Low temperatures and freezing water can cause disasters to your home and yard. According to insurance providers, winter weather caused over $1 billion in insurance losses in 2016. If homeowners would perform winter maintenance that number could be much lower, and a lot of headaches prevented. Here are some things to check before the cold months:
Turn off all your exterior faucets like hoses. Don't just turn them off outside, find the shut-off inside, turn that off as well. Then drain faucet and leave it turned on outside so that no water can ever sit in the pipe and freeze over the winter.
Climb up on the roof and check out your roof. Make sure there are no shingles missing or ready to fly off. Check your windows as well. If you have older windows check the caulking around them and make sure everything is sealed properly.
Make sure your gutters are cleaned out for proper drainage. You do not want any water to freeze and cause any unnecessary strain on your gutters or roof. Worse yet cause water to run over the sides improperly and then freeze on your walkways.
Check out your heater make sure it's working properly. Check when the last time it was serviced especially if it uses oil to run. A heater going out in the middle of winter could spout a disaster in multiple ways.
If you have a basement, make sure your sump pump is working properly. Pour some water in it and make sure it turns on and drains. Also check the backup battery if you have one and make sure it is good to go.
With winter here your furnace is working harder than ever. You may also be using your fireplace. Test all your carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms. Really these things should be checked regularly but if it's been a hot minute there's never a better time than now! God forbid your heater breaks down or has a blowout you want to be rest assured that your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.
So will you be prepared for the cold this winter? Just a few tips that might prevent you from experiencing a disaster this winter!
