Protect Your Home From Winter Weather – Start Now
During the summer months, it might be easy to forget about the challenges that come with the winter months, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about what is to come. Although it’s still possible to protect your home as the winter months approach, if you have a solid game plan ahead of time, it can save you some stress and time in the moment.
Preparing for the harsh winter weather can mean a lot of things depending on your location, but if you won your home, you will want to keep your home safe to avoid costly damages. If you take the steps ahead of time it can make quite the difference.
Protect Your Pipes
The first thing you will want to do is to keep your pipes warm. If you’ve never faced harsh winter circumstances, you may not be familiar with the damages that come from a winter storm to your pipes. If your pipes burst, you could be dealing with a very hefty bill to prepare them so keep in mind even if your home is warm, your pipes can still freeze. If you take precaution by wrapping your pipes in the cold parts in insulation as well as letting water drip slowly from faucets, you could be saving yourself a big headache and lots of money.
Ice Damage Can Be Costly
Another thing you can do to protect your home during the winter months is to avoid ice damage. When heat inside your home causes water to melt in the middle of your roof but then refreezes near the edges, it creates a fam which can turn into leaks in your roof and ceiling. Be on the lookout for icicles hanging from your roof as it can be a sign that ice dams are being formed. What you can do to protect against this from happening is to keep your attic cold by sealing holes from lights and ceiling fans to prevent warm air from leaving your attic.
Clean Your Gutters
It’s always a good idea to clean your gutters but in the winter months this can be even more important to prevent water from backing up and freezing. Be sure to check downspouts and make sure water is diverted away from your home. If you see any branches hanging low that might freeze and break causing damage to your home, remove those as well.
Stay On Top of Your Roof
It may seem obvious, but be vigilant when it comes to taking care of your roof. If your roof is prone to accumulating a lot of snow, it could collapse. It may seem like a very drastic condition, but if you have a flat roof, it could very well happen. In most cases with average snow conditions, it’s not likely, but if heavy snow builds up, you should think about getting a roof rake with a long handle to remove packed snow.
Think Long Term
Something you can do ahead of time to prepare for the winter months is to buy a generator. If you pick up a generator when they are not as necessary, you buy one for cheap and store it for when you actually need it. A generator provides heat and power and can prevent your pipes from freezing while keeping your home warm. An added benefit is a discount on your homeowners insurance policy as well.
Contact Us Today
Whether you’re thinking long term or just a few weeks into the future, protecting your home during a winter storm is always going to be important. We can help to make sure you are prepared for all seasons with our policies so don’t be afraid to reach out to our team at Willoughby Insurance in Buffalo, NY today!