Bark.com Reveals Two Thirds of Homeowners Do Not Prepare Their Homes for Winter.
London (PRWEB UK) 29 November 2016 -- As the winter months draw closer it is essential that our homes are ready for the cold weather. Bark.com the free online platform for finding and hiring local professionals, has discovered 64% of homeowners don’t prepare their homes for winter.
The survey of 1,000 UK homeowners also discovered that this is despite almost half (48%) having previously experienced an avoidable winter home emergency, the most common having been a boiler failure.
“Getting the right tradesperson is essential for making sure our homes are ready for winter,” commented Bark.com’s co-founder Andrew Michael. “Getting a professional to make sure that your home can take the extra strain during the winter will give you peace of mind, and could help you avoid costly repairs in the springtime.”
Bark.com has put together a helpful guide to preparing a home for winter:
Wrap pipes up warm:
Being full of water, pipes have a tendency to freeze in winter. As the liquid inside them cools, it expands rapidly and puts strain on your pipes. As a result, thousands of homes experience blocked or burst pipes each year during winter cold snaps – especially those in older properties, or in colder parts of the country.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, Bark.com recommends drafting in a professional insulator to wrap your pipes up warm with insulating foam.
Get the boiler serviced so it runs smoothly:
There’s nothing nicer than returning to a warm home on a bitterly cold day – but before putting the heating on full blast, book the boiler in for its annual check-up. The extra strain that’s put on a boiler during the colder months can cause it to leak or break. So, it’s important to make sure it is in top working order before it gets too nasty outside.
It’s also a great way to make sure the central heating is running efficiently, and could pay for itself saving up to 25% on heating bills.
Bleed radiators so they run efficiently:
If radiators are creaking, or colder at the top than they are at the bottom, that is a sure sign there’s trapped air inside them keeping the heat from circulating properly. That means it’s time to grab a towel, get on your knees and bleed the radiator. It is a messy job, but a small price to pay for a lovely warm home.
Keep the heat in with proper home insulation:
About a quarter of a home’s heat it lost straight through the roof. So, to keep a home warm without having the heating on 24/7, the first thing to do is check your loft and wall cavity insulation.
Upgrading home insulation doesn’t need to be expensive, and it could save a fortune on heating bills over the long run.
Clear guttering of leaves and debris
Gutters have one job – to guide rainwater off your roof and straight down the drain. But, despite their importance, it can be all too easy to forget about them until something goes badly wrong.
Allowing gutters to become clogged can cause serious structural damage to your house, and lead to health issues from the damp.
It is important to hire someone to check guttering thoroughly at least once a year to keep everything working properly.
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Bark.com is a revolutionary way to hire local services
Founded by Andrew Michael, the man behind Fasthosts and Livedrive, and Kai Feller who co-founded Socialite, Bark prides itself on showcasing the best local service providers for customers.
Every day thousands of people use Bark.com, a free online platform for hiring local professionals. Bark.com helps them accomplish the most important projects in their lives – such as getting fit with a personal trainer, teaching their kids music or photographing their weddings.
For more information please contact:
Simon Kelman: 07584 435116 / [email protected]
Simon Kelman, Bark.com, http://www.Bark.com, +44 7584435116, [email protected]
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