With winter finally making its way into our lives this season, it is important to remember the dangers that come with the cold weather. You and your home face risks at the threat of a winter storm that can damage your property or leave you without power.

Frozen pipes can lead to expensive repairs and many headaches. If the temperature drops below twenty degrees Fahrenheit, your pipes run the risk of freezing. Luckily, there are several preventative steps you can take.

• Open your cabinet doors. This allows warm is to circulate closer to your pipes.

• Keep your faucet on a slow, steady drip. The moving water prevents freezing.

• Keep your thermostat turned up during the day and night. Often times, people turn their thermostats down in the night to save on heating costs. During a winter storm, it’s okay to spring for those few extra degrees of warmth! Frozen pipes would be a much costlier problem.

• Keep your garage door closed.

Power outages are not unheard of during a winter storm and can be rather dangerous if you are snowed in and unable to attain heat. If you do find yourself without power, there are still ways to stay warm.

• Purchase an alternative heat source. This can be a propane heater or an electric generator.

• There are also DIY heaters you can make. One involves tea candles and flower pots. A step by step guide can be found here: https://thriftyoutdoorsman.com/diy-survival-heaters-staying-warm-power/

• Confine your family to one small room and close off the rest to trap warm air. Huddle under blankets together to share warmth!

• Put blankets over your windows to keep out the draft if you haven’t already.

• Wear lots and lots of layers!

And a few other things to consider before winter:

• Reverse ceiling fans to blow warm air upwards that will then move down your walls. The reversal keeps you from feeling the cold draft of the fan.

• Clean your gutters. The melting snow and ice can cause strain that will ruin your gutters if they run into clogs.

• Seal your windows. This can be down with sealant or even just covering them with plastic.

Sources for this blog post can be found on our Pinterest board for weather preparedness: https://pin.it/2v4gcwoxb32xyr