4 Ways You Need to Prepare Your Home This Winter

Although we in Middle Tennessee might have milder winters than up North, we still experience freezing temperatures and the occasional snow or ice fall. In order to stay warm this winter and avoid any disasters, follow these 4 ways you can prepare your house for the next few months of freezing temperatures.

Prep the Plumbing

Since freezing temperatures can cause your pipes to burst, it’s important that you make sure they are all prepped for winter. You should be done using water outside by this point, so drain all your water hoses from water, store them inside, and cover all your outdoor faucets. Your general home improvement store should sell a cover specifically designed to keep your faucets sealed from the freezing temperatures.

Inspect Your Fireplace

During the winter, you’ll want to keep super warm without spending the extra money on energy to keep the house roasting. The best way to accomplish this is by lighting a fire in your fireplace. Before you use it, though, make sure you have it inspected. Assuming you use your fireplace, they need to be inspected and cleaned yearly. If not maintained properly, you run the risk of having a chimney fire which could potentially spread to the rest of your home.

In addition to your fireplace, go ahead and have your heating system inspected as well. Better now than in the middle of a freezing night.

Conserve Heat

While you are doing everything you can to keep the house warm, your house may be working against you. To conserve all the heat you are producing, seal up all the air leaks you can find where warm air can escape or freezing air can come in. Keep the cold out by using caulk to plug up all the holes you can find around your doors and windows.

Prepare for Power Outages

Although snow and ice storms are rare in Middle Tennessee, they have happened. And with them comes power outages. To best prepare, keep your home stocked with candles, flashlights with batteries, heavy blankets, and firewood. The firewood can be used to keep you warm and the home lit, while the flashlights and candles can provide light throughout rooms and halls. Avoid using your phone as a flashlight, since you don’t know when the power will return and you won’t have a way to recharge it. Until the power returns, keep your exterior doors shut and stuff blankets along the edges of the doors to keep the warm air from escaping.

Even if it isn’t a power outage from snow or ice, a good thunderstorm has been known to hit right in the middle of winter. Don’t be caught unprepared.

Even if you think your home is fine, it’s always better to be safe than sorry! The cold is nothing to mess around with. By preparing your home for winter, you can ensure that your winter months indoors are as pleasant as they can be.