By Lorie Ham
It is finally beginning to get cold outside. The heater is running for the first time this season, and morning coffee is now as much for warmth as caffeine, so it’s time to start thinking about whether your home is ready once it REALLY gets cold out there. Even if you live in parts of the country that don’t see extreme cold, it is still best to prepare for the worst.
One of the first things to think about is getting your heater or furnace serviced to make sure it is working correctly—the last thing you want is to be unable to keep your home and family warm. Some people will also need to check chimneys and fireplaces (some areas discourage using these due to poor air quality). It is also a good idea to ensure your trees are in good shape. You don’t want them to break from heavy snow or be blown over by heavy winds. If a limb has the potential of landing on your home or even your fence, you could be dealing with a lot of damage.
Consumer Reports has a list of ten tips to get your house ready for winter. They not only include getting your heating system serviced, but also protecting indoor pipes and outdoor water sources from freezing, insulating your attic or crawl space, and getting storm windows.
On a similar list on Chubb.com, they recommend checking for under-door drafts and sealing around your windows because more heat than you might realize can escape that way. They also recommend installing a programmable thermostat and keeping your temperature no lower than 65 degrees to help prevent some freezing issues. Smart thermostats can wirelessly alert you to unusually low temperatures in your home as well.
An article on the Insurance Information Institute’s website has some other great tips that include moving combustible items away from fireplaces, space heaters, and wood stoves. It is also a good time to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working, as not only do residential fires increase in the winter, but also carbon monoxide poisoning.
Another great tip, especially if you are in an area where you see storms strong enough to cut your power, might be to purchase a backup generator. Chubb suggests a dual-use one for natural gas and liquid propane. Not only will it maintain your heating systems and help prevent freezing pipes, but it can also keep your food cold and your Wi-Fi connected.
Whatever type of winter weather may be coming your way this season, make sure you are prepared. Follow the tips above that apply to your area of the country to help prevent any unwanted emergencies, that way you can focus your time and energy on enjoying the fun parts of this time of year! It is also a good time to check on your insurance coverage so you can be certain that if an unwanted incident does happen, you are prepared to deal with it. Mennonite Insurance would be happy to answer all of your questions by phone or email: (559) 638-2327 [email protected].
