Warm Winter Homeowner Tips

Winter weather is tough for all of us, but especially for your home! Not only snow, but also frigid temperatures can cause damage to your home. While it may be a bit too late to consider some precautions, there’s still a lot you can do to prevent damage & keep your home warm & comfortable.

During the holidays icicle lights look pretty, but if actual icicles form, it can be a sign of ice dam build up under your roof, which can be expensive to repair. An ice dam forms when heat from inside your house causes water to melt on your roof and then refreeze near the edges, creating a dam that can lead to leaks in your roof and damage to the interior of your home. Proper insulation in your attic will keep living areas warm & prevent warm air from escaping into your attic and melting the snow on your roof top.

Another potential issue when the temperature drops below freezing is frozen pipes. It’s a good idea to wrap water pipes in insulation or at least open cabinet doors to allow warm air to reach pipes under the sink. Another option is to allow the faucet to drip – it wastes a little water, but could prevent a pipe from freezing & bursting! If your pipes do freeze, first shut off the water and call a plumber to repair the damage. If the frozen pipe hasn’t burst, you can try to warm the pipe with a hair dryer. Begin nearest the drain and work your way down. Never use an open flame to defrost the pipe!

Snow that melts can sometimes seep into your home, so shovel snow away from your foundation and out of stairwells & window wells. Melting snow can also overwhelm sewer systems & backup into your home, so check to make sure your homeowner policy includes coverage for water backup – it may be included or added for a small additional premium.


Finally, cold weather means heating your home. Be sure to have your fireplace & chimney inspected annually as well as your furnace. And install carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home and replace them as the manufacturer suggests (usually every 10 years). Carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly, and may seem like flu symptoms, so if you suspect CO2, leave your home immediately!

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