How to Prep Your Home for Daylight Savings

March 1, 2021

Daylight Savings is only two weeks away! March 14, 2021 we turn the clocks ahead one hour. With that extra hour of light in the day, we have some helpful tips to keep you and your family safe. While all of these tips may not directly pertain to your heating system, we find them very helpful and important. 

  1. Check the batteries in both your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Now is a great time to test your detectors and make sure they are working properly. It is also important to think about how old the detectors are. All smoke and carbon monoxide detectors do have an expiration date and should be changed out when they expire. 

  2. Check and clean your vents. This means anything from your dryer vent that you maybe haven’t had cleaned in a few years to your exhaust vent for your furnace. It is important to keep snow away from your vents so that you prevent carbon monoxide from entering your home. 

  3. Check the fire extinguishers in your kitchen and other parts of your home. You will want to make sure they are still looking good and not expired. Yes, they do expire! While you have fire safety on the brain, it is also a good time to reevaluate your fire escape plan with your family. 

  4. Check to make sure you have a working flashlight and extra batteries in case of a power outage. Sometimes those iPhone flashlights just don’t cut it. 

  5. Check and replace your air filter in your furnace. Air filters not only keep your furnace clean they also help keep the air in your home clean. 

  6. Reverse your ceiling fans. Reversing the direction your ceiling fan spins in, helps to keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. However, do not forget to reverse it again when daylight savings time ends. 

  7. Do a quick clean out of your pantry. Now is a great time to use those can goods that are about to expire. Keeping your stock rotated will help you to not waste food. 

  8. Wash your pillows! Yes not just the pillowcase but the actual pillow itself. This is also a great time to flip your mattress and deep clean it. 

  9. Check to make sure your emergency and first aid kit. It is important that they are fully stocked and ready to use. 

  10. Take a nap! Remember you’re going to be losing an hour of sleep and with all this extra work above you deserve a nap.

Do you have any helpful tips to share?