Here’s a check list of everything you can tackle in the fall to make your winter months in Chicago easier!

Mechanical maintenance

• Have your boiler or furnace serviced: This should be done every year!
• Replace your filters
• Get your chimney cleaned out: If you’ve ever heard of someone’s boiler melting down during a Polar Vortex, it’s because their chimney was clogged and their boiler overheated due to lack of ventilation. You can prevent this by requesting a chimney clean out when you get your boiler serviced (although a good company will do it automatically).
• Pull out your window A/C units (or insulate them from the inside and outside, how-to link in sources below)

Exterior maintenance

• Get your gutters cleaned after the leaves are done falling: Clean gutters will help prevent ice dams.
• Check your downspouts and clear any debris
• Apply heat tape to your roof or gutters (if you have problem areas): Ice dams are a common problem in Chicago bungalows and are generally the result of ice build-up during heavy storms. Heat tape will help prevent any accumulation of ice or, if you’re looking for a low-cost solution, a roof rake is a manual way to remove snow from your roof before it turns into ice.
• Swap out screens for storms if you have original storm windows (same for screen door inserts)
• Wash your windows and storm windows (The more Vitamin D you can get in the winter, the better! Washing your windows also gives indoor plants a boost.)
• Check weatherstripping around doors and windows, repair or replace as needed
• Tune up your snowblower or make sure you have a snow shovel on hand and it’s easy to access
• If you salt your sidewalks stock up on pet-safe salt
• Cover any spigots or outdoor water spouts: Spigot insulators are a couple bucks at the hardware store
• Mulch leaves into your grass to fertilize your lawn or garden (Don’t throw your leaves away!)
• Prep delicate plants for winter
• Leave native plants alone: they provide food for birds in the winter
• Get your mower or yard tools cleaned up and put in storage
• Drain and store hoses for the winter
• Spray for pests inside and out: Ortho Home Defense is great for indoor and outdoor use

Interior Maintenance

• Switch out your drapes: Typically, in the early 20th century, window coverings were layered: roller shades, shears, and drapes. Linen curtains were used in the summer months and heavier fabrics in the winter. This is still an efficient way to keep drafts down in colder months. Invest in some heavier drapes and save on your energy bills.
• Clean out your dryer vent (not the lint collector, the actual vent!): Clogged dryer vents are one of the top causes of house fires!
• Switch your ceiling fans to winter mode and clean the blades
• Clean the dust off your radiators: Clean radiators perform more efficiently. Also get your valves checked and make sure they are fully open.
• Double-check your quarter round: Yes, this is a weird thing to add to a list. But missing quarter round or shoe moulding is a common source of cold air drafts in the winter! If you have large gaps between your floor boards and baseboards and missing quarter round or shoe moulding, you can fill the gaps before reinstalling your moulding. Backer rod or traditional oakum is recommended because it will allow for expansion and contraction of the wood. Don’t try to use caulk, you’ll just waste a bunch of product…plus it’s bad for your brick.
• Fill some socks with uncooked beans or rice: Another really weird thing! These are great to have on hand if you have leaky vinyl windows, or put them at the bottom of a door to an unfinished attic or basement.

Did we forget anything? Let us know in the comments! What are some ways you retrofit your historic home to prep for the winter months?

Sources

Learn about ice dams here or here.

Learn about the difference between a boiler and a furnace here.

Learn to insulate a window A/C unit here.

Buy a spigot cover here.

Buy a roof rake here.

Buy Ortho Home defense here.

Learn about historic window coverings here, here, here, and here.

Learn how to clean a dryer vent here. Read the stats here.

Buy a radiator brush here.

Read the stats about cold leaks in vintage homes here.

Learn about quarter round and shoe moulding here.

Buy backer rod here.

Buy traditional oakum here.

Learn how to DIY a draft stopper here.