Henkle’s Ace Hardware owner talks home winterization

The signs are everywhere. Temperatures are slowly dropping. Leaves are turning colors. Acorns are dropping. The fall season is just around the corner.

Sitting down with Henkle’s Ace Hardware owner John Henkle, he said we are about three to four weeks out from the first frost of the season. So, with that in mind, now is a great time to start preparing to winterize your home and your yard.

It’s also harvest season in the four states, so first thing’s first, make sure you’ve picked and cleared your gardens and finished any projects in the yard.

“You want to make sure that everything in your garden is picked before (the first frost) happens,” Henkle said. “Finishing the summer projects in your garden, the lawn, making sure mowers and stuff like that are ready for the fall. With all the leaves and things like that set to fall, if you have a backpack blower, make sure it’s serviced and ready. And if anything needs to be repaired, get it done before it gets busy as the fall season kind of kicks off.”

This time of year is also great for checking your roof and gutters. Storm season is in the rearview window but winter weather is quickly approaching, so you want to make sure any vulnerable spots are taken care of properly.

“It is really important,” Henkle said. “It’s something to check all the time. I was out when it was raining Monday morning. I have one spot where the gutter gets covered up, and then the water runs over the gutter. That always messes with my basement if we get too much rain or I don’t tend to it.”

According to Henkle, it’s also important to prune any plants or trees away from the foundation of your home as well for a preventative measure.

This is also the time of the year to make sure your garden hoses are disconnected and drained properly, while also insulating the outdoor spigots. 

A common pest a lot of home owners deal with during the winter months are mice. The best defense against mice is to guard against them before they try to move inside. This means getting your garage in order.

“Mice are also a big issue in the fall,” Henkle said. “They only need something the size of your little pinky to go through. They can squeeze themselves through that. So make sure everything is caulked and sealed. … As you look at your foundation, once it starts getting cold at night, get those foundation vents closed. You don’t want the cold temperatures underneath the house, but sealing things up for the mice. A spot where people miss is around their garage doors. Make sure that the garage doors seal right and that you have that weather stripping intact. 

“And then just do a little decluttering or in the garage getting things out of cardboard boxes into hard sided containers. If there’s food out there, like dog food, I have my dog food in a plastic storage bin so I don’t have to deal with the mice. Make sure that nothing’s dripping so there’s no water out there for insects and kind of stop that line of defense.”

Turning to the inside of your home, it’s important to check your air filters. Making sure your filters are clean will help ease any stress on your heating system. Another thing you may want to do is call a professional to come and service your HVAC system to make sure everything is working properly. 

Alongside weather proofing windows, making sure your attic is properly insulated is very important as well.
“One thing that is kind of a pet peeve of mine that I see when I drive through town when we get that first frost—if the neighbor’s houses have frost on the roof and you don’t, you’re losing heat to the attic,” Henkle said.

While any Do-It-Yourself task can seem intimidating, many of them can be done by your average homeowner. If you have any fears or questions, you can always find help at either Henkle’s Ace Hardware locations in Webb City and Joplin.

“I think it’s really important (to be able to maintain your own home) because even if you’re not good at this, there’s still a lot of things that you can do and it’s going to save you money,” Henkle said. “You hire a plumber and they’re going to charge you $75, $100 to show up and you could do the project probably for that with a couple tubes of caulk and a caulk gun. So there’s a lot of ways to save money and you learn something new …  And it’s, it’s great to learn because knowledge gives you the understanding to do other projects, too.”