How to Keep Your Home Warm During the Cooler Months

As many homeowners here in Mountain View try to keep their home warm during the cooler months, it can become a bit challenging to do so without spending a lot of money to blast the heat. There are many small adjustments you can make to help retain heat in, and keep the cool air out. Our crew here at Handyman Connection of Mountain View has put together a few of those adjustments as recommendations to help you keep your home warm this winter. Check them out, and let us know what else works for you.

When You Shower

Leave the door of the shower or bathroom cracked slightly or just leave it completely open when taking a shower. The warmth from the steam will help to keep the areas around the bathroom warm. It’ll also help keep the heat consistent throughout your home.

Thermostats

Use the automatic timer functions on your thermostat to your advantage. Schedule the thermostat to decrease the heat by a few degrees before you and your family head out of the house for the day, and to increase the heat a few degrees just before coming home. That will keep a consistent temperature throughout your home, will help keep the energy and heating bills low, and will help to make sure your home is warm and toasty for your return from a long day.

Ceiling Fans

Almost every ceiling fan is built with a programmable “winter” setting that you should definitely use. All this setting does is simply reverse the spin of the fan from clockwise to counterclockwise. The reason this is a winter setting is because as heat naturally rises, the counterclockwise spin will help push the heat back down, helping to keep your home warm.

Furniture Placement

Walk through your home and take a close look at how the furniture is placed throughout. Make sure that no vents are being covered by any large pieces of furniture or rugs. This will certainly block the heat from being able to come in and will prevent the heating system from functioning to its highest efficiency. Also, make sure that there aren’t large areas of clutter such as chairs, debris, or toys. That can also prevent the system from working efficiently as the airflow is blocked.

Draft Stoppers

Draft stoppers are a great way to help retain the heat that is being distributed around your home, as that’s exactly what they are designed to do. They were designed to help keep the warm air inside without giving it a chance to escape, while keeping cool air outside where it belongs. Place one near the doorframe on any exterior doors to ensure no heat has the opportunity to escape once the door is closed. Also, if you’re using your fireplace as a design feature instead of a function, place a draft stopper in the fireplace as well. Also, always make sure the shaft of the fireplace is closed to help reinforce your efforts. If the shaft is open and you have no draft stopper installed, you will be wasting money by cranking up the heat and wondering why the living room is still cold.

At Handyman Connection of Mountain View, our goal is to help make your house a home and to be your go-to solution for any and all of your home maintenance jobs or needs. Don’t hesitate to give us a call with any questions or to schedule your next project!