With the cold season approaching, it’s the perfect time to take a few days to prep your home for winter snow. Snow can be fun, but it can become uncomfortable and dangerous if you are not well prepared. Winter snow and extreme cold can raise the risk of hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. They can also cause severe long-term power shortages and cause severe damage to your car. That’s why it is important to plan and prepare for the winter snow and extreme cold. Below are a few tips on preparing your home for the winter snow.
Replacing Your Roof
Before getting into the winter season, it’s important to replace your roof with metal. Metal roof replacement ensures that your roof holds up well against inclement weather conditions. If your roof is made of other roofing materials, you may experience ice damming occurring after the winter snow leaves precipitation on the roof. When the snow falls on the roof, the bottom layer of the snow is melted by the heat from the inside of your home. The melted snow slides down the roof and reaches the gutters with no insulation. This causes the melted snow to freeze again and turn into solid ice.
The solid ice forms an ice dam which gets worse every day. The ice dams become bigger every time the snow melts into water and the water freezes. The weight of the snow on the gutters can lead to damages and leaks if the melted water flows to a specific area. The repair and wall insulation will greatly increase your winter costs.
Therefore, the best way to avoid such a situation is to install metal roofing to eliminate buildup concerns during winter snow. The metal roofing will stay safe and protected throughout the year, and you will no longer have to worry about additional repair costs during winter.
Installing A Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector
If you use the fireplace to keep the house warm, you should install a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector around the areas you will be heating. Test your detectors monthly and replace your batteries at least twice a year. The equipment will help keep your family safe in case of smoke in the house or carbon monoxide that may cause suffocation. It is also important to have a multi-purpose, dry-chemical fire extinguisher near the fireplace in case of a fire. You should also ensure to get your furnace system and vent checked by your technician every winter season to ensure they are functioning well.
Reverse The Ceiling Fans
Normally, warm air rises, and if you reverse the direction of all your fans, you will create an updraft that pushes down the heated air pressed against the ceiling of your house. Keeping the warm air in circulation will ensure that you utilize heat more efficiently, reducing energy costs. If your house ceiling is not high enough, you should still reverse the fan direction as soon as the winter snow clocks in.
Before reversing the fan’s direction, ensure that the fan is off and click the switch above the blades. If your fan is remote-controlled, it will have an option to reverse the fan’s direction.
Cut Down Tree Branches
During winter, you may experience an ice storm which can make the branches break because of the weight. Therefore, you should cut back branches that overhang the home to avoid roof damage due to a branch breaking. An ice-coated branch is heavy and may damage your roof or break and fall on your house, creating internal damage. If you cannot cut the branches alone, hire a landscaping company to examine the trees and cut them if necessary to keep your home safe.
Conclusion
Winter may seem like a gentle season with the cool temperatures and falling snow which makes you want to cozy up and get a warm drink. However, the winter season, including the cold weather and snow, can damage your home if you are not well prepared. Ensure that you check whether everything is in order at home before the winter season begins. Although the process of preparing the home for winter may sound overwhelming, these tips will be done within a few days, and your family will be better prepared for the winter weather.
Photo by Kyle DeSantis on Unsplash
