Winter can be a time of holiday celebrations, sledding, skiing, snowball fights, and snuggling up with a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa by the fire. It can also bring snow, ice, freezing rain, and frigid temperatures that can threaten your home, vehicle, and family. How can you prepare to handle the harsh elements of the season?
Preparing Your Home
Lessen your chance of loss by taking the following steps to prepare your home for winter:
- If you have a wood-burning fireplace, contact a chimney sweep to have it cleaned and inspected before winter.
- Verify your furnace is in proper working order by contacting a heating specialist for an inspection.
- Check your plumbing system closely since burst water pipes can spew hundreds of gallons of water into your home.
- Replace any cracked or missing roof shingles and verify that flashing around the vent pipes or chimney is watertight.
Click here for more details on each of these steps.
Ice Dams
As if the cold and snow aren’t enough to deal with, winter also brings the danger of ice dams. The combination of snow, freezing temperatures, and escaping heat can create chunks of ice along edges of your roof. This prevents melted snow from draining off. The backup of water created can then leak into the home and cause significant damage. Click here to learn more about how to prevent ice dams and how to handle them when you do experience the issue.
Fire Prevention
Alternative heat sources, such as fireplaces and space heaters, will keep your warm and toasty. They may even help keep your heating bill down. But these devices also put your home at risk. Heating sources are the 2nd leading cause of residential building fires and half of all home heating fires in the winter. What can you do to help your family stay warm AND safe this winter? Click here for tips and resources.
Before You Head Out Of Town
Before you set out on a travel adventure, make sure to prepare your home. It is going to be sitting empty for several days. Have you done all you can to protect it?
According to the FBI, there were over 1.9 million burglaries in 2013, 74% of those residential. The victims of these burglary offenses suffered an estimated $4.5 billion in property losses.
Though you cannot prevent all burglaries, there are steps you can take to protect your home while you are away. Click here to check out all 9 of these tips.
Winter Driving
Aside from protecting your home, it's also important to make sure you and your car is ready for winter weather. How can you prepare your car? What should you carry in your car for winter travel? And how can you prepare yourself for driving in harsh conditions? For answers to these questions and more, click here.
As winter approaches, keep these items in mind to keep your family warm and safe throughout the season.
