Make Sure Your Home is Ready for this New England Winter
The best time to prepare your manufactured home for the hard months of winter is during the fall. If you dedicate a few hours one weekend you can be sure you’re ready for what we know is coming. Mobile homes have more exposure to the elements, so it’s very important to wrap up and ready your home for potential water damage problems.
Loosen the Tie-Downs
One of the most important things to do for the integrity of the structure of your mobile home is to loosen the tie downs every fall. The ground may heave when frozen so you need some slack on the lines, otherwise, any shift in the ground could cause lasting damage to your home.
Wrap the Heater
Wrap a blanket around the heater itself and wrap heat tape around your water pipes. Pipes freeze for two reasons, there’s no movement of water through the pipes or the temperature drops fast, and the water in the pipe bursts. Most water heaters are located through an access door on the outside of the mobile home, which means the room is typically unheated.
What Else Can You Insulate?
Make sure any holes are completely filled in. This is especially the case for the water pipe and the space around the pipe where it enters the home. A can of spray foam insulation from your local hardware store should do the trick just fine.
If you have older windows with any draft at all you’ll want to shrink-wrap your windows. This can save you a bundle of money over the winter months and you’ll be all that much warmer for doing so.
Maintenance
Performing yearly or seasonal maintenance on your home's heating and ventilation system saves you money in the long run. The EPA estimates maintenance can save you up to 30% on emergency repairs if something goes wrong during a big storm or extreme weather. This will include the changing or cleaning of vents. And checking the batteries on the thermostat.
How is Your Roof?
If your home has gutters make sure they have been cleaned. If you have a metal roof, you’ll want to be sure you seal the seams. This must be done every year. And be sure to caulk all the pipes and plumbing that is attached to the roof in any way.
Yearly Fire Protection
It’s also a good time to change the batteries on all the smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. One near the kitchen and one near the furnace is the best plan. Doing this once a year is a great way to ensure your family’s safety from house fires.
Have a wonderful holiday season and remember if you ever have an emergency the friendly staff at ServiceMaster South Shore is here for you 24/7/365.
