That Time We Talked About Winter Preparations

This is episode number 62 of The Homeowner's Show. Whether you're DIY or looking to hire, we're here to help you find the best information and options for you and your home. My name is Kevin Hackett, and here with me is Craig Williams.

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to The Homeowner's Show. We're glad that you guys could join us on this chilly day.

Things took a turn.

Like a 40-degree turn.

Unbelievable.

Like within about 4 hours.

Yeah, yeah. This morning it was in the mid-70s, um, through, through lunch it was in the mid-70s, and all of a sudden within about 10 minutes the, the temperature dropped 20 degrees. Rain, wind.

We're somewhere in the 30s now.

Yeah, it changed a bunch.

Yeah, we're bundled here in the studio.

Yes, we are.

I may or may not have a toboggan on. Is it an appropriate moment to say, baby, it's cold outside?

Um, not to me, it's not.

Not to you? I'll just sing it to you then. Baby, it's cold outside.

Okay, that's good.

Kevin's feeling awkward in the studio, y'all.

I don't feel awkward, man.

I can keep going.

I don't get awkward. I mean, things are awkward if you make them awkward.

Well, yeah, that's everywhere I go.

Life.

By the way, good job on the opening. Thanks. It was better last week.

Uh, it sure was, man. She did such a good job.

Oh yeah, yeah.

I was like, dang it. I'm— I, I literally was sitting there. I, I listened to podcasts in the car, so I was listening to the podcast and, uh, I was like, man, she's way better than me.

I think she's gunning for your job, man.

She, she doesn't have to gun very hard. I mean, the only thing that's like in my favor is, is the regular season of football is over. That's the only thing I got going for me right now, because other than that, Haley, I think you're better than me. So, well, it's okay, you're better than Craig too.

That's true, that's true. It's just neither one of us have an Emmy.

No, not even close. Nope, not even close.

So do you like last week's episode?

I loved it.

You're gonna get your home decorated now?

You know what, um, I would have been the only one in the room that has actually used an interior decorator.

Really?

Yeah.

When have you used one?

So, uh, just happened to, to go to church with a guy, uh, that was an interior decorator. And when we moved into our very first house, he said, listen, you know, I'd love to come over and just kind of check things out, look at your house and offer some suggestions. And so, uh, we were like, absolutely.

Yeah.

I mean, free advice. Absolutely. I'll take it. So he comes over and, uh, one of the things that we, that we had in the kitchen was like, it was turquoise, like a like turquoise, uh, walls and stuff. And, and turquoise walls. Yeah. And he— we were like, we really need to— like, we think we want to change these. He's like, no, don't change them. The only thing you need to do is paint your ceiling green.

Paint? Okay.

Oh, what? He was like, yes. And he pulled out his color wheel and he was like, this green. It was almost like a mint green.

Yeah.

And, uh, he said, that's what needs to happen in here. We did it.

And?

It was fantastic.

Nice.

Most people don't look at the ceiling, so—

Sure.

They don't really— they didn't— most people didn't know, but people that did, they were like, I would have never painted this green. It looks really good.

Yeah.

Um, then the people that bought it kept the turquoise and painted it tan.

Tan.

So they didn't like it, but we did. It was, it was different. It was fun. It was, you know, Yeah, it was a bright place to be.

I like it when you can do something that's different than the norm.

Absolutely.

Everybody can go mauve or white.

Yeah, so the neutrals. Yeah, our kitchen was not neutral, but, um, it wasn't like in your face. I mean, it just felt like a happy place to be.

Yeah.

So, um, other than that, I mean, he didn't really— he didn't really give us too much. There was a lot that we had to change in that house, but, um, That was the thing that I remember looking back on going, that was, that was risky. It was risky.

But I mean, like, it is, but like, at the end of the day, I mean, like, you know, if you don't like it, paint over it.

Exactly. I mean, that, and that's exactly where we, where we were. I mean, this is the kitchen that also had a ceiling fan in it, and it wasn't centered on anything.

It was just there.

It was like in a weird quadrant of the room.

Weird quadrant.

And, uh, so we like, we like wound up taking that ceiling fan moving it to the bedroom. And the one in the bedroom, we moved to the front room, like a front living room. And if you remember from a couple episodes back, I was saying that that house only had a switched outlet to begin with.

Yeah.

And so we wired in a ceiling fan so we had light and, you know, and a fan in that room. So there were a lot of things. I mean, there was a, there was a room that was, um, oh, what's the, uh, what's the children's, uh, books with like Froggy.

Froggy? Yeah, like Froggy Went a-Courting. Is that what you're talking about?

No, no, no, no, like I don't remember. I don't remember all of a sudden. But anyway, so it was painted like that, and then there's another room that was like safari. There was a, there was a lion, okay, like drawn on the wall. It was, it was really cool.

Very themed rooms.

Yes, but it was kind of like, no, we don't want that. We just want normal rooms. And so we paint over all that. But we had cheetah print wallpaper down the hallway. Definitely fixed that.

You may have bought a brothel.

Well, maybe. We got a good deal on it though. It was such a good deal. So anyway, but yeah, I would have been the only one in the room. Interior decorator had been to my house.

Yeah.

So that's cool. Yeah, no, it was, it was a great episode. I thought Mel was, uh, who she was hysterical. I just, I laughed at her the whole time.

Yeah, like, and she's, she's just as much fun off the air as she is on there.

Oh, I, I can't imagine so that that's not true. Fireball. And Haley did a great job. Yeah, a really great job. I mean, I was sitting there going, Haley, these are way better questions than I would have asked.

Well, and like, what was really cool about is they, they ended up con— I think they're actually gonna get together up in Seattle because that's where, uh, uh, Mel's son lives. Okay, they're gonna I, you know, she may get some, some decorating help up there. Who knows?

Cool.

So yeah, man, uh, all things moving. Like, I, I am at the— I'm at the tail end of my what has now become a 2-month project. So, and like, I— like, that sounds like a long time, but like, I don't think everybody really understands like how extensive of like a gut this house, uh, this house went through.

No, I don't think so either. And honestly, I mean, the amount of work that you're doing on it— well, you had a contractor come in and do quite a bit.

He did the bulk of it for sure.

And the amount of work that you're doing on it in your spare time—

Yeah.

Uh, which is an oxymoron in and even of itself. But like, I think that the amount of work that has gone into that 2 months is fairly reasonable. That's not what you thought I was gonna say.

It should have taken longer.

Should have taken way longer. Oh, they're— I mean, it's like a different house.

Yeah, yeah. No, I actually had a buddy over tonight. He was, he was helping me do some, uh, some trim pieces, uh, for the bathroom, and he was like, I don't recognize this house. This is not the same house I came over to a couple months ago.

Right.

And I was like, no, it's not. It's— yeah, I mean, like, you, you may even need like directions to get around now because they're— the walls aren't in the same place.

Yeah, exactly.

Um, and it was not like— literally when we started this project Our main objective was to redo the ceilings. That's all we wanted to do.

That is not all that you did. No, not even close. No, not only did you do the ceilings, you also did the floors and a lot of stuff in between.

Yeah, yeah, it's a disease, man. I can't— I can't not— I can't just do one thing.

Well, you got to do it right.

Uh, I don't know. So I'm, I'm really happy. It's, it's kind of like pulling the Band-Aid off, you know? Like, it's, it's super painful.

Yeah.

But like, you just go ahead and get all of it.

Yeah.

Because you're there.

I'm, I'm with you. I'm with you. I've been there before. Uh, I'm doing that like on our RV right now.

Yeah, I was gonna say, you're, you're— you've kind of gutted that thing and you're almost done now.

Yeah, getting very, very close. But like, I mean, even little things, like I bought, uh, gutter spouts for it today. Like I mean, it's, it's a simple little thing, but, you know, without the— I mean, there's little gutters on, on an RV and they just run along the top, right? And if there's no spout to like drain it off the side, it just gathers and it just rolls down the side of your, of your RV. And water's gonna go the path of least resistance. It's gonna find a way to get in.

Yeah.

And rot stuff out. So for just, you know, a little bit of money, buy a plastic gutter spout. And so, you know, it's one of— it's little things that wind up adding more time. I mean, they didn't cost much, but it's gonna take some time to put 'em on, you know?

Yeah. So, which, by the way, I mean, that, that's probably gonna be a good episode to do here pretty quick. I'm, I'm actually fixing to put some on the barn, uh, in order to alleviate some, uh, some drainage issues we've got going on.

Well, I would appreciate it. So I literally walked through a waterfall this, uh, tonight getting into—

I don't know if there's much I can do about that other than maybe like an awning.

But, uh, this just extends the waterfall.

Yeah, you're just going to get wet sooner.

Uh, yeah, I, I've actually done gutters before on the house. It was a great— I mean, I, I had gutters, but they were awful.

Yeah.

So we had them redo it, and man, they're— good gutters are really, really— they're very beneficial to your house. Yeah. It's not just something that you might want for this, that, or the other reason. Like, it saves your roof in a lot of ways. Yeah.

So I, there's some, there's, uh, you know, there's probably good reasons not to put 'em on in some places and cuz, uh, because of the grade and the slope and all this kind of different things. But, um, yeah, I'm, I'm excited to put 'em on because we're, we're really just trying to get rid of a mud hole is what we're—

Yes.

Um, cuz there's no concrete underneath this side of the roof. And so we just gotta, we gotta get the water away from it. Yeah, because it just dumps it right there.

Yep.

So, but anyway, that's not what we're talking about today.

Not anywhere close.

So, and it's sort of, you know, happenstance that we're even talking about this because what are we dealing with?

Well, tonight it's kind of like you said, it's a little bit timely. We're talking about how to prepare your home for cold weather.

Yeah. So if you live in our neighborhood, it may be a little too late.

Yeah, exactly. You're going to get it tomorrow, which is when this episode comes out. And but please listen because like it's going to be cold are here tomorrow.

Yeah. And, but like, and some of you, some of you guys up north are already dealing with some of this and you're, and, and I think for, for a lot of people up north, some of this is gonna be like, well, yeah, that's what we do. Like, you know, starting in October.

Yeah. Um, be old hat for them.

Yeah. But like, you know, those of us that are, you know, slightly south of the Mason-Dixon line, we're almost to the equator, man. Yeah. I mean, it's just, it's hadn't, hadn't quite gotten, and honestly, it's, it's been chillier a lot earlier here this year.

Yes, it has. Nor— I mean, normally this is the first time we've gotten below 40. Yeah, no, it's not. I mean, I, I think last year, the year before, we were well into November before— like maybe the end of November, early December— before it got very cold.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've even seen it around here, you know, get well into December before it gets even really chilly.

Yeah, I mean, and, and then by Christmas it's hot again, right? In Houston, we have like I think we have like 10 days of winter.

We have like 12 micro seasons.

Yeah, but that's the thing, it's like they're not 10 days in a row, right? Yeah, like one here, one there, 3 here. So anyway, but you know, I, I think it's really important, um, to know that there are some things that you should be doing when the, when the season changes to just kind of prepare yourself for cold weather. Even in Houston, it's going to come at some point, right? At some point it's going to come. If you live up north, you're right. You're probably listening to this episode going, OK, those guys, we've already done this.

They're late to the game.

Yeah, they're late to the game. But at the end of the day, that's part of the reason we're doing this episode. There are people out there that don't know this information, or they've just never really considered some of this stuff. When we were doing some research on some of this, it was kind of like, oh, man, that is brilliant! It's not something that I would put on a checklist before this episode, but now, It's definitely on the checklist.

Right. And let's, let's go ahead and put this disclaimer out there. This list is not exhaustive.

Nowhere close.

And it's, it's not even like close to everything that you should be doing. However, in the course of doing research, Kevin and I tried to find the 10 best ones that stood out to us.

Yeah.

And like, you maybe listen to this and go like, well, you left out this one that's really obvious, or this is a really good one. Great. Let us know.

Yeah. Send, send us some information on that because we're always looking to do things better.

We will give you a shout out as the cold weather genius.

No doubt.

In the next episode.

Along with this 10, top 10 list.

Yeah.

Uh, they're in no particular order.

That's right.

I mean, cuz all these things need to be done.

So other than that's the order we put 'em in.

Yeah. That's the ones that I deal with it. It's how I wrote 'em down. So let's just go through the list, man. Uh, the very first one we have on the list is something I think most people are kind of more keenly aware of.

Right.

Is water faucets.

Water faucets.

Yeah. Water faucets. Um, uh, we, you, you need to find a way to insulate 'em.

Yep.

Um, if, if you don't, uh, protect your pipes, then a couple of bad things are going to happen. Uh, the main one being that they could burst.

Yeah.

I mean, and, and if you have burst pipes, most of the time you don't know where your pipes are going. You're gonna have to get someone in here to analyze it, and that's just time and money that you're gonna have to, to pay someone. If you live in pier and beam, a little bit easier. If you live on a slab, dude, I mean, that could be really costly.

Oh yeah.

If you have burst pipes in a slab, when most of the time all you have to do is insulate the outside water faucets and you'll be good to go.

Yeah. And it's funny you mentioned this because we were actually, uh, me and my buddy were over at the hardware store tonight and it was funny watching everybody go through the store buying that, uh, foam insulation.

Oh yeah.

The styrofoam, the styrofoam stuff.

Yep.

Um, which at this point really isn't going to be helpful.

No.

Um, because one of the things my buddy pointed out is like, look, that doesn't warm your pipes up. No, it just keeps them the temperature they're at, right? Sort of.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it, it, it keeps maybe some water off of it or those sorts of things. But you know, there's a couple of things you need to check for. Number one, you need to make sure that you don't have leaky faucets. I mean, that's pretty simple. Go watch it, right? And if it leaks, you got a problem. Yeah. I mean, if it drips, then, then you need someone to come out and fix it, or you need to figure out how to fix it yourself.

Um, so I'll just, I'll, I'll do my soapbox bit on this right now. Okay. I hate traditional faucets.

Yeah, I do too.

I'm a quarter turn dude all the way.

Me too.

It's, I, I like it on or off.

Yeah.

That's it. I don't need, I don't need it in between for my outside faucets, which I, I'll tell you.

So our, our faucets at my house are quarter turn. Mm-hmm. All of 'em are. When I got there, they were already that way.

Right.

Uh, if you don't know what that means, most Most traditional faucets have like a little wheel on the top.

Yep.

And you gotta turn and turn and turn and turn and turn.

They're terrible.

They're hard to use. I mean—

And they break.

They break easily. So the quarter turn, first of all, they're a lot easier to use. Most of mine just is a handle.

Yep.

It's like a 4-inch handle. And—

I actually like those better.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it just— I mean—

But I'm good either way, as long as they're quarter turn.

Yeah. Anybody can turn this on and off. My kids can easily turn it on and off. Trust me, I know. Um, but you know, yeah, there—

those— It is a lot of water pressure when it does.

Yeah, it is. But one of the things you have to know is you've got quarter turns. Yeah, if you've got the, the long handle, you can't put those foam insulation, uh, things on there. They're, they're not made for those. They're made for the cheap regular ones. Yeah. Uh, so, uh, you need to check to make sure they're not leaking, and you need to figure out a way to insulate them. A common way to insulate them, wrap a towel around them.

Sure.

I mean, just, just take— go to, go to Walmart or, or somewhere cheap, uh, the dollar store, and, and buy a hand towel or wrap that sucker.

It's better than nothing.

Yeah, better than nothing.

The, the bib covers are probably the— I mean, like, around here at least. I don't, I don't know how this is done up north. I'm sure there's more sophisticated ways of doing it, and they have like pipe warmers and different things like that. Yeah. But down here, a bib cover will get you done.

Yes.

So the only, the only thing I'll caution people about with the bib cover is if you leave, you know, if you put them on in the wintertime and you don't use that bib over the winter, um, and you leave it on, you know, into the springtime, just be cautious when you're taking those things off because like spiders and stuff like to get up inside those. And yeah, because they get cold too.

Sure.

And that's just a warmer insulated place for them to You know, bunker down.

Yep. Uh, another thing to check, um, is if you've got a water hose connected, disconnect it. Yeah, there's, there's no reason to have a water hose connected at that time of the year. Probably not going to use it. Um, but I mean, your water hose will freeze.

Yeah.

And just take it in the garage. Take it in the garage and, and, you know, make sure that, um, they're out of the way.

Yep.

All right, anything else on water faucets?

I think we're good.

Okay, second one is, uh, check your heater. I mean, this seems like a no-brainer, right? Like, oh, I've got an AC heater combo unit, you know, it's no big deal, or, you know, it probably works. Yeah, well, I mean, the, the last thing you want to do is get to a night like tonight and go turn on your heater and find that it doesn't work.

Right.

And there's lots of reasons that it might not work. We are not experts on that.

No.

You know, we've got an episode on, on heating and air conditioning. It just happened to be air conditioning season. But, you know, they tell you to get on these biannual plans.

Yeah.

To where they will come check and service your system. twice a year. They do it typically in the summer and in the winter, right?

Because those are the heavy usage times.

Absolutely. Yeah. Uh, and Craig, this is pretty easy. Go turn it on. Sure. Go to— I mean, even if it's, even if it's 90 degrees outside, go turn your heater on.

Yeah.

See if it comes on.

Well, it's— I mean, particularly if you've got, like, like me, I've got a gas heater.

Yeah.

You know, and those, uh, those orifices can get clogged and also— and, and it's probably been by the time you need to turn on, it's probably been 6 months since you turned it on last time.

Yeah.

Or if not longer, it's down here.

Sure.

Um, and so like the chances of there being an issue with it are, you know, much more high if it hasn't been used in a long time. And so that's why these subscription programs with some of these maintenance companies are really, really good. And, and guys like Jayhue are like, look, get on the, get on the program where you're getting these things at least looked at once every 6 months to make sure everything's in working order.

Yeah. Yeah, that's really important. And, and, you know, especially if you have a gas— specifically a gas heater— I mean, those lines can get bubbles in them and air pockets.

And I'll just tell you, I mean, is your heater gas at your house? Is it electric?

The one at my previous house was. The one that I have now is electric.

Electric. Because when, when you turn a gas heater on and it's been a while, it'll put some funky smells through your house.

Sure.

And that can be alarming when you have gas appliances in the house if you're not used to smelling odd smells. But a gas heater, if it hadn't been on in a while, it'll put some awkward smells out there. You'll be peeking around going, is everything OK? Am I breathing alright?

Yeah. And that's normal. It's just that initial blast coming out. And it goes away. It dissipates within an hour or so. Then you're not going to smell it again for a while. Check your heater, get someone out to check it for you before it gets cold. Before it gets cold. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So pretty easy on that one.

Or it'll be after it gets cold and you'll be backed up for a week waiting for somebody to get out there because everybody else forgot to check it too.

Man, that, that's the truth. That's the absolute truth. I mean, these heating and air conditioning guys, they have 2 months that are stupid busy. You know, it's like, you know, June and November.

I guarantee you their phone lines are gonna be lit up tomorrow.

Oh goodness, they tomorrow's gonna be horrible for them. But, you know, you're, you're also the ones that think, you know, I've got to have a cover for my faucet. I'm gonna go to the hardware store the night before, they're sold out.

Yeah.

Oh, go to another hardware store. Oh, they're sold out. And it's just because you didn't plan ahead, right? Plan ahead. Don't get yourself into a place where you're running around trying to find something to cover your faucet with.

Yep. And I'm telling you, if that's what you're doing, go to the dollar store, buy a hand towel, just wrap it around, wrap it around, or suck it up and get rid of that beach towel you've been hanging on for the last 20 years, right? It's no good anyway.

No, it's not. No, it's not. So check your heat. That's the, uh, number 2, uh, homeowner-approved, homeowner show-approved on the checklist. Number 2.

Number 2.

All right, number 3, uh, reverse your fans.

Reverse the fans. I think a lot of people don't even know that this feature's on their fans.

Probably not. So if you're, if you're looking up at your ceiling fan and you've ever noticed, what is that little toggle switch? Yeah, that's to reverse your fan, right? So whatever position it's in, up or down, uh, your, your fan should, uh, during normal operation, should turn counterclockwise. Okay. But reversing your fan allows it to turn clockwise. The reason you would do that is because, uh, you know, heat rises, right? And so you reverse your fan, it's gonna blow, it's gonna blow the, the wind, the air with the wind, the air. It's gonna blow the air up to your ceiling and circulate it back down.

Right.

So, so instead of, um, I mean, a lot of people like air circulating in their homes. We do. We've got ceiling fans in almost every room. If you want air circulating, then reverse your fans. You're going to save on your overall heating bill because you're going to be circulating the heat back down to where you're sleeping or sitting or whatever you're doing.

I think it's a little tiny thing that a lot of people just never do. I think it's just because a lot of people get used to air blowing on them. with their ceiling fan, and they like that, and that's fine.

Sure.

But like, you know, this is, this is something that actually helps regulate the heat throughout the home, gets it dispersed, and keeps it from just sitting up top. Yeah.

And you'll feel airflow.

Yeah.

I mean, it's different than the— than it actually blowing on you, right? Um, but it's, it's something that will, that will overall, it'll help your heating and air conditioning bill. And, you know, one of the other things that Jehu talked about was like, uh, you know, Now, airflow is really, really important whenever it comes to how your, um, air conditioning unit is working. Change your filters, those sorts of things. But, you know, if you can find ways to reduce the amount of times that your unit has to turn on, Mm-hmm. that you're gonna save money. You're gonna, you're gonna increase the life of your unit. Um, you're— it's just gonna be better for you. So

reverse those fans, go into all your rooms, take a step stool, flip that toggle switch. Yeah, you'll be good to go.

I gotta tell you, and if you want— if you just need air on you, just get you like a little circulating fan or a box fan or something like that. I know that'll push air on you. I gotta tell you, man, like I went to this, uh, this estate sale the other day and I, I bought this, uh, uh, bundle of antique fans.

Oh really? Yes, dude, some of those are really cool. They're—

these are super cool.

Really?

Yeah. So, uh, I gave one to my sister. I gave her the, the big Mama Jama.

Okay.

Uh, it was her birthday and she just, she really liked it. And it was, I mean, that fan probably weighed like 40 pounds.

Oh yeah.

Uh, but it was a big cast iron, um, metal blades.

That's awesome.

Oscillating. Yeah. Um, but it was like, look, don't let anybody— like, then the back of it was almost open. It just had a few wires. It's like, take your finger off. Yes. And all of them worked too, man.

Oh cool.

Uh, just super, super cool fans. I've got an— I've got, uh, I've got one in there on the shelf in the house.

Nice.

Awesome.

Cool.

I love old fans.

Yeah, yeah, they look neat, but you got to be careful.

More air than the plastic ones.

Yeah, they sure do.

I don't care if they're not as safe.

You'll care eventually.

Cool story about how you lost that pinky.

Yeah, what'd you do? Vintage fan.

Vintage fan.

That's right. All right, uh, number 4. Uh, this is, this is one that I, I didn't know much about. Um, I never really heard the phrase, but you need to prevent ice dams.

Prevent ice dams?

Yes. Do you know what an ice dam is?

No clue.

So evil beavers? Yeah, not exactly. So ice dams happen when, you know, heat escapes through your roof, melts snow, and then Um, the, you know, the snow that's settled there, it melts it and then it flows from your roof edges and refreezes usually, um, at the eaves and pretty much creates icicles.

With dirt and gunk.

Absolutely. So—

Sounds lovely. Yeah.

So if you see icicles, you probably have an ice dam.

Ah, okay. So Because the water can't flow off the roof. Gotcha.

Exactly. So basically what you typically have is you've got clogged gutters, clogged downspouts. They're the number one cause of ice dams. Um, the other thing is like, if, if you just never got around to getting up on your roof and clearing off the leaves that fall during fall, um, then You're probably just— you're just asking for an ice dam because that's where the snow is gonna, you know, form and stay. And then whenever it melts, it doesn't really have anywhere to go. Yeah, so it just creates a dam. At that point, it's just a chunk of ice waiting to fall on you. Yeah, exactly. So, you know, ice is never, you know, something you want just, I

mean, it weighs a lot and your roof is rated to hold what it's rated to hold. It's not rated to hold a bunch of ice on top of everything else typically. So, uh, you know, clear all those things out, make sure that you're, um, you're keeping that clean. Um, you wanna seal places, um, that may allow warm air to leak. Uh, so, you know, that's something that a roofer can help you with.

Mm-hmm.

But I mean, you can go around, um, Heat's gonna escape through the roof.

I mean, like, you can, you can, you know, reduce it all you want, but like, I mean, it's gonna—

well, I mean, most people have— I mean, at least down in this area, they've got open attics. Yeah, I mean, at least they've got a vent up there. And yeah, heat's gonna escape from there.

Um, not that ice dams are something that we have— we really struggle with down here. And I think this is, this is more of a, a Yank problem.

Yeah, exactly. But you know, a lot of people have soffits.

Canadian.

Yeah. Hey, So, you know, maybe you've got a soffit. I mean, those things are, are meant to, to help air circulate on some level, and if they're clogged, they're just not going to do their, um, what they're, what they're created to do. So, um, so anyway, uh, make sure that all of those things are clean and you should be good to go.

Didn't they say they could— you could also get ice dams in your gutters?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, here, here's the thing. You're— a lot of people have gutters, and unless you've got a really, really good, uh, system that keeps leaves out, right, you need to clean those things. Not only that, like, I remember you telling me that bugs love those.

Oh, heck yeah.

Place, you know. So cleaning them out does more than just prevent ice dams if it's really super cold outside.

If you think a food trucks at Roach Motel, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Yeah, they like those places. Yeah, so keep them clean. It's good for you anyway.

Yep.

The next one is clean and store your lawn equipment. Oh, so, you know, there's a couple of things here that you need to consider, but, you know, just— we talked about this in an episode a long time ago, just about like home organization, right? A lot of people, they, they use their lawn equipment and then just kind of goes where it goes in the garage. First of all, get— put that stuff away. Like, well, clean it and then put it away. Yeah, clean it. And that— and, and I'll tell you, uh, the reason that we're saying clean it is because fuel can absolutely destroy stuff.

Yep.

I mean, it, it is— it eats through things. And if you've got oil and, and, and fuel that's on the outside of your, your, uh, trimmer or your lawnmower or whatever, expect to come back with a hole somewhere. And then the next year you're like, man, this thing doesn't work like it used to.

Well, you allowed it to get that way, so you didn't keep it like you were supposed to.

Exactly. So, um, especially gas-powered stuff, you need to clean it. Um, and, and one of the things that most manufacturers will tell you to do is empty the fuel out of it. Yeah, I mean, part, part of the reason is that, is that unless you're gonna be starting it on a regular basis, right? And because fuel degrades over time. And so, you know, a lot of people use the same fuel from year to year to year because they filled up that 5-gallon, you know, container, still got some in there, it's good. But the problem is you're your equipment was, was built to run on a certain grade of fuel, just like your car is, you know.

And if you, if you don't know how to do that, there's also like fuel stabilizers and things you can put in there to winterize your equipment.

Yeah, absolutely. Um, but just kind of, you know, check over what your manufacturer recommends on those things. Clean, you know, clean oil and clean the gas off. Um, you know, it's just a smart thing to do.

I tell you another good reason to clean it off before you put it in the garage is, I mean, a lot of people don't realize that you're dealing with organic matter.

Yeah.

Leaf clippings and grass and different things like that. And I can't tell you the number of times someone's called me saying that I think something died in my garage. And come to find out, it's like, no, you just didn't take the grass clippings out. They're starting to, you know, break up, break down.

Yep.

And it smells like everything else that breaks down when it dies and decays. It smells like death.

Yep.

And it's not pleasant.

Not only that, it can mold.

You know, you get secondary problems that way. But like, you know, just the, just the unpleasant smell alone is, yeah, worth it to, you know, clean that stuff off before you get it in there.

Sure it is.

So just winterize your stuff, man.

Absolutely. So another thing you could do that I think is really, really important is to go around and check the caulking on your windows and doors.

Yep.

I mean, it's amazing how cold it is in here because that window over there is not caulked. Just that one window right there.

That one window I haven't caulked yet.

That's the problem, man.

But, uh, imagine how much colder it would be if that window just wasn't there.

Okay, fine. Sure, if you want to go down that road.

I did.

But, um, you know, one of the things that happens over time is your caulking, it It degrades too.

Yep.

You know, it breaks down, it cracks.

Well, with heat and cold, things expand and contract.

Exactly.

And caulk is, you know, malleable like that.

Right. So, you know, go around and just kind of inspect it. And if you see anything that, you know, looks like, oh, that's cracked, or, you know, it looks like there's a hole there.

Yeah.

Or some of the caulk is actually missing. Uh, I didn't even realize I swept it up one day or vacuumed it up one day, you know. it's, it's gone. Um, you know, if something doesn't look right, it's probably because it needs more caulking. So yeah, a lot of that kind of stuff you can just go right over the other stuff.

Um, but, uh, you know, if you have the time, just do it right and remove it and put brand new stuff down.

It's not that difficult to do.

You can buy a kit at Home Depot. I think it's like $6. One tool is for removing it, the other tool is for putting, you know, like a, a, an bead down. Yep.

And don't forget, don't— I mean, really, also don't— I mean, don't have any issues with getting your finger in there. And yeah, you know, it'll come off. Use your— yeah, it comes off. Use your finger.

If it really grosses you out, just get some nitrile gloves.

That's exactly right. Yeah. If you don't know what you're doing on this, go watch a YouTube video. There's tons of people out there that can show you how to caulk your windows and doors.

Or you know what, hire somebody. I mean, some of these guys are just artists And really know what they're doing when it comes to this caulk.

And really, it's not that expensive. No, I mean, they can come out, they can come out, check and see what you need, and I mean, probably in an hour they can reseal your entire—

Yeah, and I don't know if you remember, uh, the, uh, the solar episode that we did. That's actually one of the services a lot of these companies are offering now.

Oh yeah.

Come out and do the energy efficiency test on your home, and whatever that, you know, they feel like it needs, they're just going to upgrade it. Sure.

And I mean, for free. For free.

Because they want your home to be energy efficient.

Yes, they do. So, yep, really, really, really important.

So sometimes you can get that for free.

Yeah. And it's really— granted, you're spending $60,000 to $80,000 on solar, but gotta do what you got to do.

Do what you got to do.

So yeah, um, also, I mean, different caulks are gonna work differently.

Oh yeah, make sure you're using the right one.

Yeah, I mean, don't just go buy a bead of, you know, a gun and a tube of caulk and go, oh, this is what the Homeowner Show told me to do.

Yeah, read labels, folks.

Absolutely, absolutely. Be a person. Be a person. Yeah, exactly. All right, the next one: inspect and clean your chimney. Ooh, that's a big one, man.

I, I mean, since we, since we just got off caulk, there's actually fireplace caulk.

Yes, there is, and it's different.

It's really important that if you're going to caulk a fireplace, that you use fireplace caulk.

Very, very important.

Yes.

Because that stuff's flammable.

Yeah.

So get the right stuff. Um, but you know, if you've got a fireplace in your home, um, again, it's a, it's a fun way to create a cool environment, a mood. It sets a tone for the room, especially if you got friends over or whatever. Um, But inevitably, here's what happens to me. I'm like, oh, we should have some friends over, invite them over. It's like an hour before they get there, it's like, we should build a fire. Yeah, uh, well, I haven't looked in there in over a year, um, and to be honest, I've never even lit the one at our house. So I, I think it works. Yeah, is y'all's gas It, it has a gas element.

Okay.

So it's got a gas starter, basically. Um, but, you know, unless you've got gas logs that are just easy, uh, you use real wood, then you're creating soot. And it— man, you can have a real big problem if you're not cleaning your chimney. And if you don't know how to clean your chimney, call a chimney sweep.

Yeah. Yeah, well, I think, I think the other reason they want, you know, it's a good idea to do that kind of inspection is because the flue on your chimney is really important to make sure that it can open and close.

Right.

Because if you're not gonna have a fire in there, you want that thing closed.

Yeah.

Because it can let cold air in.

Sure can. And also you need to kind of know what— I mean, if you're using gas logs, a lot of times you just leave the flue closed anyway because you want the heat inside.

Sure.

But not all gas logs are compatible with that, so you kind of got to know what you, what you're using.

And there's good and bad gas logs. I mean, because—

Yes, there are.

Some gas logs can create soot and smoke too.

Sure.

Um, and so it's not necessarily completely clean burning. Yeah.

So, you know, one of the things to do, I mean, kind of put your hand in there. You shouldn't feel any cold air coming down the chimney, right? If you do, then you've got a problem. Maybe your flue's open. A lot of people don't know how to shut the flue. Yeah, typically it's inside your chimney. Yeah, typically there's like a little chain inside your chimney and you just pull the chain and it, and it switches the flue. Yeah, but if you don't know how to do that, either ask someone, get on YouTube again, find a video, or call a chimney sweep. Yeah, they're, they're available. Again, the amount of money that you're gonna spend on someone coming out and checking this out for you you is probably way better money spent than the amount of money you might lose

by the, uh, the efficiency of your home being super cold. Yeah, so just a good, good practice to get into whenever it's time for the cold weather. Uh, the next one, um, what number are we on here? We're on number— that was 7.

That was 7?

Yeah, that was 7.

We're in the home stretch.

We are. So number 8, we got 3 left. Um, this kind of goes back to the water faucet deal. Uh, you need to drain and winterize your sprinkler system.

Hmm.

So if you've got a sprinkler system, which a lot of people do, it is really important that you drain it. I mean, because, I mean, if you don't know how those things work, they're, they're pretty simple. Water comes through the pipes whenever you turn it on, and the, the sprinkler head pops up, and all of a sudden you've got Sprinklers going, right? Right. Whenever you turn that off, the water is still in the pipes, right? I mean, it's just like anything else. I mean, you don't have to turn your water on at your, your kitchen sink and wait for the water to get through the pipes. It's already there, right? Same thing, um, with irrigation systems. Uh, you need to make sure that

there's no water in the pipes because if there is, again, you're gonna have big problems. They're going to burst.

Right. Um, and, and this is not the episode for us to like get into how to do that, cuz it's, it's probably pretty involved, but I imagine there's YouTube videos. But I mean, like if, if you really feel uncomfortable, I'd just call a landscaping company that has, has an irrigation license.

Yeah. So yes, either, either call landscaping company that has the irrigation license or an irrigation specialist. Either way. most of these guys will come out and for between $50 and $100, they'll do it for you.

Right.

I mean, and, and it's easy, um, doesn't take them very long, but you know you'll be safe. Now there's another thing that you got to be careful about, and this is something that, that we deal with down here in Houston because, I mean, it just doesn't get that cold all that often, and so people don't ever think about Do you know what I'm talking about?

The backflow preventer?

Is that the one?

That's the one that people always break. Yep.

Yep. So there's a backflow preventer on your sprinkler system if you have one. They call it like a bell. It looks like a bell. It looks like a bell. They call it like a, like, like the bell.

Anyway, so actually, and also because they're typically made of like brass.

Yeah.

Although there's a lot of people moving over to the plastic ones because they don't freeze as easy.

Yeah. Because what happens is that, you know, water builds up in there and it literally will pop that bell off and you'll have water shooting through the air. And you got to go turn off the water at the main. I mean, this is pretty much the easiest way to do that. So it's just a problem. So know where that thing is. Like, my, my mother-in-law actually was like, hey, that's kind of an eyesore. And she built like a little box.

Oh yeah.

To go over it. And so for us, us, it's gonna be a matter of just, you know, kind of packing that box with some insulation that's not, you know, gonna— if it gets wet, it's not gonna, you know, cause a bigger problem. Yeah. Um, but you need, you need to protect that too, cuz that, that's a problem you don't wanna wake up to.

No.

And that's when it's gonna happen. And that—

I've actually had that happen.

2 o'clock in the morning. That, that was like 2 years ago, wasn't it?

Well, not, not— I don't have a sprinkler system here. This would've been 6 or 7 years ago.

Okay. Maybe you just told me about it 2 years ago.

Yeah, no, it— yeah, I think it was like 24 degrees outside. The thing popped and water was going. I had to get up underneath the water and it actually had a shutoff valve there, uh, underneath the, uh, the valve. But yeah.

Well, that's handy.

I was miserable.

Oh, so cold. Yeah, is not worth— just figure out a way to insulate that thing. Yeah, and hopefully save yourself some, some heartache. All right, number 9, uh, have a plan for your pets. Dude, I, I mean, you're gonna hear this on the radio, you're gonna hear it on TV, you know, it's like bring your pets in if it gets too cold, all that kind of stuff.

Yep.

Um, I, I cannot stress this enough. If you're cold, they're cold.

Yep.

Uh, and, and Craig, you and I, we're used to having Aussies.

Yep.

And they put on a coat and they, they've got like layer after layer after layer of coat. they're still gonna be cold.

They're still cold.

Yes, absolutely. So, um, there's a few things you can do. If you can bring them in, bring them in.

Sure.

I mean, that, that's gonna be the best thing. Um, but you know, some people have outdoor-only dogs. Yeah, you have outdoor-only dogs. No, they come in, don't they?

They come in. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they're in— they're, they're probably gonna stay in the barn tonight, but they've got blankets and lamps and I mean, they're fine.

Yeah, so I, I think you, you just— you hit the nail on the head just now. Like, we had an out— our Aussie was an outdoor dog. He came in sometimes, but we made sure that he had a place where he had a heat lamp and he had blankets. And so, man, a lot of times, um, he would never go into his doghouse until it was cold.

Yeah.

And then he'd go in there where the blankets were and the heat lamp was, and, and hopefully, uh, he was warm. If it got really, really cold, we'd bring him in and we would endure it through the night if he didn't have a good night. It didn't matter, man.

One thing I think is something that a lot of people don't pay attention to is which way the opening— like, if you have an outdoor dog and you have a doghouse, which way the openings face. You need to make sure that that opening is facing south. Yes. So like our barn where our horses are— and actually, I was out there putting blankets on them tonight because it's cold. Yeah. But the barn opens on the south side because all the cold wind comes from the north side. Yes, it does. And so if you're gonna put an exterior structure outside for your pet, make sure that it has a south-facing opening so that they're not having cold air blow directly into that structure. It just

keeps it warmer in there.

Yeah, yeah. And don't, don't be fooled that if you have an indoor pet that they're gonna be warm just by being indoors. Oh yeah, I mean, how often do you sit around under a blanket or, you know, put on another layer? You know, my wife is constantly with a sweatshirt on or under a blanket, whatever. And, you know, a lot of these dogs Uh, especially the smaller indoor dogs, they don't, they don't have big coats.

No.

And so, uh, you know, you can buy little vests for 'em and, and, you know, I was, man, I was, I was so opposed to this for years and years. I was like, don't put clothing on a dog or a cat. Are you kidding me? What, what are you thinking? But you know what? It sometimes they need it.

I'm still opposed to it.

Well, the little— sometimes these little ones need it.

Yeah, I'm— if I see you doing it, I'm just gonna— not you, I mean like everyone— I'm gonna judge you.

Okay.

Yeah.

Deal. Oh, I'd rather be judged.

Not even like quietly.

I'd rather be judged than be alive.

What happened?

Well, Craig was judging me and I took it off.

Now my dog's, uh, You gave your dog your coat?

No, not my coat. I'm just saying, I had— if you judge me, maybe I won't put clothes on them and then they're cold. What then? Fine, it's on you.

I'm good with that.

Okay.

Yep.

You still need to have a plan for your pets.

Yep, I'm good with a plan. Whatever it is, should not involve a knitted sweater.

OK. You might— I mean, some dogs just need to let their coat come out, or cats.

Like, a big pet peeve of mine is people that shave Aussies. Oh, it's the worst. Don't ever do that, people.

Don't do it.

They're not hot.

No, they're not. Anyway, they're made that way.

Another topic, another day.

Alright, last one. You ready?

Yep.

Alright, last one. This is kind of a catch-all in some ways, but stock up on winter essentials. OK, so let's talk about what some of those things might be. You probably need to have some sort of salt or ice melt around.

Yes.

I mean, if you've got exposed porches or a driveway, which most people have something of the sort, you need to have something that you can put down if it freezes. Like tonight, it's going to get down to freezing or maybe below, and it has rained most of the afternoon. So there's a very big possibility you wake up and there's ice. Oh, what are you gonna do?

Yeah.

I mean, I'll tell you, I've, I've slipped and fell on ice.

Yeah.

Oh, hurts. Oh goodness gracious, it hurts. Yeah, it hurts to fall anyway, but like, you're, you're— it's different falling just because you tripped over something and hitting something, your legs being completely taken out from under you.

Yeah.

Um, I mean, I remember one day I was, I was going into work And I opened my truck door like I always do, just hop out. And I hopped out on ice, man, and I thought I broke my tailbone. Yeah, I mean, my, my phone landed on asphalt. It's like that black ice. Yeah, it was. My phone landed about 30 feet away from me. Um, I, I didn't hit my head, but I was— I mean, I walked into the office and everybody's like, hey, what's going on? I'm like, I'm like I'm burnt, you know, like, this is awful. Um, so have something. Um, and, and, you know, they also make de-icer for your windshields. Yep. Um, that

stuff works really well. Um, finding, finding something to help mitigate the ice problem, right, is gonna be really, really good. Uh, it's a good time to also make sure your fire extinguishers are charged.

Yep.

You know, a lot of people don't think about it in the wintertime, but fire can happen whenever. So make sure that your fire extinguisher is charged.

Smoke detectors too.

Yeah, that's a good time to, you know, change those out. Make sure you're prepared with that kind of stuff. The other thing that's a really, really big thing is find another heat source, an alternative heat source, whether, whether it's a, a generator or a propane heater. I mean, I remember, man, I remember, I, I, so I lived in, in the Panhandle of Texas, which gets pretty cold.

Yeah.

During the wintertime. And I, I played golf almost every day, but we had like a cover on the golf cart, and I had a little propane heater that sat in the, in the cup holder and heated up the golf cart. It was awesome. Um, but you can buy little propane heaters, um, and, you know, whether it's a fireplace blankets. I mean, this is not an exhaustive list in any way, but another heat source. Other— if your heater goes out, you need to have a way to stay warm.

You gotta have something.

You gotta have something.

Yeah, I mean, propane is probably the best backup you can have.

I think so. It's very, very—

it's very portable. It's light. I mean, it's efficient.

Yep.

I mean, you can, you can have it in the house without really having much ventilation.

Yep.

If it's a ventilation-free heater. Sure, you got to check all that kind of stuff. But I mean, like, there's like tabletop heaters that you could, you know, if you got in a pinch, you could Set that, you know, if you got, you know, a hard surface floor, put that thing down, break out the sleeping bags.

Yep.

Stay toasty.

Yeah, you know, even in our, in our RV, uh, you know, runs on propane heat, um, but we've got a little space heater that would pretty much heat up our entire RV if we needed it, right? It's electric, so it's a different fuel source that if something goes out, hopefully we have another option.

So, right, because what happens when you run out of propane?

All right. Yeah.

Which hopefully you got backups of that.

Exactly. But, but what happens if, you know? Yeah, just make sure you're prepared. Um, kind of on that note, you know, get your car ready. You know, make sure you've got blankets in your car. Uh, if you don't, if you break down on the side of the road, good luck. You need a blanket in your car, at least one. Uh, a couple would be good. Uh, winterize your, you know, recreational vehicles, boats, RVs, those sorts of things. If you don't know how to do that, check with your manufacturer, again, go online. There's, there's people that can help you know how to do those things. So, yeah.

And I, I guess, I guess kind of the overall point here is like, you know, just, just take a moment to sit down and go through like, what is it that I'm responsible for?

Yeah.

And what would happen to that thing that I'm responsible for if it got cold?

Yeah.

Really, really cold.

Yeah.

Do I need to make some adjustments? Probably.

Most likely.

Yeah. So just, you know, take, take stock of what you're responsible for. And make the adjustments.

That's right. So that's our list. Uh, water faucets, check your heater, reverse your fans, prevent ice dams, clean and store lawn equipment, caulk windows and doors, inspect and clean the chimney, drain and winterize your sprinkler system, have a plan for your pets, and stock up on those winter essentials.

Yep. And again, this is, this is not an exhaustive list. This is, these are just the ones that stood out to Kevin and me. Uh, Kevin and I.

Nope.

Kevin and you, you're right.

Kevin and me. Please, please, people, I'm— you're about to get me on a soapbox. Kevin and me was correct.

Kevin and me.

It's not always and I. In fact, most of the time it's not. Oh, keep going.

I don't care.

I care too much. Too much.

Now I'm gonna do it wrong on purpose.

Well, of course you are.

Thanks. Right, which would probably have happened anyway.

You probably would do it wrong on purpose and it would somehow be right.

Yes, thinking I was doing it wrong on purpose.

Exactly.

Yes, reverse spite.

Um, whatever works for me.

So where were we?

We were done.

We were done. That's fantastic.

We have nothing else to say. Yes.

So if you have not yet, go ahead and hit the subscribe button because, you know, we're done with this long list of winterizing things and you'll want to hear the next list that we we do. Yeah, we're doing some— we've been doing a lot of top 10s here.

I like them. Yeah, I hope you do.

Me or everybody else?

Everybody else.

Okay, no one cares what I think.

Oh no, I don't.

That's fine. Yeah, so yeah, but hit the subscribe button, um, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. It was really funny last week when Haley actually like did something on Twitter and I was just like, no, I'm not responding to that.

Exactly. Um, that's funny.

Yep. But, uh, but yeah, follow us all those fun places. subscribe to the show, send us an email if— or a message if there is something that we left off the list that was crucial or important, or just, you know, important to you personally and you need to get it off your chest.

And please direct it to Kevin. If you— yeah, surely I'll reply. But, but definitely, I mean, if you're, if you're a subscriber, go leave us a review. If you're not a subscriber, you should be. Go leave us a review on, on Apple Podcasts. Um, just so you know, like iTunes Podcast is of the past.

Yeah.

Doesn't even exist anymore.

Not there.

Not there. Apple Podcasts is the way of the future. So, um, go search, search us on Apple Podcasts, The Homeowner Show. Leave us a review. We'd really, really appreciate it.

Yeah. We, we actually did get a review on Podbean the other day.

Oh.

And all it said was, love, Mel.

Oh.

I don't know if that was from her or—

Doesn't matter.

I don't think it was her. It was someone with a completely different name.

Well, um—

But all it said was, love, Mel, with a heart. I just assumed that meant that they loved Mel.

That— well, I would hope so.

We were happy to receive that review.

Absolutely. Sounds good.

One of our Android people, I'm sure.

Yep. There you go. Listen, uh, you know, thanks for downloading the episode. We really appreciate it. Uh, we hope you enjoyed tonight's episode. It'll come out in the morning, so it will not be tonight, in the morning. But hope you enjoyed it, and we'll be back next Tuesday, rain, sleet, snow, hail, but not drought. We're out.

We're out.

No, no, if, if a drought comes, good luck, y'all.

We're out. We're out looking for water.

But until then, we'll see you next time. See