Keeping your home comfortable during the winter is essential and non-negotiable. Here are some easy cold weather tips for DIY home maintenance.
Check your HVAC filter.
All HVAC filters create resistance to the furnace workings. That’s their point. Namely, they resist dirt getting sucked into and blown out of the system. When they’re clogged the electronics in the furnace aren’t getting good data and act erratically. Change your HVAC filter every fall and spring if you have pets and do DIY projects.
Swap your thermostat batteries.
Do an annual battery swap on the thermostat. Unlike smoke detectors, they have the gall to not beep when they’re wearing out. Many thermostats have AAA / AA batteries. When they wear out, the signals between the thermostat and the HVAC electronics don’t work quite right. So if your heat or AC isn’t consistent, check the batteries in the thermostat. It’s an easy DIY home maintenance task.
Keep exhaust pipe and condensing unit free of snow.
This is often neglected among cold weather tips: If it snows heavily, make sure the condensing unit outside isn’t buried. Same with the PVC exhaust pipe.
Don’t plug your electric car into your furnace.
Do NOT plug your electric car into your furnace switch (via extension cord). That is absolutely NOT how that works. The plug/switch device on furnace is an outie, not an innie.
Prep for storms early.
When it comes to DIY home maintenance, be smarter than everybody else. Get ready for storms before the storms are 13 seconds away. Service your equipment. Get flashlights, a generator or power bank and other lights.
Get supplies like “salt” and stash them before you need them. Note that you don’t necessarily need to go to a big box to buy salt. When they run out–and they do–professional landscape supply yards can bag salt for you. It might not be the”best” salt and it might be really heavy. At least check.
Get a proper snow shovel.
Snow shovels are trash. Get a “grain scoop” instead. I think we’ve been saying this so long that Fiskars just came out with their version of a grain scoop that fits neatly in a car trunk.
