It’s September, and 94 degrees outside. If you could twist the air, I swear you could ring a quart of water out of it. My mother loves the sun and hot weather. Her fragile little bones just soak it up, and she never sweats. On the other hand, I sweat. And pant. And complain. And look for a (much) cooler place to plant myself. Any major activity that’s really, really necessary outside is done at 6 a.m. or midnight. And only then if I can get under some water when I’m finished.
On the other hand, September is for me the harbinger of fall and cooler weather. I love fall, with all the pretty colors and festivals leading right into the holiday season. I could never live in an area where the seasons do not change. How dull would that be? But, September also means that many of our members will soon be facing hard challenges when it comes to keeping their families warm and safe.
The time to get ready for winter is NOW! A lot of our members and their families need help in preparing their dwellings for winter. Here is a list of suggestions:
1. Contact Grayson RECC for an energy audit or log on to www.graysonrecc.com to perform an online energy audit.
2. Stop leaks with foam or silicone caulk. Caulking should be used to seal cracks, gaps or joints that are less than one-quarter-inch wide. Foam should be used for larger areas around plumbing and pipes.
3. Line doorways with weather stripping and use door stops at the bottom. You can also use rolled up rugs or large towels to keep out cold air.
4. Fix or replace any loose window panes and consider using plastic over windows.
5. If you use alternate fuel sources for heat, consider purchasing them now while the cost is cheaper.
6. Change your filters on any heating system that has them. Dirty filters are real energy wasters.
7. Check your fireplaces, stoves and flues. Check the stove pipes, the mats underneath your stoves and the heat reflectors on the walls close to the stove. Fire places can lose over 50% of your heat.
8. Set your water heater on 120 degrees, hot enough to be sanitary, but not hot enough to scald you.
9. Put in low flow shower devices that not only will help you save energy cost on your water heater but also help with cutting cost on water bills.
10. Add foam outlet insulators and child plug covers to all exterior wall switch plates. Many places give them away and they are cheap to purchase, with a big return on your investment.
