Ways to winter-proof your home

April 9th, 2013

Appliance Talk

After another strong innings, Summer is in the process of retiring for another year, and Winter is preparing to take its place.  And even with Australia’s notoriously unpredictable weather (droughts and flooding rains, “we’ll all be rooned” and all that…), winter means retreating indoors to escape from the cooler tempetratures.

Perhaps the cold weather won’t get quite this extreme EVERYWHERE, but you get the idea…

In order to stay safe and comfortable all through this coming season, you may want to put a bit of time and effort into winter-proofing your home.  Here’s how:

Stay warm

Efficient heating

In addition to taking the sensible precautions of closing and sealing up your windows and doors in the winter months and investing in some heavy insulating curtains, this is the season to dust off your old heater, switch your reverse cycle air conditioner over to warming mode, or invest in a new hot water system to ensure a constant and consistent flow of the hot stuff.

Of course, all of these heating appliances can use up a fair bit of juice while keeping your home toasty warm.  If you want to avoid “bill shock” at the end of winter when your electricity bill arrives, make sure that you only use energy-efficient heating appliances, and that you use them sensibly to keep the costs down.

Stay safe

Whether you use an electric heater, portable reverse cycle air conditioner or an electric blanket to chase away the winter chills, if these appliances haven’t made an appearance for a year or so, there’s a risk they may no longer be up to scratch any more.

Follow the advice of the ACCC and check that your old heaters and other winter gear is in good repair and still being supported by its manufacturer.  If you’re not sure that you can rely on them, you can quickly organise purchasing a replacement with Appliances Online.

Also, if you use a heater this winter, make sure that it is carefully positioned to keep your home safe – no-one wants to risk a fire!

Get some ugg boots

Yep, they’re ugly – hence the name.  But nothing’s quite as good at keeping your feet warm.

Fortunately you can get two pairs of ugg boots when you pick up one of these Panasonic front loaders before May 31, any of which can be used to great effect when doing laundry in the winter.

Stay healthy

Prepare for plague

Every changing of the seasons brings its bugs with it, but winter seems to be the most prevalent time for everything from common colds to pneumonia.  It’s often not a case of IF someone’s going to get sick, but WHEN.

When the germs arrive, rather than trying to starve a cold or a fever or both, make sure you’ve already got a few doses of some miracle cure-all foods in the back of your fridge for when the bugs come knocking.

Clear the air

While sealing up and insulating your home is important to keep the place warm in the winter, it can lead to a fairly stuffy house.  And if you use a gas cooktop, a lack of free-flowing air can lead to indoor pollution that’s as bad as the pollution found on the side of a busy highway.

Coway Air Purifier

If your home doesn’t have an air conditioner to keep the atmosphere moving, think about using an air purifier to extract germs and allergens, so that even if you’re breathing the same stale air for days on end, you’ll be less likely to get sick from it.  And when you’re cooking, always use a rangehood to either vent the cooking gases outside, or to filter and recirculate your kitchen’s air.

Stay clean

Shake up your laundry routine

You may have been hanging clothes outside all summer, but that may not fly any more over the winter months.  When it’s not raining, it’ll likely be much colder, and even with a bracing wind, cold weather does not help to dry clothes in a timely manner.

Again, a rather extreme example…

Even if you’re only likely to use it sporadically over the rest of the year, a dryer can be really useful for powering through laundry in the winter.  We especially recommend a condenser dryer in the winter, as these do not vent excess heat and moisture into your cold laundry to create a miniature tropical cyclone.

Give things a clean

After months of disuse, your heater may not run at peak efficiency the instant you start her back up, and may need a bit of basic maintenance first.  The same goes for air conditioners – even if you’ve been using them all through summer, the start of winter is a great time to give your reverse cycle air conditioner a clean to keep it free of dust and bugs, so it can do its job more effectively.

As well as cleaning your appliances, the cleaner you can keep your house over winter, the less spring cleaning you’ll have to do later in the year.  Use vacuum cleaners, steam mops and carpet washers to keep your household surfaces clean and free from disease-causing germs.

Eat well

Dig out the small appliances for winter meals

Yes, they may not get a great deal of use over the rest of the year, but that’s what storage spaces in the home are for – keep your winter-themed small appliances packed away (hibernating?) over summer and only bring them out when needed in the winter time.

Classics include the slow cooker and the soup maker, allowing you to prepare warm casseroles and soups to warm the heart and the soul.

Don’t forget the barbie!

While summer may be the quintessential barbeque season, winter barbies can sometimes be just as good.

While bushfires can occur at any time of year, the risks tend to be lower in the winter months, meaning that as long as you’ve got a clear day that’s not too cold, you should be able to cook outdoors enjoyably and safely.  And if things get really nasty outside, there’s always the option of the indoor BBQ or teppanyaki grill.

How do YOU winter proof you home?  Sharing is caring!