48 THE QUEENS COURIER • AT HOME • AUGUST 16, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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4 ways to prep your home for winter
When you start feeling those fi rst hints
of winter, the instinct to get ready kicks
in. You may dig out your car’s snow
brush, blanket, shovel and winter survival
kit and place them in the trunk of your
car. Th e winter coats and boots come out
of storage, and you may pick up some
extra mittens at the store.
We do these things to protect ourselves
from the cold when we’re out and
about. But what do you do to protect
your house against the hazards of winter?
If you don’t take time for maintenance
and winterization now, you can
end up paying for it later, whether it’s
in the form of higher energy bills, frozen
pipes or fi xing a broken furnace.
Here are four problems that can hit
home during the winter and what you
can do to ward them off .
Sky-high energy bills: Do your electric
bills rise during the wintertime? Heating
your home accounts for about half of
your home’s energy bills, according to
the U.S. Department of Energy. Combat
the cold by sealing off any cracks or
gaps with caulk and inspect entrances
for worn or broken weatherstripping.
Schedule a furnace inspection tuneup
with an HVAC contractor and consider
installing a smarter thermostat.
Learning thermostats, such as Nest, can
remember your favorite temperatures,
turning itself down when you leave for
work, as well as returning to your favorite
temp at the end of the day.
Water leaks: We take our pipes for
granted, but we don’t always anticipate
what can go wrong when we’re
not home. According to the Insurance
Information Institute, water damage
accounts for half of all property damage
claims. Add winter’s freezing temperatures
to the mix, and you can end
up with a big problem if your home has
a power outage or your furnace malfunctions.
For extra peace of mind, there’s now
a leak and fl ood protection system you
can purchase that shuts off your water
main’s supply when it detects leaks -
and sends an alert right to your smart
device. LeakSmart installs directly to
your home’s main water supply, and
wireless sensors placed around the house
can detect a leak or temperature changes
and shut down the whole house water
supply within fi ve seconds. And when
the LeakSmart Hub is powered by a battery
back-up, the system will still work
if the power and internet go out, so you
don’t have to worry about coming home
to water damage.
Th e system can work on its own or be
integrated with smart home systems.
If you’re interested in learning more
about how this smart device can protect
your home, visit LeakSmart.com.
Power outages: When a winter storm
hits, the ice and wind can break power
lines and interrupt the supply of electricity
to our homes. It’s not uncommon
for some outages to last for days, which
is why it’s always smart to be prepared.
Before winter hits, make certain your
generator or other backup power source
has ample fuel and is in good working
order. Keep some basic supplies at the
ready, so you can keep your family comfortable.
Make sure you have extra blankets,
stocking caps, batteries and fully
charged power banks for your mobile
phones. It’s also good to have a few gallons
of fresh water and some cans of
ready-to-eat chili and stew. If you have
a camp stove, keep it in an easy-to-reach
place, along with a fuel supply.
Ice dams: Another thing to watch for
in the winter are pools of water forming
on your roof. Th ese can be caused by
ridges of snow and ice, and eventually
cause leaks to the interior of your home.
Ice dams can also lead to the formation
of large, pointy icicles that hang from the
gutters, which can fall and injure people.
Luckily, a little work upfront can go
a long way toward preventing ice dams
and the damage they can cause. First,
make sure the gutters and downspouts
are clear of leaves and other yard debris,
so the snowmelt has a place to go. Next,
poke your head into the crawlspace of
your attic and see if the insulation layer
is still thick enough to keep the heat
from escaping through the roof. While
you’re up there, look for gaps and leaks.
Finally, this is a good time to invest in
a simple snow rake, so you can easily
remove wet, heavy snow from your roof
before the dams can start forming.
Now that you know the most common
winter hazards that can hit home, you can
take the steps to protect your investment
and keep your family comfortable and safe.
Courtesy BPT