Property Protection: Keep Your Home Safe This Winter

Property Protection During The Winter

While this winter thus far has been rather mild here in South Jersey, we all know how harsher weather conditions can creep up on us. One day it’s 50º out and the next it’s snowing and 20º. Most of us aren’t ready for those harsh conditions, but your property should be ready and protected.  Keeping your home and it’s occupants warm and safe is a no brainer. The process of getting to that point is where many struggle. There are plenty of steps you can take in your property protection routine this winter, helping you avoid serious winter damage to your property. 

South Jersey Winter Property Protection

General tips for winter property protection may seem pretty obvious. Keeping your home warm is the number one thing you can do to ensure your property’s wellbeing during the cold winter months. However, this is easier said than done. There are a lot of steps you’ll have to take to get to that point. 

• Service Heating System: Your home’s heating system must be serviced at least once a year. Your air conditioner, fireplace, or furnace should be inspected to confirm that everything is in working order before the weather becomes too extreme. This helps to prevent fire and smoke damage. This is especially important for winter property protection because you use your heating system the most throughout the cold winter months. 
• Seal Any Drafts: Check around your home’s windows and doors to ensure that there are no cracks that could be letting in drafts. If you happen to find any drafts, promptly seal them up. This will help prevent energy waste by letting cold air into your heated home. It also helps with preventing mold damage, since drafts not only let in cold air but also excess moisture. 
• Check Roof And Attic: Your roof and attic should also be checked for any cracks, leaks, and soft spots. When the warm, stuffy attic environment comes in contact with a cold front, it can leave your attic with condensation. Condensation in the attic and building materials of the roof/attic area can freeze. This can potentially cause moisture related issues such as mold when that frozen condensation begins to melt. Ideally, you will want to assess these areas before the weather gets too bad, to avoid any ice and snow. It is important that you repair any issues that you may find, because once there is snow on your roof there’s no going back. If too much heat escapes through the attic, it can cause snow or ice to melt on the roof. It can be very difficult and dangerous trying to remove snow and ice from the roof to do a repair.
• Extra Insulation: Add extra insulation to attics, crawl spaces, and any exterior walls. An exterior wall is any wall that directly meets the outdoors. This is going to help keep the cold out, and your warm indoor environment in. Walls that directly meet the outdoors may feel physically colder than those that don’t. Other spots that you should check include your air conditioner, vents, and electrical lines. It may seem excessive, but adding extra insulation to these areas can make all the difference. You may want to consider adding extra insulation to your garage and basement as well. This can help keep your pipes from freezing. 
• Prevent Frozen Pipes: Preventing frozen pipes is one of the most important steps in winter property protection. Frozen and burst pipes can lead to serious costly repairs. You can add insulation around exposed pipes to help them from freezing. 
• Reliable Back-up Power Source: Providing a back-up power source, such as a generator, will be helpful in the event that a storm causes a power outage. If you do not already have a portable power generator, you should consider purchasing one this winter. This is essential in keeping you and your home warm. Having a back-up power source will also help with preventing your pipes from freezing during a snowstorm. 

Keep Your Home Safe This Winter

If you want to stay on the safe side, you can also prepare a winter emergency kit along with the rest of these steps. Your emergency kit should include space heaters, power generators, food and water, and blankets. Other supplies you may need include flashlights, a first aid kit, and maybe a little cash as well. You can never be too cautious of course, better safe than sorry. Another key item throughout winter is rock salt, whether you are experiencing an emergency or not. This will ensure that you are not only safe inside your home, but outside as well.

Winter can be a beautiful time of year, but it can also cause a lot of damage if you let it. This damage can stick around much longer than winter itself. Using these property protection tips, you can keep your home warm and secure for the winter.