Winterizing a House: What to Do Before the First Hard Freeze

Unscrew every garden hose from its outdoor faucet (hose bib). Even frost-free hose bibs — designed to drain automatically when the water supply shuts off — cannot drain properly if a hose is still attached. Left connected, a hose traps water in the spout, defeating the frost-free design entirely. Once disconnected, drain each hose completely, coil it, and store it indoors or in a protected space.

If your home has an in-ground sprinkler or drip irrigation system, locate the system's dedicated shut-off valve and turn off the water supply. Then open each zone's drain valves or use a compressed air blow-out to evacuate water from the lines. Residual water left in irrigation pipes expands as it freezes and can crack PVC fittings and emitter heads. Consult your irrigation system's manual for the manufacturer-recommended winterization method, as blow-out procedures require specific compressor settings to avoid damaging components.

Walk through your crawl space, basement, attached garage, and any other unheated areas. Identify water supply pipes — they're typically copper or plastic — running close to exterior walls or in spaces that won't be heated. Slide foam pipe insulation sleeves over these pipes, cutting them to length with scissors and securing joints with foil tape. Pay particular attention to pipes on north-facing exterior walls and any that pass through an uninsulated rim joist area.

On a cold day, move your hand slowly around door and window frames, electrical outlets on exterior walls, and any spot where pipes or wires enter the house. Drafts indicate unsealed gaps. Apply fresh weatherstripping to door frames where the existing strip is compressed, cracked, or missing. Re-caulk the perimeter of window frames where the old caulk has shrunk or cracked. Use expanding foam spray for larger gaps around utility penetrations. Don't overlook the attic hatch — an unsealed hatch is a significant source of heat loss.

Replace the furnace or air handler filter — a clogged filter reduces efficiency and can strain equipment. Check that all heating vents and registers are open and unobstructed by furniture or rugs. If you have a forced-air system, listen for unusual sounds during the first heating cycle and check that all rooms receive warm air. For boilers and radiators, bleed radiators if needed to remove trapped air. If your system hasn't had a professional tune-up in the past year, scheduling one before the heating season begins is generally considered good practice.

Remove leaves, twigs, and debris from gutters so melting snow and ice have a clear path to drain. Clogged gutters trap water that refreezes and can form ice dams — ridges of ice at the roof edge that force meltwater under shingles and into your home's structure. From the ground or a stable ladder, visually inspect the roofline for missing, curling, or damaged shingles. If you spot damage, contact a licensed roofing contractor for an assessment before winter weather arrives. Do not attempt to walk on a roof without proper safety equipment and training.

As heating systems start running continuously, functioning smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors become especially important. Test each detector using the test button. Replace batteries in battery-operated units — many fire safety organizations recommend doing this at daylight saving time changes, which aligns conveniently with pre-winter preparation. Replace any detector that fails the test or is more than 10 years old (smoke) or 5–7 years old (CO), following the manufacturer's guidance for your specific unit.