it’s practically December so it is time. Here are five tasks to do over the coming week(s) to make sure you’re ready when temperatures turn colder.
Clean Out the Gutters
Nearly all the leaves have fallen by now, so this mild weather is the perfect opportunity to clean out the gutters. Free flowing gutters can be a thing of beauty. We have one area of our roof that has a valley. It collects a lot of water during rain storms and leaves in the fall. If we keep the gutters in that area clean, then they can handle all but the heaviest downpours. However, when we let them get clogged up, the gutters overflow and water cascades down in places we would rather it not go. It’s now or never for getting them cleaned up since once the leaves freeze they’re a real pain to remove.
Rake the Lawn
Town leaf pickup was disrupted by the big snow storm at the end of October. For example, Hartford usually has vacuum collection, but this year has asked residents to bag their leaves since the city spent so much money picking up tree debris. Trucks are still out and about, but the rules may be a little different this year. Be sure to check with your town to make sure you have the latest instructions and schedule.
Turn off the Hose Spigots
Frozen hose spigots can cause a lot of damage, but are fortunately very easy to avoid. Head down to the basement and follow the pipes to find the first shut-off valve before the water heads outside to the spigot. After shutting it off inside it’s also a good idea to then go drain any water you can from the outside. A five minute task can save thousands if you are unlucky enough to have water damage.
Flip Over the Birdbaths
We have a concrete birdbath, and were told that we should invert the bath in the winter. My understanding of the suggestion was that allowing water to freeze in the bath over the winter could potentially crack the concrete. Rather than risk damage, we just go ahead and follow the advice each year even though we’re not 100% sure it’s right – better to be safe than sorry.
Take in the Rain Barrel
This year we added a new feature to the yard, a rain barrel. Like the birdbath, we were told that it’s a bad idea to let water freeze inside. However rather than simply turning it over, the instructions we received were to actually bring it inside. Presumably completely draining it and putting it in the garage would be sufficient since that would guarantee no water getting inside. We don’t have a garage, so I guess it’s going to have to come inside to the basement.
What else do we need to be doing to get ready for winter? What are we missing?
I’ve heard that about concrete birdbaths – but never done it and never had an issue with any of mine. One consequence of with flipping it over is that the birds then don’t have anywhere to drink when, for much of the time, the temps are above freezing in the daytime and some or all of the ice does melt allowing for drinking. One the main challenges for animals in the winter is a water source – so I”d leave it be unless its an heirloom or such. Heated plastic bird baths can be purchased for under $50 and those work well too.
Our birdbath is definitely not an heirloom! Good to know that yours has been able to withstand the freeze-thaw cycle without cracking, or whatever happens to concrete under stress. So leaving it set up for the winter birds is a viable option.
We lost ours (the top portion) in the winter, so I would recommend the flipping it over!