Now that the winter season has arrived, plenty of homeowners are working out ways to properly care for their homes. This is because the cold winter weather can severely affect several components in your home, even your windows and doors. As such, it’s vital that you learn how your home is affected by the weather.
Here are the four ways the cold can affect your windows and doors.
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Drafts – If your doors and windows have a few decades behind them, you can expect the cold weather to cause drafts within your home, affecting your home’s energy efficiency and forcing you to spend more on your heating bills for the season. With that in mind, make it a point to renew the weatherstripping during the winter season to prevent drafts from entering your home.
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Ice formation – Apart from drafts, window replacement experts say that ice formation is another issue that your windows and doors can experience. This is because, if warm, moisture-rich air escapes your home through the small openings in your windows and doors, it can freeze when it comes into contact with the cold air from the outdoors, which in turn makes it difficult to open the windows and doors without cracking the weather stripping.
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Shrinking and warping – On the other hand, if your windows and doors are made of wood, the cold weather can also cause them to shrink and warp, preventing them from working properly as a result. As such, make it a point to have a professional frequently treat the wood frames with paint or sealer to prevent them from shrinking and warping.
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Hardware failure – Finally, the ice or cold weather stress caused by the winter season can also break the latches, handles, hinges and mechanisms of your windows and doors. In fact, according to experts, casement and awning windows can also be particularly vulnerable since they require a more complex opening mechanism compared to sliding windows. With that in mind, have a professional inspect your windows and doors during the winter season to ensure that they’re still in working order.
Want to install replacement windows for your home? Look no further than Renewal by Andersen® of Northwest Ohio, the leading professionals to turn to when it comes to window and door installation projects. Give us a call at (419) 931-6970, or fill out our contact form to get in touch with us today! We serve homeowners in Findlay, OH, and other nearby areas.
