Taking Care of Your Home with Freezing Temperatures

With this week’s stretch of cold weather and snow – folks can make sure they protect their home from freezing weather and the problems that come with it.

To keep outdoor plumbing fixtures from freezing, disconnect and store any garden hose, shut off the water to your outdoor faucets, and insulate the hose bibs.  When indoor plumbing pipes run through exterior walls, take care to monitor them in the winter and make sure wall insulation is enough.   If needed you can put electric heat tape on pipes that are more exposed to the outside.

Another thing you can do to protect pipes is to set your faucets to a slow drip.  This keeps water moving and less likely to freeze.  You can also consider leaving cabinet doors open so your pipes can benefit from your homes warmth.

If you notice cold air seeping in around a window or door – you can use foam insulation to cover gaps or use caulking or weather stripping around open space around doors.   You can always lay a blanket on the floor by your door to keep cold from coming through any space.

Try and keep your house heated to at least 65 degrees and maintain that temperature.

Make sure you wood stove and any extra heaters are working properly and keep your stove or fireplace flue closed when its not in use.