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Winterizing Your Rental: Tips for the Tenant & Property Owner

Chris Swift • November 22, 2016

With Winter on the horizon, there are few key things to remember to help protect your home. Today, we want to share four things you can do if you are a tenant and want to save energy in your rental throughout the cold winter months. Likewise, we have four things you can do if you are a property owner and have a vacant home that you want to protect.

For the Tenants

  1. Clean out the gutters. Removing all leaves and other debris allows for gutters to be used effectively and avoids buildup of ice.
  2. Install curtains. Not only can curtains add personality to your rental, but they have been known to actually save energy throughout the winter months by adding an extra layer of protection between the outdoor temperatures and the inside of your rental. Not only that, but curtains are easy to install and can be taken with you to your next home whenever it’s time to move again.
  3. Use your ceiling fans! Everyone knows that ceiling fans provide a reprieve in those sweltering summer months, but did you know most ceiling fans have an option to reverse direction in order to push warm air downward in the winter months? Just check to see if your ceiling fans have a switch to change the fan blade direction. If they do, be sure to save energy in this way.

For the Property Owners with Vacant Properties

  1. Clean out the gutters. As mentioned above, removing all leaves and other debris allows for gutters to be used effectively and avoids buildup of ice.
  2. Get your HVAC checked. Whether your HVAC is dated or newer, it’s always good to have your HVAC checked out to make sure it’s working efficiently. Additionally, changing the air filter in your HVAC can help to improve the efficiency in no time.
  3. Turn down the thermostat. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s amazing how many property owners forget to do this simple task. Turning down the thermostat will reduce your use of energy throughout those months, especially if the home is vacant and isn’t needing to be warmed often. Just be sure to keep the thermostat higher than 55 degrees.

If you have any questions about winterizing your home please contact McGraw Property Management & Leasing at 918.592.6000.

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