How to Prepare Your Home for a Winter Warning Advisory

We’re gearing up for severe cold weather and potential hard freeze this week. Whether you are a first-time homeowner or have been a homeowner for years, we all need to know how to protect your home from a Winter Warning Advisory. Here are some tips to keep your home safe:

Protect your pipes

We all know that water expands when it freezes, so any water left in your pipes could cause major issues including cracking, leaking or bursting. This is a large concern for exterior faucets. Follow these steps to prevent catastrophic damage:

• Leave interior faucets dripping. Running water through your pipes overnight will help prevent pipes from freezing.
• Cover all outdoor faucets with foam insulators, which can be purchased from your local hardware store.
• Know where your main water shutoff valve is located! In case of emergency (like a burst pipe), turn the water off! In most homes it is in the basement or near the road.
• Leave cabinet drawers open under a sink so that heat can circulate. This is especially true for older, draftier homes with poor heat circulation.

Cover your plants

Your plants have feelings too! It’s crucial for you to take steps to protect them during cold nights. Bring any small potted plants (like succulents) indoors. Cover any other plants outdoor with mulch, blankets, cardboard, etc. to keep them safe. Ensure that you have your sprinkler system turned off.

Check your heat

If you haven’t turned on your heat this season, now is the time! You’ll want to kick on your furnace before the freezing temperatures hit so that you can ensure it is working properly. If you have not changed your air filter yet since the cold weather hit, consider replacing it so that your unit runs efficiently. Sometimes there is a funny smell the first time you run your unit in cold weather, don’t be alarmed.

Bring pets inside

It is a common belief that dogs and cats are more resistant than people to cold weather because of their fur, but that is not true. Cats and dogs should be kept inside during cold weather. Like people, cats and dogs are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia and should be kept inside.

What to do if your pipes freeze or burst

You first need to determine which pipe is frozen. You can do that by turning on all of the faucets in your home and whichever has no water or slowly dripping water is frozen. Keep the water dripping and begin to apply heat to the pipe. You can do this with a blow dryer, heat lamp or hot towel. The heat should melt the ice and prevent the burst. If your pipes burst, immediately shut off the main water valve and call a professional.