Old man winter is waking up and getting ready to show us how strong he can be! We all know that being prepared for winter weather is half the battle; however, the mild Fall made it easy to pretend that winter may not show up this year. Predictive weather models are indicating that we may have an extremely cold January starting around the second week. It's crunch time to get ready for the cold weather heading our way!
Here are a few ideas for helping prepare your home and autos for the upcoming cold weather:
Home Preparation
Inspect Heating Systems: Ensure your furnace or heat pumps are in good working order. Replace filters and schedule a professional inspection if necessary. Your furnace will be more efficient and may even save you money if it has a clean filter!
Clean and inspect fireplaces! While an available chimney sweep may be hard to find without having already schedule an appointment, be sure to do a visual inspect of the fireplace to confirm that there is no damage, cracks or build up that may cause a fire.
Check Insulation: Add insulation to your attic, windows, and doors to prevent heat loss. For windows, consider switching out light, thin curtains with heavy winter curtains to block out cold weather on windows that do not get much sunlight during winter months.
Seal Gaps: Use caulk or weatherstripping to seal any gaps in windows and doors to keep the cold air out.
Prepare Plumbing: Insulate exposed pipes and consider letting faucets drip to prevent freezing. Tubular pipe wrap can be a cheap fix to keeping plumbing protected from those single digit temperatures.
Stock Supplies: Keep an emergency kit with blankets, batteries, flashlights, and non-perishable food in case of power outages.
Trim Trees: Remove dead branches that could fall and cause damage during a storm.
Check Roof and Gutters: Clear debris from gutters and inspect the roof for loose shingles or leaks.
Vehicle Preparation
Check Tires: Ensure your tires have adequate tread and are properly inflated. Consider switching to winter tires.
Inspect Battery: Have your battery tested and replace it if it shows signs of weakness.
Fluids Check: Top off antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, and ensure oil is at the right level.
Emergency Kit: Keep an emergency kit in your car with blankets, a flashlight, batteries, a first aid kit, and non-perishable snacks.
Fuel Up: Keep your gas tank at least half full to prevent fuel line freeze-up.
Wiper Blades: Replace old wiper blades and ensure your windshield wiper fluid is rated for freezing temperatures.
We all know that we cannot predict what tomorrow will bring, but hopefully if we are prepared, we will be able to respond to whatever old man winter throws our way!
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