Water can cause all kinds of problems for your house, both inside and out. With winter approaching, you’ll need to work harder to ensure that the colder, wetter weather doesn’t wreak havoc on your structure. There are many dangers in the fall and winter that can lead to serious damage.

During our cold Colorado winters, your exterior can lead to problems with leaks and damage inside, as well. You’ll also have to protect your home against less noticeable problems, like gaps and leaks that can let your heat out and lead to energy inefficiency and higher energy bills. Because our falls here in Colorado can be unpredictable, with wide temperature swings and sudden bouts of humidity and precipitation, you have to work harder to make sure that your house can withstand these extreme elements all season long. Here’s what you can do to ensure that your house is prepared for fall: 

Disconnect Your Hoses

Having your hose ready to use in the summer can be very handy, especially in the increasingly hot and dry Colorado summers, but when the first freeze arrives in fall, it’s time to disconnect them. Standing water in the hoses can, at best, block up your water flow when you need it. At worst, the expanding, freezing water can burst your water pipe, causing all kinds of havoc for your home, including damaged exterior walls, interior walls, and even foundations.

Clean Your Gutters

If you read this blog regularly, you know how I feel about cleaning the gutters. It’s a dirty, unpleasant job, but you must do it regularly, particularly before the autumn leaves start falling, because if your downspouts are clogged, water will pool on your roof, freeze, mix with snow, and eventually sit there long enough to cause structural damage resulting in leaks and worse.

Check and Trim Your Trees and Shrubs

Trees and other greenery are great ways to beautify your exterior, but if left unchecked, they can become a problem. Roots can wrap around your pipes and break them. More commonly, tree branches can become heavy with snow and fall on your house. Not good. If possible, trim your trees before the weather becomes truly cold. Make sure that any shrubs or branches are away from your exterior as much as possible. 

Find and Fix Leaks Quickly

Water leaks can be troubling, but they don’t always necessitate an emergency. However, if you don’t fix leaky roofs or walls in a timely fashion, you’ll run into many other problems, from mold, mildew, dry rot, and in extreme cases, structural damage. Colorado is a dry climate, sure, which helps keep the mold and rotting down, but sustained leakage will still lead to problems if left unattended. 

Another danger here is that most home insurance policies don’t cover damage that results from lack of maintenance or delayed maintenance, so you could be on the hook for the serious damage that occurs. 

For more information on how to protect your home this fall and winter, contact Ireland’s Finest Painters today.