1.) Check and Change Your Heater Filters
Before you crank up the furnace in your home, it’s a good idea to see if it needs to be cleaned or simply replaced.  First of all, it depends on the types of materials used to make the filters.  If it’s a cardboard filter, it was made to be disposable and will need to be replaced.  However, if your filter is reusable, you can clean it and replace it.  Start out by vacuuming out the dust and debris from the previous year.  Next, wash it warm water, then allow to dry.  Sitting it outside in the sun is the best option.  Finally, vacuum up any debris inside the furnace and around the base.  Now, your furnace is ready for another long winter.

2.) Wrap Your Water Pipes
One of the biggest problems with cold weather is bursting pipes.  In areas where the night-time temperatures can fall well below freezing, wrapping your water pipes is a must.  Some people leave a small trickle of water running at night to keep the water from freezing, but this just wastes water.  You can buy foam wrapping for your pipes from any home improvement store, for almost nothing.  If you’d rather use things around your home, wrap your pipes in old rages or mismatched socks, then apply a healthy amount of duct tape to keep them in place.  This will help keep your pipes warm, and your basement dry.

3.) Check Water Heater Insulation
Another item in your home that needs to be winterized is your hot water heater.  Though all modern heaters are insulated on the inside, finding ways of keeping the cold off the outside is important.  If your hot water heater is in a drafty basement, you can purchase hot water heater wraps from your local hardware store.  Those that live in mobile homes will want to go the extra mile and add an extra layer of insulation to the door housing, as the heater is usually exposed to an exterior wall and only accessible from the outside.

4.) Check For Drafts
It’s never too early to think about sealing up leaks and drafts in your home.  They may not be as noticeable in the summer months, but in the winter, they can cause your heating bills to skyrocket.  Adding a bead of caulking around windows and faucets will keep drafts from entering your home.  Adding a door sweep to all your external doors will keep the cold air out in the winter, and adding foam insulators to your external electrical sockets will help save you a ton of money.

5.) Installing a Programmable Thermostat
Replacing your current thermostat with a digitally programmable one will help keep your home’s temperature at a constant rate.  It’s best to keep your thermostat set at about 68* in the winter time, as this will still allow you to feel warm indoors and keep your heating bills down.  They also give you the power of keeping other family members from cranking up the heat and forgetting to turn it back down.

Electric bills are always at their highest in the winter months, but getting ready ahead of time will help save you and your family a lot of money.  It’s never too early to get ready for winter, and it’s never been easier to stay ahead of the game.