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Get Through The Tough Road By Winterizing Your Car

Getting ready for winter also means getting your car ready for the icy and snowy roads. Doing so lessens the possibilities of winter road accidents and other mishaps. After all, you don?t want getting stuck up in the middle of nowhere, with your engine coming to a halt, or your tires losing traction, or your wiper blades snapping into pieces down the road. Winterizing your car early on saves you your life, especially so if you live in an area where snow is non-stop.

Here are six easy steps to winterize your car. Do them as early as you can to get your car ready to face the toughest winter conditions.

1. Mind your tires. First off, check the tire pressure. As the temperature gets colder, tire pressure decreases. Generally, a temperature drop by 10?F causes a pound per square inch loss in tire pressure. Inflate your car if needed, as deflated tires have significantly reduced traction and can be quite dangerous on icy and wet roads. To better ensure safety, you can choose to use snow tires during winter months, which are more equipped to handle adverse winter road conditions since they have better traction and control.

2. Inspect windshield wipers. Replace them if yours are more than a year, because if they are too old, chances are they won?t stand against the snow, and, as you know, it is seriously dangerous if the wiper blades split and break just when you are driving in the middle of a blizzard. Also, use windshield washer fluid in place of water to break the snow on the windshield. Before winter sets in, make sure your wipers are ready to do what they were created for: clear your windshield and give you a good view.

3. Check your oil. Oil works to lubricate the engine, but if it is too cold, oil thickens, which may be bad for the engine. Therefore, use the type of oil with less viscosity or thickness during winter months. You can check your owner?s manual to figure what type of oil your car needs during this season.

4. Examine your heater and defroster. Your heater functions to keep you warm and snug when you are driving, while the defroster makes sure that no moist fogs up the windshield. Make sure these two are working properly, as it is quite hard to drive while shaking in cold and with moist blocking your view.

5. Inspect your car battery. Usually batteries can last three to five years. If your battery is past that frame, it is time for a replacement. If it is not, you only need to do a thorough inspection on your battery. See if there are corrosions on the cables and other areas. Also, check if the battery fluid runs low, and if it does, carefully add distilled water onto it. Consult a car mechanic should you need more guidance in your battery inspection.

6. Keep an emergency kit. When winterizing your car, organize an emergency kit, which can have flashlights, bottles of oil and washer fluid, ice scraper, gloves, blanket, and every other tool and item that will keep you safe during your winter drive. Having an emergency kit is as equally important as checking all car parts.

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Prepping Up: Winterizing Your Lawn

Here comes the cold season. It is now time to prepare our homes, cars and our selves for the low temperatures. But what about our beloved garden and lawn? Winterizing your lawn and garden is all about keeping it thriving or alive until the following year. Contrary to what most people think, winter does not kill your lawn or your garden. During this period, the grasses are just hibernating, like some animals during winter.

Timing is important when winterizing. You do not want to have your lawn deprived of any kind of nutrients or vitamins while the ground is not yet freezing. Give adequate time for your grass and lawn to absorb as much sunlight and other nutrients they can.

? Rake leaves and clear the lawn of any kind of debris to allow more sunlight to be absorbed by the grass. Check with the local waste management council about the disposal of garden and lawn wastes, there are some states and locations where it is illegal to include yard trimmings in the trash. Leaving the trimmings could cause the mildew and molds to develop.

? You could use weed control in your lawn even if they will be covered with snow. Just like grasses, weeds still grow. By using weed control, the weeds would not return in spring.

? Another thing to check on your lawns when winterizing would be the pH levels. You would need to attain a balanced levels of nutrients in your soil, this would ensure that the lawn will be absorbing the nutrients or fertilizers in the soil and prepare for growth during spring.

? Fertilizing the soil to prepare for the winter is also important. When looking for winter lawn fertilizer, it is high in potassium. Potassium encourages the growth of roots, no the growth of leaves and flowers. Fertilizing the soil is usually recommended to start after September or October. If you would be fertilizing too late, the grass could still continue grow and eventually be damaged by frost.

? Aerating is also important when winterizing your lawn. Grass tends to be compressed and the packets in the soil where oxygen could be easily available to the roots. Oxygen is essential when roots and plants are breaking down the sugars stored from their photosynthesis. You could use punch-core aerator which is commonly used in golf courses. Aside from that, raking could also mildly aerate the soils.

? A thin layer of thatch is good for the lawn but if the layer of thatch exceeds more that ? inch, then it could cause problems with your lawn. It could limit the flow of air which could eventually cause diseases and fungal problems.

With proper winterizing your lawn will be able to survive harsh climates. Winterizing your lawn may require a lot of work, but when spring comes, you would see the difference and the advantage of preparing for the winter. If your lawn is not that well cared for, then winterizing would help in rejuvenating your lawn and making it easier to manage during spring.

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Basic Guide on Winterizing Your Swimming Pool

You have invested money in building swimming pool and it has given you so much pleasure. As the season begins to get colder, you have to prepare the pool to make sure that it won’t be damaged during the season change. For this purpose, you will gain lots of insights from gathering information about ways on winterizing swimming pools.

As the summer bids adieu, you must also begin saying goodbye to your pool. Here are the processes that must be followed to make sure that the pool will be ready for the colder season and will also at its tip-top shape come summertime.

1. Check the pH level of the water. This must be about 7.5 and if the results show otherwise, put dry acid on the water. Check the chlorine and use a product that is ideal for the situation to protect the pool from developing algae come winter months.

2. When the cold months come in, run the pump six hours each day. This action will also prevent algae from developing while the pool is not in use. Any kinds of leaks should be sealed. Turn off the valve of the skimmer and allow the water to drain until it is about six inches below the bottom of the skimmer. This is the preferred amount of water on the pool.

3. Before you store the summer cover, if ever you have used one, clean it through pressure washer or simply with fresh water. Keep it at a dry area and get the winter cover. When placing this on the pool, apply enough tension on the cover to prevent anything from getting beneath it once it is in place. This must be checked several days in a week to be certain that it is still tight.

Tell everybody about the cover. For everyone’s safety, tell them that even pets are not allowed to go near the pool area. The cover may be able to protect the pool, but it wasn’t designed to protect anyone or anything that may accidentally slip atop the material.

4. After you are done with the abovementioned procedures, it is time to drain excess water from the equipment. Water needs to be drained from the pump, heater and filter. This can be easily done by pulling the drain plug that can be found at the bottom. This part makes the whole process a lot easier.

Even if you are stuck with lots of things that are crying for your attention in preparation for the coming season, you should never forget to drain the pool from water. During winter, the water will freeze inside the area that may result to permanent damage that you certainly wouldn’t want to happen.

When you are done with all these steps on winterizing your swimming pool, you can proceed with other tasks. But you have to check on the pool after several days to see if everything is okay and holding up or you need to fix some areas to be very certain that everything is going to be fine.

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Winterizing Techniques that You Can Apply at the Garden

Do not be discouraged about your love for gardening just because the colder season is about to come. You cannot do anything about this, not unless you would be willing to relocate somewhere, like in countries that only have two kinds of weather. You don’t really need to go that far because there are steps that you can in winterizing your garden so that you can preserve the effort you have invested in it and to prepare it for the next season when you can tend to it again.

This may sound added work, especially if you are going to attend to many other things at home. But for people who are keen about gardening and love seeing the results of their labor, here are the things that must be done to prepare the area for the winter season.

1. When do you start preparing the garden for the colder months? You will notice change on the color of the plants. As this occurs, leaves will begin to fall off. This is a clear indication that it is time to act on your plan so that you will still have a healthy garden when next year comes.

2. Dig up all your plants from their roots to tips. If you won’t do any measures and you will let dead plant remnants on the garden, you are allowing remnants and rodents to have a feast when it is already winter. To avoid this, you must remove the dead plants and place them in a compost pile. You can also choose to leave the remnants in the garden. You can simply let these at the top of the soil until these have dried up. Plow the soil along with the dried plants early spring or during the later days in fall.

Why do you need to till the dead plants and fallen leaves on the soil? Through this, the garden will be able to absorb nutrients from the plants. If you will leave the plants and do nothing about it, the soil won’t be able to easily absorb the nutrients and this is going to cause delay on the warming of the garden soil when it is already spring.

3. In the fall, you should not put fertilizer on the soil. This is a great way of caring for the environment because this product will cause bad long term effects and besides, it is a waste of money. Nothing is going to absorb it anyway with most plants getting withered or fallen. And besides, if you rely so much on such product, it will eventually be washed away on creeks and wetlands and may cause harm in the process. If you are such a big fan and you cannot do away with fertilizers, do it in spring.

4. You can also add chemicals on your garden during fall, especially if you are such a big fan of these products. Before you do, check the pH level of the soil and add sulfur or lime if it is needed. You can easily spread these chemicals and plow the soil after.

In following these wintering techniques for the garden, you are making it easier for you to start all over again when spring comes and you can start planting anew.

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Easy to Do Steps in Winterizing Your House

Planning ways on how to go about winterizing your homes can be done anytime. It is better to be prepared for just about anything so no matter what happens in the coming months, you can take a look at your list come wintertime. If you intend to start executing the plans, the best time for this is at the fall Equinox. At this time of the year, the temperature is beginning to decrease that your house needs to be maintained so that it would be ready for the next season.

How do you go about preparing house for winter? Here are some tips that can help you with the task at hand.

1. First up, you should call an HVAC professional to inspect the heating system. They will do vital furnace inspection as well as clean the ducts. You should have stock of furnace filters with you because this must be changed every month. The furnace must be clear of all flammable materials that may cause other risks and dangers. It will be better if you can avail the kind of thermostat that is programmable. If you are utilizing a hot-water radiator at home, the valves should be opened slightly and close immediately when water appears.

2. Check for crevice cracks at the exterior of your home. Make sure that there are no exposed entry points on the pipes. If you found anything cracks or holes, seal these fast.

3. For the doors, you can use weather stripping to prevent cold air from coming inside the house. To achieve the same for windows, these must be caulked. If the house has a basement, you can protect the window wells by covering these with plastic shields. It’s time to keep the summer screens for later use and get glass replacements installed. You can also put storm windows if you have these or you simply want to.

4. The fireplace must be ready for the coming season. Put a cap at the top of the chimney so that you can keep away birds and rodents. If you haven’t cleaned the chimney for quite a while, call someone to remove creosote and soot from this part. You also have to stock up chopped wood or firewood that should be placed in dry place. Check the damper of the fireplace if this has still the right kind of closing and opening.

5. If the weather at your area usually goes lower than 32 degrees during winter, you should consider adding insulation at the attic. Through this, warm air will be prevented from creeping at the roof that might lead to ice dams. While at the roof, you must inspect worn out tiles and roof shingles and replace materials while you still have time. You must be very sure that water cannot enter your house through the roof. Gutters should also be cleaned from any kind of debris.

There are many more steps that you should consider in winterizing your house. The important thing at this point is to make sure that you will feel comfortable and safe inside even when the temperature hit the lows once the winter season starts.

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Winterization Within Budget

Energy bills could run very high during winter. Winterizing or preparing for the winter may also be a problem for your purse. There are ways in which you could increase your home?s heating efficiency but at the same time, cur down a little from your previous winter electric bill.

There are things which you could do on your own. There are some homeowners who would hire professional help from plumbers, electricians and contractors. But during this stage of crisis and financial hardship, we can use some simple, do-it-your own and within the budget winterization process.

? Hiring somebody to winterize your home could be expensive. You could start learning on how you could do it from books in your local library or by tackling some cracks and holes. You could also visit websites that could give you sufficient information and even step-by-step procedures.

? You could use plastic sheets when covering unused windows and doors. They could easily be bought in different stores like home improvement shops.

? Do not forget the dryer vent and the area surrounding your washing machine and kitchen sink pipes. Any holes would let the cold wind in and is wasted energy. You could use foam or foam board which can be bought in hardware stores.

? Avoid using your ventilating fans in the kitchen and bathroom since it would suck your heated air out.

? If you have rooms that are not occupied, then it is better to seal off the vent and the doors of these rooms. Imagine keeping the room heated when nobody is even using or going in it.

? Dirty filters are not only dirty, they could also mean more money. Dirt could clog the filters and would eventually cause the filters to work harder and longer.

? You could pull your curtains off the window every morning to let the sunshine and some warmth in the room. At night, your could draw back the curtains to contain the heat and separate the windows from the rest of the heated house.

Preparing your home and your property is not the only thing that you would have to winterize. You would also need to prepare your freezer and your family members for the winter. Summer is a great time for buying sales of fresh produce. You could start stocking up during summer for the winter. You could buy canned fruits, vegetables and meat. Having enough food is important since winter would often mean roads closed, power outages, and harsh weather to be outside. Some would even have extra money with them in case of emergencies.

Aside from fresh produce, you could also start buying equipment that you may need, for example some tape to cover cracks where cold air could pass through. You could also start washing your blankets even before winter strikes. This would save you enough time and at the same time the hassle of preparing the blankets once the first freeze comes in.

Winterizing frugally can be pretty hard. Besides, winter is the most expensive season there is. Energy bills could take a chunk out of your funds. Anyway, it is important to put your family?s comfort and health before anything else.

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Wintering Your Boat: How To Prepare It For Winter

As the boating season comes to a halt, your top concern would be preparing your boat for winter storage. You have to make sure it is safe and snug all through winter and can survive the cold weather. Hiring a professional to winterize your boat is a good option, although you can do the job on your own. Along with the manufacturer?s recommendations, the following guidelines can help you through winterizing your boat.

Clean the boat?s interior.
This means taking the mess off the carpet, getting rid of the food items from the refrigerator, dusting the lockers and cabinets, airing out the cushions, etc. Clear the interior as thoroughly as possible. Take note of the damages and do arrangements to have the necessary replacements. Also, provide proper boat ventilation to avoid trapping moisture inside, which invites the growth of mold and mildew. Consider using mildew spray and dehumidifiers as well.

Fill the fuel tank and add fuel stabilizer.
Doing so will prevent condensation and oxidation that may work against the engine. After adding stabilizer, run the motor up until the stabilizer has penetrated the engine.

Change the oil.
Drain the old oil properly and replace it with fresh oil. Start the engine to allow the oil to circulate and penetrate the system. Changing oil is necessary to prevent corrosion that results in engine defects. Do not forget to change the oil filter as well.

Hose the engine with fresh water.
Then, allow the engine to drain. Make sure the engine is completely drained of water because a small amount of residual water will tend to freeze and result in serious damages. To prevent the build-up of rust and corrosion, spray fogging oil onto the engine. Start by running the engine and shutting down the fuel supply. As soon as the engine stops on its own, take out the spark plugs and spray fogging oil onto the cylinders.

Take a good look at the hull.
If you find gelcoat blisters, treat them with special epoxy. Also, check the bottom of the boat and scrape off barnacles. You can pressure-wash the bottom to remove tough dirt and slime. Do the necessary painting and waxing to restore the boat?s exterior appeal.

Charge the batteries.
Disconnect the batteries, add distilled water, and charge them at home. Some boat experts advise charging the batteries after every 30 to 60 days.

Choose the best storage method for your boat.
You have three options: backyard storage, indoor storage, or boatyard shrink-wrapping. Backyard storage is a convenient and practical approach. Keeping the boat in your yard only requires a boat cover, which should be sturdy and made of breathable materials to discourage moisture and growth of mold and mildew. Indoor storage, on the other hand, means keeping your boat in a paid facility. This can be a bit costly, but it guarantees that your boat is safe and protected from winter elements.

The final option is shrink-wrapping your boat. After winterizing your boat, you can either have a boatyard personnel shrink-wrap your boat or buy a kit and do it on your own, after which the boat is placed in a boatyard to spend the winter.

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Tips For Winterizing Your Vacation Home

Winterizing your vacation home, in essence, is preparing to close it down in time for winter. Shutting it down, however, is not as easy as it sounds. You need it to be meticulously done, otherwise, you will go back home to a place of broken pipes, rodents, and a number of damages come post-winter season. But although it?s kind of a meticulous task, winterizing your vacation home can be quite manageable if you follow some tips.

Clear the gutters and surrounding area of your vacation home.
Remove all the leaves and other debris from the gutters so that melting snow and ice can freely flow and do not create ice dams in the structure. You can have your gutters covered with a screen, if leaves and other debris seem to be a problem while you?re away. Next, prune trees and plants that can potentially cause property damages if snow storms and winds occur. Then, clean your lawn, so when ice and water accumulate, no rodents will take residence in it. Also, cover your chimney with protective cap, and other possible entry points for that matter, to keep rodents, pests, and foreign objects from entering.

Shut down water system.
Never leave the vacation home without turning off the water pump, because failure to do so may cause the water trapped in the lines to freeze and the pipes to break and burst. Now, once you shut off the pump, drain the water pipes. Do this by turning the faucets on until all residual water comes out. Use a compressor to make sure there is no more water remaining in the lines.

Winterize the toilet.
Empty the toilet tank to avoid cracks. The bowl, on the other hand, should be drained by scooping out as much water as you can. Add antifreeze solution to the remaining water to prevent it from freezing. Antifreeze solution should also be added to sinks and shower traps.

Insulate the house.
Install insulation in the attic to prevent heat loss. The same should be done in the basement so as not to cause pipe breaks.

De-clutter your house.
Eliminate all products, such as medicine, cosmetics, beverages, and food items, that may rot and freeze in the winter months. You can dispose them of or bring them to your main house. Your refrigerator should also be unplugged, emptied, cleaned, and propped open all through winter to prevent the development of mildew and unpleasant odor. All other appliances should as well be unplugged.

Keep outdoor furniture and appliances inside.
To prevent them from winter damages, all outdoor furniture and appliances?from stools to barbecue equipment?should be kept indoors. Tools should also be stored in the garage. Should keeping them indoors is impossible, cover them with protective sheets, like plastic.

Turn the heating system on.
Some homeowners prefer to turn it off, while others like to leave their heating system in a working order. It works best for them, especially if they worry about going back to a vacation home infested with mold and mildew. If you prefer to keep the heating system on, keep a minimum heat of 62?F. This way, you can continue winterizing your vacation home while you?re away.

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Winterizing Your Home

Preparing your home for the winter is essential. Aside from living comfortably during the harsh temperature, winterizing would also help in extending the life of your home and avoid problems in the future.

Preparing your home for the winter can be done by professional plumber, electrician or contractor. However, there are also other things that you could do on your own. How do you prepare your home for the winter? Here are some things that you could keep in mind.

? Check and clean you gutters. Remove the leaves, twigs and other branches that may be blocking your gutter. You could clean them by hand or by a scraper. This can clog the drains which would later cause the water to back up and freeze in the gutter. This would eventually seep into the walls of the house. Make sure that your gutters do not have cracks and the pipes are properly aligned.

? Work on those cracks and leaks. Look for those leaks and cracks in your home and block them. According to the EarthWorks Group, an average American would have leaks that amount to a nine-square-feet hole in the wall. Cold air could slip inside your home and hot air to escape. This would add up to bigger fuel cost.

? Turn on your furnace to check if it is working even if the coldest weather has not yet arrived. Furnaces should be cleaned and maintained once a year. You could get a professional to check the furnace. Change the filters monthly since dirty filters could cause fire.

? Check your air ducts. If the duct work is not properly connected, about 60 %PRCTG% of heated air is lost, meaning a lot of energy is consumed without even benefiting the residents.

? Changing windows could be expensive, but it would surely help in the providing protection and warmth. Aside from storm windows, there are also the window insulator kits. These kits however, are not too attractive to look at and only temporary, but they are definitely inexpensive. You would just have to affix it into the interior side of the window.

? Avoid pipes bursting. Make sure that water hose, pipe lines are drained and turned off. Insulate your pipelines, you could wrap them with foam rubber or with heating tape.

? Aside from insulating your pipes, you should also check the insulation in the attic. The recommended thickness for attic insulation would be about 12 inches. Also check the basement and the exterior walls if they are properly insulated.

? It is important to have you chimneys, fireplaces and woodstoves cleaned. They may have accumulated debris and soot over the time is was not used which can cause some problems once you started using them again. For chimneys, it is better to seal or cover them with chimney caps and screens to keep out birds and rodents.

Inspecting and winterizing your home would not only help you against the winter ahead, but it would also help you reduce on your fuel costs. Unchecked and non properly maintained parts of your home could cause safety issues and the same tine increase your maintaining cost.

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Your Swimming Pool And Winterizing It

It?s nearly winter, its time for winterizing. Winterizing or winterization is the process of preparing your homes, summer houses, cars, boats and even lawn and yard for the harsh temperature of winter. It is important to prepare your water and irrigation systems for the winter, to avoid any pipes bursting because of water freeze and your cars to avoid crashes and accidents.

Another home feature that requires winterizing is the swimming pool. When winterizing a pool, the first step is clear the pool of any kind of debris or contaminants. You could use nets, filters, and poles with nets to clear the water of any contaminants. You could start winterizing your swimming pool as early as autumn.

If you have an above-ground pool, check if it has any leaks and cover it immediately. There are many pools that are damaged because of a simple leak. Since the water would turn into ice and would expand, the walls of the above-ground pool will experience pressure. This pressure could be dangerous especially if there is a crack or a leak already existing.

Aside from cleaning it, also check the water chemistry of the pool. You should ensure that the chemical balance is maintained. A balanced pool water chemistry would ensure that the surface of the pool is free of staining and etching.

To make things easy for homeowners, there are some manufacturers who would release winter kits. These winter kits would include winter chlorine, winter alkalizer, and some winter powder. These winter kits would ensure that the pool will stay clean until after the winter season. It is important to read manufacturer instructions when putting or using these winter chemicals in your pool.

After adding the winter chemicals and clearing out the filters, you would need to make sure that all proper places are covered. Plumbing lines should be free of any kind of water, you could use a shop vac to do that. This would blow out water from each filter line. Then make sure that it is covered with plugs. Aside from the lines, make sure that the pump is also drained.

You would also need to have a pool cover. Some would recommend the use of a floatation device in the middle of the pool before covering it. The use of this floatation device would allow the ice to push towards the middle of the pool, this would relieve the pools walls from pressure which can cause support problems later on. When covering your pool, make sure that it is covered tightly. You do not want the pool cover to fly away along with a strong wind or rain.

Make sure that there are no chemicals like chlorine and bromine tablets left in any part of your pool, whether it is in the bottom of your pool or in your feeder. This would cause serious damage to the pool, the feeder and other equipment.

Proper pool winterizing would ensure that you would be experiencing sparkling waters during the warmer climate and at the same time ensure a longer life span for your pool.

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