Keeping Your House Safe During the Winter Do you want to build a snowman? Or would you rather spend your winter shoveling the snow from your roof to keep your home safe? Homes aren’t always built to withstand heavy winters year after year. Protect your home with these tips before it’s too late.
Water is Your Worst Enemy Every year, homes become victim to water far more often than they do to fire. In the winter the water freezes, which can destroy your pipes and plumbing systems. Or it can cause your pipes to burst and flood your home from within. These are worst case scenarios that can be easily prevented with a few tips.
Winter Routine If this isn’t already your routine, make it one. It can become a new holiday tradition. Alternate the rotation of your fans to make the warm air go down and the cool air go up. If you have a basement or an attic that you rarely use, consider placing plastic shields around them to keep the cool air out of the house. Closets can be another culprit of consuming warm air and releasing cold air, so keep those doors closed as well. Make sure all heating vents are open and away from furniture. Last but not least, keep the fireplace damper open while having a fire, but close it when you are not.
Don’t Overdo It Water can damage your home just as easily as fire can. In the winter you may be tempted to use excessive amounts of heat, but this can be a fire hazard. Protect your home from fires by taking care of any furnaces, boilers and chimneys in the home. Have your boiler and furnace inspected once a year just before winter to prevent any issues and do not keep any storage in the same room. Hire a professional chimney sweep to clean out any soot or debris in the chimney. A source of potential fires can also be unattended candles left burning. Avoid any issues by making sure the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working.
In Case of Power Loss Losing your power in the winter is another worst case scenario, but you must be prepared for all of them. With all the Christmas lights and lamps and televisions and games and extra heaters plugged in you could easily blow a fuse. Just a little turn for the worse with the weather and the power is gone altogether – unless you have a backup