Below are some winter safety tips.
Always keep sidewalks and entrances to your home free from snow and ice.
Keep gutters and drainpipes free of leaves and debris so melting snow and ice can flow freely. Check for ice dams near gutter downspouts. Ice dams can cause water to build up and seep into your house.
Maintain your home temperature at a minimum of 65 degrees. Lower room temperatures can result in burst water pipes because temperature within the walls is substantially colder than the walls themselves.
Know where the main water shutoff in your home is located, and know how it works in case you have to use it.
During extremely cold weather open hot and cold faucets just enough to let them drip slowly, keeping water moving within the pipes prevents freezing.
Be sure to disconnect all hoses from outside facets.
Keep doors close on attached garages to prevent cold drafts coming from the garage entrance to the house.
In the fall remove any dead, damaged or dangerous tree branches. Snow, ice or wind could cause them to break damaging your house, a car or injuring someone.
If you use a wood stove or fireplace clean your chimney before the season. Check for creosote buildup. Creosote is the oily liquid from wood. If allowed to buildup creosote hardens in a chimney. This can be dangerous! Sometimes this hardened creosote catches on fire. What causes creosote buildup and how can I prevent creosote buildup? The biggest cause is burning wood that is not properly seasoned (dry enough). Another reason creosote builds up not burning hot enough fires. Look at your fireplace manual for recommended temperatures. Remember to close the flue in your fireplace when you're not using it.
If going to be away from home for a while, have a neighbor check the house regularly for potential problems. Do not turn your thermostats down keeping the heat on helps to avoid problems with frozen pipes.
If you are going away for an extended period of time, have the water system drained by a professional to keep pipes from freezing or bursting.
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