1. 110 Tips on Winterizing your home in OttawaNilay Ertemur, Sales RepresentativeCENTURY 21 John DeVries Ltd.444 Hazeldean RoadOttawa, ON K2L 1V2Direct: 613-915-8208Office 613-836-2570Office Fax 613-836-2619Toll free: 1 888-837-5570http://nilay.ca

2. 21. Clean your guttersSeptember onward would be the best timeto clean up all the tree branches, leaves ortoys that are stuck in the gutters. You donot want the fall rain to be draining towardsyour house, you want it away from yourfoundation, having them cleared forrain/water flow would benefit any home. Ifyou have a tree that sheds it's leaves latein fall, you may wish to do this later in theseason. 3. 32. Replace your furnace filterMost of us forget about replacing ourfurnace filters (which causes us toreach the furnace company for aservice call only for them to advise usto change our filter and the furnaceworks just fine again) they do get dustyover the summer even though yourfurnace may not be running that much(remember it still runs if you have an airconditioning unit), replace your filterand mark the date on your calendar sothat you know when the filter was lastchanged. 4. 43. Caulk any gaps at windows or doorsCaulking is one of the cheapestsolutions to block draft air coming intoyour home. The process is by simplymoving your hand around the edges ofyour door and windows and find out ifthere is any air coming in. Caulk aroundwhere you feel the draft, don't forget theattic door, and your laundry dryer ventmight need caulking as well. 5. 4. Check door and garage door weatherstripping5Check the main entrance doorweatherstripping, if its damaged,replace it and also the weatherstrippingfor the door that enters your housethrough the garage. There is weatherstripping for your outside garage doorsthat one can purchase from Lowes orHome Depot. Having garage doorsealers/weatherstrips adds an extralayer or blockage of wind and breeze,thus it keeps your garage and housewarmer. 6. 65. Insulate electrical outlets and switchesMost people may not realize thatelectrical outlets also bring in somedraft air into houses, and one canpurchase a simple styrofoam socketsealer from Home Depot or Lowes.Remember when working withelectricity, one has to turn it off fromthe main electrical panel beforestarting to unscrew any socket. 7. 76. Add attic insulationHouses lose most heatthrough the roof/attic, I havean article of how to insulateyour attic, and it does reallyhelp in warming your housewhen you increase your atticinsulation!Read more here 8. 87. Reverse your ceiling fanMost people think of usingtheir ceiling fans only insummer, but in winter if youreverse the rotation (i.erunning clockwise) it willbring back the warm air fromthe ceiling back down to berecirculated. 9. 98. Wrap those pipesTurn off those outside watersprinklers or faucets so that youdon't get your pipe frozen and endup with unpleasant insurance claimsand flooding problems , turn them offfrom the inside if you can accessthem, also get pre-molded pipesleeves to wrap up any hot waterpipe so that less heat is lost throughthem for your hot water tank. 10. 109. Get a programmable thermostatIf you are still using a non-programmablethermostat,go and obtain one that youcan program, it will save youmoney. Hydro Ottawa peaksaver plus runs a freeprogram to get freethermostat till the end ofSeptember 2014. 11. 1110. Seal up any ductsThe ducts that run around yourhouse can also be sealed up withaluminum foil metal tape, if youfind/reach any heating duct,check if there is any leakagearound them, usually leakage isfound around the joints. Use yourhands to feel if there is anybreeze, and put some extra tapeto seal it up. 12. 12And Remember to Enjoy Winter !Vist http://nilay.ca follow me on twitter@nertemur for more tips, if you wouldlike to know the property value of yourhome,please feel free to get in touchwith me.CENTURY 21 John DeVries Ltd.444 Hazeldean RoadOttawa, ON K2L 1V2Direct: 613-915-8208Office 613-836-2570Office Fax 613-836-2619Toll free: 1 888-837-5570