Don’t get us wrong – Seattle is a great place to be. With one of the most temperate climates in all of the US, there’s only a few days of the year that are crazy cold or unbearably hot. But, as we think most people would agree, the winter can get a little hard nonetheless. It’s always cloudy and super humid, so even though it might be 50 degrees out, it may feel like 35 or 40. We all prep ourselves for the dark season – making sure there’s plenty of light, live plants and firewood in the house. But we also need to prepare our home for the winter, because rains and humid air can wreak havoc on houses. And that includes your home’s garage. Your garage door is the biggest portal into your home, so if it’s not ready for the rain and the cold, you may end up starting your spring off with rusty garage door parts, or worse, a broken garage door. Luckily, some basic garage door maintenance can keep your garage door repair costs low, or hopefully, non-existent!
Prepping your garage for winter:
- Clean all your garage door’s parts and lubricate parts like hinges and brackets.
- Make sure the weather stripping on your garage door is in good condition and creates a complete seal around the whole door when the garage door is closed.
- Insulate your garage’s walls.
- Set up wall storage like shelving and hooks to get things off the floor.
- Seal any cracks in your garage’s floor.
- Protect any exposed plumbing.
- Make sure you keep on top of squeegeeing any water that gets in your garage down the drain, or in the rare cases of snow, shoveling it away from the garage door.
And after you’ve made sure your garage is winter-ready – go check out some fun, winter-friendly Seattle activities!