If you own a White Mountains home or a Lake Regions home, you know that winter in New Hampshire is nothing to be taken lightly. Snowfall can reach staggering heights. The cold is the kind that compels you to stay in with a book and a cup of hot tea. While it's always important to winterize your New Hampshire home, prepping for cold weather is especially critical if your property is vacant for all or part of the winter. Here are five steps to take right now.

1. Get a Home Energy Audit

Before you can winterize your New Hampshire home, you need to know where the vulnerabilities are. A home energy audit is an inspection that focuses on energy loss and efficiency in your home. Your HVAC contractor can perform a home energy audit for you. Once you get the report, you can choose to have the HVAC company take care of relevant issues, do them yourself, or a combination of both solutions. Either way, a home energy audit will give you measurable data you can use to ensure your home is maximizing energy use.

2. Insulate Pipes

Frozen pipes are the bane of homeowners in New Hampshire. Act now to make sure your pipes don't freeze while you're sleeping, away for the weekend or even at work. It only takes a few hours for pipes to freeze when temperatures suddenly drop. Pick up specially-designed pipe insulation foam at any hardware store. The foam—which looks like a slim pool noodle—has a slit that runs its vertical length. At home, just cut to fit and slip onto pipes. This DIY project will take you only 20 minutes to half an hour. Make sure you include those rarely-seen pipes beneath kitchen and bathroom sinks. Be certain to insulate all pipes, not just cold water pipes. If the furnace goes out, all the pipes in your home may be running cold water.

3. Turn Off Lines to Outside Spigots

Most homeowners in New Hampshire have one or more outside spigots for sprinklers, garden hoses and an outdoor shower. Whether you have a White Mountains home or a Lake Regions home, check around the perimeter of your house and locate the outside spigots. If these freeze up over winter, you could face expensive plumbing bills. Turn off the lines to the outside spigots, allow the spigots to drain thoroughly and then make sure each spigot is fully shut off.

4. Shore up the Entire Home

There are lots of small steps you need to do, too.

• Replace the batteries in your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
• Have the chimney swept and confirm that the flue closes tightly.
• Check the dates on your fire extinguishers and replace as needed.
• Reverse blades on ceiling fans so heat is brought downward.
• Install a programmable thermostat.
• Clear the gutters of fall debris. Blocked gutters can cause ice dams that can lead to leaky roofs.
• Have furnace inspected and replace furnace filter.
• Insulate water heater with a specially designed water heater blanket.

5. Block the Leaks

Even a brand-new White Mountains home or Lake Regions home may need to have some leaks blocked in readiness for winter. Areas to check for leaks include windows, doors, holes around pipes (especially beneath the kitchen sink), and around baseboards. Depending upon the area where you find drafts, use an assortment of insulating supplies like rubber gaskets, spray foam, door sweeps and heat shrink plastic. Your home will be safer and more enjoyable when you take the time to winterize it. If you have yet to invest in a New Hampshire home, don't wait. There's never been a better time to escape to the White Mountains or the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Contact us today for more information about home ownership in New Hampshire.