It's Time to Winterize!

It's Time to Winterize! Top 10 items to consider! Save time and Money by being prepared for the Freezing temperatures and snow cover. 1. Change batteries in smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and indoor climate thermostats. A few other items that should be done or reviewed. The list of 10 items to be completed! 2. Locate and mark your water service shut-off and sewer clean out so that can be found when snow is deep - as a precaution you need access to either of them due to freezing. In a condo or townhome, locate or mark the water turn off valves in the unit. 3. Clean Chimneys and wood stove flues to reduce fire risk. This is usually done by the condo or townhome HOA,, but not in homes. 4. Some people actually turn off the main water supply when no one is in the home condo, just in case the heat goes out from damage to the main heat supply to the property. 5. In case of a home or townhome there are small freeze protectors that cover your outside water bibs from freezing as easy. They are about $5.00 at hardware stores, slip over the water- bid with a loop over the faucet and zip tie built in to snug it up against the home. Many times these outside water bibs are the cause of major water/ flooding during the cold winter months. 6. Have a lock box on the exterior of your property so the code can be given to anyone needing to have emergency access to your property. Those items are easy to locate either online or at most any hardware stores and do not cost very much. 7. When guest visit your property, make sure they do not turn down to low of turn off your heating thermostat upon departure or turn off your main water supply lever! It has happened. 8. In the case of a home that is not used as much in the Winter time. Be sure the driveway is properly marked & plowed on a regular basis because if it goes to long, it requires larger heavy equipment to clear the driveway when needed which can be expensive. Also if not cleared on a regular basis, it can restrict access by Fire Departments in case of needed to access the property. 9. In years of heavy snow fall which this year is predicted to be, be sure to have your exterior decks are cleared of snow if the level of snow reaches too high. Too much snow load on decks and roofs can cause collapse of decks, ice dams on roofs and eventual leaks into the structure. 10. Provide a list of emergency contact information and utility companies contact information in a prominent location and easy to see in case a guest needs this information while at your property. 11. In homes, be sure to make sure that water supply lines in crawl spaces are wrapped with insulation or possibly even wrapped with heat tape to protect from days where the temperatures drop quickly! Just as an added measure of protection. Note: when the home is not used regularly wand water is not moving in the lines daily, lines can freeze easier. Make sure you have plenty of extra light bulbs, basic necessities in the home for ease of replacement and not having to run to get these items when bad weather and road conditions are icy and snow covered.