As the days become shorter and the temperatures start to drop, you start to appreciate being at home in the warm a lot more. Getting the heating on and closing the curtains to protect against the outside temperatures is one of the best things about winter, and it’s almost worth the cold when you're sitting in front of a roaring fire with a mug of hot chocolate. It’s important to remember that your home is especially vulnerable to maintenance issues in the colder seasons, so it's worth doing a check of your home while you still have the time to fix and replace potential trouble spots. Here are the top ways to prepare your home for winter.

One useful thing that you can do to prepare your home for winter is to place kitchen foil behind your radiators. If you do this to every radiator in your home, it will reflect the heat away from the walls and back into the room. This is a cheap and easy way to reduce your heating bill over the winter and will have the added bonus of making the warmth spread throughout the house much more easily.

There’s nothing worse than having a power cut when the snow is outside. Annoyingly, you’re more likely to be affected by a power cut when the temperatures are at their lowest, so be prepared for that eventuality. Have candles ready to go in an easy to find spot, and make sure that have a ready store of batteries and torches too. This will make it much easier to deal with a power cut, and you may be able to repair the fault yourself without blundering through your darkened, chilly home.

The last thing that you need in the middle of winter is a sudden loss of hot water. A cold shower is bad at the best of times, but when you're already feeling the chill, it can be downright dangerous. Make sure that you minimize this risk by having a full check of your water systems. Check your boiler system and ensure that there is a working pilot light and sufficient power. If you spent last winter making on-the-fly repairs to your boiler, then this may be the year to start looking at the variety of Combi Boiler prices, which will minimize the potential for those cold showers on winter mornings.

Now is also a good time to check your home insurance policy. There are more home insurance claims made during winter than at any other time, which is a firm indication that homes do struggle with the colder temperatures. You don’t want to have to deal with a home emergency only to find that your insurance has run out, so it’s worth just taking the time to have a read over your policy and ensure that you are covered throughout the winter months.

Winter can be a fantastic time of year, but you will enjoy it a lot more if you take the time now to get your home in order and prepare both your property and yourself for the sudden temperature drop.