The extremely cold weather of winter causes havoc in a number of places and in a number of different, rather scary, ways. It causes people to fall ill, it turns the roads into the world’s most dangerous ice-skating rink, and it can cause devastation to houses. You can fight back against the latter, however, by simply resolving to protect your home against the seasonal turmoil that is set to befall it.
To see what you need to do to safeguard your home against the winter weather, read on.
Protect your pipes against freezing
The winter weather will seek to cause damage to many different areas and aspects of your home — your pipes, however, face the most danger. If you’re not careful, the cold weather will ravage them with frost, and a frozen pipe is never good.
To protect your pipes against freezing, you should:
- Disconnect your garden hoses
- Insulate your outside faucets (cover them with foam)
- Turn off the water supply to your outside faucets
- Make sure your sprinkler system is turned off and that its lines are drained
- Open your under-sink cabinet doors as often as you can
- Keep garage doors closed
- If a pipe does appear to be frozen, before it bursts, thaw it using a hair dryer or other heating device.
Keep the cold weather outside
It’s not just a case of wanting a warm home during the cold months of winter, it’s a case of needing one. If you can’t remain shielded from the outside temperatures during the whole duration of the wintertime, then you could face any number of problems and illnesses.
To protect your home against the cold outside weather, you should:
- Inspect your furnace, fireplace, chimney, and central heating system even before the first wave of cold weather hits you to ensure that they are all in tip-top condition.
- Cover your air conditioning units
- Insulate exterior electrical outlets with foam seals
- Caulk any holes in your walls
- Have plenty of resources on hand if you heat with propane fuel oil or if you burn wood
- Another great idea for protecting your home against winter is having electric wall radiators. It will keep your home cozy and warm.
Safeguard your home against extreme weather
During the winter, there is always the potential for the weather to take a severe turn the worse. One week the temperature can be relatively mild — a bit frosty, but not too difficult to handle. The next week, however, gale force winds could be blowing, heavy snow could be falling, and floods could even make their presence felt. It is for this reason why you should take protecting yourself against extreme weather incredibly seriously. To do this, you should:
- Spray ice repellent on your outdoor steps and walkways
- Make your outside ground as adhesive as possible to deter flooding
- Keep emergency packs handy just in case you are forced to stay in or evacuate your home
- Take out home insurance from a reputable insurer like Acorninsure.co.uk, as you need to protect yourself financially as well.
If you want to protect your home against the dangers of winter, then you need to put the above advice into practice now, before it’s too late. It is far more cost-effective to protect your home than repair it once the winter damage is done.Â
