To keep your home safe and secure in winter there are always a few tasks that you should do to prepare. But when extreme weather is predicted there are some extra jobs you should do to ensure you stay safe and warm.
With the Mirror newspaper predicting that the UK is set to face one of its harshest, and longest, winters in decades now is the time to start and prepare for all eventualities.
Ice, ice baby…
Plummeting temperatures can wreak havoc on your home if it’s not properly protected. From frozen pipes to cracked windows and blocked guttering to slippery paths.
If you have any outside taps or plumbing make sure they’re well insulated to prevent them freezing up and bursting. Use a portable heater or hairdryer in rooms where pipes have frozen to raise the temperature slowly without applying direct heat to the pipe, which could cause further damage.
Clear out guttering and remove any debris that may have built up over the autumn months. Also, in the garden consider cutting back branches that may snap and cause damage to your home in a severe storm. No one wants to come home to find a tree has come through a window or the roof.
If you’re based in or around Leicester emergency glaziers https://www.nanduglass.co.uk/boarding-up provide a rapid response service to either fix or board up your broken window.
Prepare for the worst
Should the worst happen and you get snowed in you’ll be thankful that you were prepared. The weather can be notoriously unpredictable and even weather forecasters sometimes get it wrong.
So, think ahead. If you take prescription medication make sure you always have at least a few days to a week’s supply, never let them run dangerously low. Stock up an few essential items like food and water, but remember you may not have any power, so consider food you can eat that won’t require cooking.
If there’s no power you also won’t have any lighting or access to TV, for example. Make sure you have a couple of torches and perhaps a battery-operated radio to stay in touch with what’s happening in the outside world. You can also buy portable power banks that will keep your mobile phones going, but only if you remember to keep the bank itself charged.
