Winter is Not Over Yet! Make Sure You are Prepared for More Winter Ice Storms!
A winter ice storm can cause freezing rains, snow with extremely low temperatures, and wild winds. Such conditions may last for a few days. Therefore, for areas like Kansas City, we can experience harsh conditions quickly. Often times, it is instructed for us Kansas Citians to prepare our homes and family, but in the busyness of life many times we fail to do so. So what do you do if you find yourself iced in and you have not prepared? We are going to take a few minutes to talk about the obvious.
Frozen Pipes
Pipes freeze and they cause lots of damage. Despite being insulated and in a heated home, pipe breaks are a common occurrence when our temperatures drop into single digits. To avoid such unexpected water damage issues, it should be standard practice to keep the faucets dripping throughout your property. This is to ensure that water does not settle in one place. Thus, there is no time to allow for freezing in the pipe systems.
If you find yourself dealing with a frozen pipe, the 1st thing to do is to turn off the water main before accessing the damage.
No Power? Tips for Food Preservation
Keep the freezer and fridge doors closed as much as possible to hold in temperature. Once temperatures in your refrigerator become warm, store many refrigeration items in the garage or other cold places in the house that doesn’t reach freezing temperatures. Use a thermometer to ensure that the temperature doe not exceed 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep frozen items outside as long as temperatures are below 30 degrees. Make sure to use all perishable foods first in case the power outage lasts for several days. Alternatively, you can also look for electrical companies that provide Safe generator Hook up in Baton Rouge or in your vicinity for emergency power outages. By using the generator efficiently, you can survive harsh winters comfortably for a few weeks.
Reducing Space Sizes to Optimize Heating
For many of us, our homes have a decent amount of square footage for optimal comfort. Before the onset of storms, we might take necessary precautions (like the ones mentioned on this blog – https://bawel.net/storm-damage-repair-tips/) and prepare our homes to brace for the storms. This can include optimizing the existing space and making the interiors more comfortable. However, when the power is out the first priority is to reduce the square footage that you need heat dramatically. The first step is to find a heat source of some kind, a fireplace, a gas oven, a portable heater, etc. If you have a gas heater installed at your home, you may need to ensure that you have an adequate quantity of fuel, else you may find it tough to survive those chilly storms with ease. Therefore, it is advised to contact Nelson Propane Gas supplier (or any similar firm) before the arrival of winter.
Next step is to make a small room size and seal it by taping off doorways with heavy-duty trash bags or heavy blankets surrounding the area with a heat source. It is best to seal off doorways with plastic first. Then place blankets over doorways and rolled up towels below doors for maximum results. This provides a small single area for all daily actions to take place, such as sleeping and spending time together, etc. If you are fortunate enough to have a fireplace or wood stove, make sure to gather firewood in close proximity to the sealed room to minimize heat loss going in and out of the sealed area.
The Most Important Accessories
Gather flashlights, batteries, candles, matchboxes or lighters: things that will be able to serve during the winter ice storm days for the same purpose of minimizing exterior doorways. For communication, it is instructed that you conserve the battery use on devices such as cell phones in case one needs to make an important call or in the case of an emergency which cannot be foreseen.