December 15, 2012

More Ways to Get Your Home in Winter Shape Before the Vancouver Weather Turns

[caption id="attachment_2703" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Get Nice and Cozy By the Fire"][/caption]

Thank you for reading part one of the “Get Your Home into Energy Efficient Shape before the New Year” two part series and welcome to part two.  If you find yourself here , but have missed part one and are worried that you won’t be able to follow along, don’t worry this guide has been specially designed to be read in any order.  If you still feel that you must read part one first, just click here.  Now for everyone else who has decided to stay, get a blanket, a warm hot chocolate and settle in because you are going to find out even more about caring for your Vancouver home.

Dryers – There are a few things that you can do to ensure that your dryer continues to function as intended.  The easiest is to make sure that the lint trap is cleaned regularly, ideally before every use.  This will help keep the airflow out of the dryer unobstructed preventing the motor from over working. In addition as lint becomes more and more dry it becomes extremely flammable, if it is allowed to build up the potential for a fire is greatly increased.

Keep Air Vents Clear – Air intake and exhaust vents located outside the home can become blocked by debris and snow as the weather become more unpredictable. Blockages mean your systems have to work harder to bring new air in and move stale air out. Ensuring the vents are free of blockages will help keep your heating and forced air systems from over working.

Check the Caulking and Seals Around the Windows – Before the weather turns on us, do a quick check to make sure that all of the seals around the exterior windows haven’t cracked.  It is a simple fix if you find that some of the caulking has cracked or is pulling up.  Make sure that you clean the old caulking with some soap and water and dry it thoroughly before applying any new caulking.
Before smoothing out the caulking dip your finger into some soapy water this will keep the caulking from sticking to your finger.

Vacuum – Another quick and easy maintenance tip is to vacuum the back of the refrigerator and the bathroom fan.  This will remove any dust that has gathered there over time that is making your appliances work harder than they need to.  The coils on the back of the refrigerator are designed to help it dissipate heat. If they are covered with gunk (technical term) then the refrigerator has to work harder to cool down.

Check your Fire and Carbon Monoxide detectors – This is probably the easiest one on the list.  Most detectors have a small button on them that if you hold down for 5 seconds will cause them to beep.  Also be sure to keep an ear out, some detectors will beep when the battery is running low alerting you it’s time to change the batteries.