Winter storms can severely impact your home. So, if you are not properly prepared, winter may cause severe damage to your property. However, preparation will help your home withstand the effects snow, sleet, ice, strong winds and dangerously low temperatures.
Insulate Your Home
Install storm windows and shutters, and insulate your attic and walls to keep the cold air out. Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows or cover windows with plastic from the inside. Insulate your pipes to prevent them from freezing and rupturing. If you’re going away, leave the heat on in your home to a temperature of at least 55° F to prevent frozen pipes.
Provide Alternative Heating Methods
Electricity or gas supply could be cut off during a blizzard, so be sure to have an alternative heat source – a fireplace or coal stoves, etc. Store sufficient fuel and keep it safe and dry.
Know How to Shut Off Utilities
Should you need to evacuate your home, or if a disaster like fire or flooding occurs, you will need to shut off utilities. Learn how to shut off natural gas, electricity, and water supplies in your home here.
Maintain Heating Equipment
Have your furnace, wood stove or fireplace inspected and cleaned every year to ensure they are working properly. Be fire-safe. Make sure your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are working by testing them every month. Replace batteries twice a year. Have a fire extinguisher on every level of the home. Check that the outside vent is clear of leaves, debris, and snow.
Clear Snow Away from Your House
Shoveling snow is good for your physical development and for your property. Keep downspouts and catch basins clear of debris so that the water from the melting ice and snow can easily find its way out and away from your house. Use any chance to remove snow and ice from the roof and eavesdrops to prevent collapsing and clear accumulated snow away from the foundations of the house to lower the risk of flooding.
Keep an Inventory of Supplies
Supply whatever you need to survive at least a week without deliveries: medicines, non-perishable food and bottled water, warm clothes and extra blankets, batteries and candles, etc.
Even if a blizzard is so destructive that damage occurred to your home regardless of all the preventive measures you had taken, there is no room for panic. Just keep your wits about you and make no hasty decisions. Assess the situation carefully and act accordingly to put your property back in shape as soon as possible. Prudence and timely measures are your best ally against severe damage to your property. Regardless of how good an insurance plan you have, better prepare well to avoid any trouble if possible. Recovery from winter storm damage is a long and tedious task that will surely steal the charm of the winter season away from you. So, learn how to protect your cozy home and enjoy the unique enchantment of winter.