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Expert: Now's The Time To Prepare Your Home For Winter

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Winter officially begins in a little less than two months. But experts say now is the time to winterize your house.

CBS2's Elise Finch went up to Westchester County and found out the top tips for getting your home ready for the cold-weather months.

Sunny and chilly was the best way to describe the weather in our area on Wednesday. Homeowners said this is the perfect kind of day to prepare your home for winter's harsh conditions.

"You start with the gutters," said Robert Hemm of Pelham Manor.

"Turn off the water outside for the sprinkling system," added Phillip Tulotta of Bronxville.

Oil burner
A faulty oil burner can do a number on your home's energy efficiency and on your bill. (Photo: CBS 2)

When it comes to the outside of your house, you should also inspect the roof for damage, have your chimney cleaned and have a certified arborist come in to prune healthy trees and remove rotting ones.

Experts also suggest tending to your masonry. That means fix any cracks or breaks in your walkway, stairs or stonework, CBS2's Finch reported.

Dorothea Bruni said she likes to start inside her Scarsdale home.

"They normally go down the basement where the furnace is," Bruni said.

MOREWinterize Your Home To Save Money On Your Heating Bill

Lucky for her, she has an expert in the family. Her brother-in-law, Mario Bruni, and a technician from Bruni & Campisi Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning were tuning her gas furnace.

"The boiler or furnace isn't tuned properly it'll use a lot of gas and waste it. It'll send it up the chimney. Oil furnaces and oil burners, same way. They need to be cleaned once a year and tuned once a year," Mario Bruni said.

For some units, that includes cleaning or replacing air filters, and Mario Bruni said there are lots of other things on the checklist.

"This is an opportune time to check the carbon monoxide detectors and the smoke detectors," he said. "Check the storm windows. In the summer they might have been opened and not closed properly. It wasn't a big deal in the summer, but it will be a big deal in the winter."

You should also insulate your attic or crawl space, add or replace weather stripping around windows and doors, and insulate pipes that are in cold or in drafty places to prevent them from freezing.

These things should keep warm air in and cold air out once we start experiencing winter's worst.

Experts say if you are in the market for a generator, in the case of power outages, now is the time to buy one.

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