Steps to protecting your home from winter damage
As Canadians, we can handle the winter. We bundle up for the frigid temperatures outside by wearing toques, scarfs and gloves. But our homes aren’t so lucky. Winter is mother nature’s toughest season, especially on our homes. Without adequate preparation, you can find yourself with a burst pipe and a flooded basement. Don’t let this happen to you. Here are some basic steps to protecting your home from winter damage.
Protecting your pipes
Make sure you remember to turn off the water shut-off valve to the tap outside your home. If you forget to do this, you can find yourself with a burst pipe and flooding.
Equally important is keeping an eye on the pipes inside your home. Any pipes that are left unprotected can be prone to freezing on the coldest nights. This can leave you without water and in some instances, heating, too. You can avoid this unpleasant situation by ensuring that you have proper insulation in the walls of your home. This will help ensure the pipes in your home stay a constant temperature.
If you do find that your pipes are frozen, you’ll need to act fast. You can thaw them out by using a hot water bottle or towels soaked in warm water. If a pipe does burst, halt the water supply right away by turning off the valve found inside your home (if you don’t know where it is, ask a plumber). By acting fast, you can help minimize any damage that would otherwise occur.
Protecting your furnace
Ensure that your furnace is ready for the coldest months of winter. I once spoke with my HVAC expert. He’s usually inundated with phone calls during the coldest days of winter when furnaces on their last legs die. Don’t let this happen to you. Not only is it inconvenient, it can result in other issues, such as your pipes freezing.
Make sure your furnace is working in tip top shape by taking care of it. Get it serviced every one or two years by a qualified and certified HVAC technician. Not only can this extend the life of your furnace, by running it more efficiently, you can better heat your home and save money on your home heating bill. It’s a win-win situation all around.
There’s some self-maintenance you can do to your furnace, too. Put a reminder on your smartphone to regularly check your furnace filter every couple months. It’s easy to get busy and forget to do this crucial step, since it’s not always so obvious. By ensuring that your furnace filter is clean, you’ll breath cleaner air and help extend the life of your furnace.
Protecting your roof
After there’s a heavy snowfall, watch for ice dams on your roof. Ice dams form on the gutters of your roof from snow and ice building up. This can result in water running down the interior wall surfaces of your home, causing costly damage. You can prevent this by using a long-handed rake to remove snow from your rooftop (be careful) and ensuring that your downspout and gutters are clear.