Waste containers help you protect your long-term investment.
Roll-off dumpsters aren’t just for home remodeling projects. These handy waste containers can be used for a variety of home projects, including winterizing your home. Small Haul Containers is your one-stop shop for residential dumpster rental in the Kansas City area. We make cleanup easy, no matter what kind of project you’re working on.
Why Winterize?
Many homeowners don’t understand the importance of prepping their property for the winter. But winterizing the place is necessary if you want to protect your investment and prevent damage from freeze/thaw cycles, heavy snow, ice, and frigid temperatures. These weather conditions take a toll on house and land and may create expensive headaches come spring.
Winterizing your home helps keep heating costs under control during the coldest part of the year. By taking precautions, you can help your furnace run more efficiently. The more effective your winterizing tactics, the more comfortable the place will be for you and your family.
Winterizing the House
Here are some of the basics that should be done each year to get your home ready for colder weather.
Check the attic insulation. One of the best ways to protect the house — and keep heating costs from skyrocketing — is to ensure that your attic has adequate insulation. Warm air rises. A well-insulated attic keeps heated air in the living areas below, preventing it from escaping through the attic and roof. This makes living spaces more comfortable and helps the furnace function more efficiently.
Another benefit of attic insulation is that it helps prevent ice damming. When heated air escapes through the roof, it causes snow on the roof to start melting, even in temperatures that are well below freezing. This results in ice dams forming along the roof’s edges. As these icicles get bigger, water backs up under the shingles, causing damage to the roof and gutter systems. This condition can eventually cause roof leaks that require expensive repairs.
If the existing insulation in the attic is worn out, you may need to pull it out and start over. Having a small dumpster rental on-site will be handy in this case.
Check for holes and cracks. Examine your home for cracks or holes that may have shown up during the past year. Look especially closely around windows, hose faucets, and siding where it overlaps the foundation. If you find any cracks, fill them with caulking or other sealants to keep cold air out.
Install insulated glass windows. If you live in an older home that hasn’t been updated lately, you may have windows with single-pane glass in them. Single-pane windows are incredibly inefficient when it comes to weatherization. Replacing them with energy-efficient windows is worth the cost in the long run. You’ll save money on energy bills throughout the year. And thermal windows often have UV protection that helps prevent furniture and curtains from fading in the sunlight — an added bonus!
If you decide to replace your old windows, make sure you rent a dumpster ahead of time, so it’s on-site when you’re ready to start the demo process. That way, you’ll keep the mess to a minimum.
Replace weather stripping. Inspect the weather stripping around all sides of exterior doors to make sure it’s in good shape. Feel around all four edges of the door. Get on the floor if you have to, and look under the doors for gaps that let light in. Air is probably coming in, too. Seal these gaps with new weather stripping. You’ll be surprised at what a difference it makes.
Change the furnace filter. Changing the furnace filter regularly helps keep temperatures constant. It extends the life of your furnace, too. A dirty filter makes the unit work harder to maintain a consistent temperature. Changing the filter is something homeowners can easily do themselves. It just takes a few minutes, but it’s an important step in the winterizing process.
Clean the gutters. Gutters filled with debris get heavy, putting undue stress on brackets and seams. When rain, snow, or ice piles on top of organic matter, gutters get even heavier and often pull away from the house. Clean out the gutters, removing sticks, leaves, nests, and anything else you find in them. This keeps the gutter system in good shape and allows melting ice and snow to flow freely through the gutters to the downspouts and away from your foundation.
Winterizing the Yard
Your yard also benefits from a few precautions taken before cold weather sets in.
Get rid of weeds. Weeds compete with grass and perennials for moisture and nutrients during the winter. Eliminating the weeds in the fall will help your lawn and other plants come back fresh and healthy in the spring.
Trim trees and bushes. Trim any low-hanging limbs away from the house to eliminate the possibility of them falling on the house when they become snow-laden. Trim up bushes and shrubs to keep them healthy and protect them from breaking under the weight of the snow, as well.
Apply fertilizer to the lawn and landscape. Winter weather can be hard on plants. Fall is the perfect time to spread fertilizer. Purchase a fertilizer that’s designed for winterizing the yard. It’s higher in potassium content than summer fertilizers and will help strengthen grass and other plants under stress due to colder temperatures.
Looking for Dumpsters for Rent?
Small Haul Containers can help with winterizing your property. Our waste containers rental process is quick and easy and can be done online with just a few clicks.
Many items can be tossed in a container rental, including lawn and garden waste, gutter debris, and old insulation. Replacing those old windows? They can go in, too. Just make sure to separate lawn debris from the other items you’re getting rid of. Visit our website for a complete list of what you can and can’t put in a dumpster rental.
Small Haul is your source for Kansas City dumpster rental. Contact us today to schedule yours!
