Winter weather can bring ice, snow and slippery dangerous conditions. For homeowners, this means a number of tasks to do inside and outside the house prior to bad weather hitting.
Winter home safety tips include ensuring that your driveway is cleared and that your sidewalk or public area is also free of snow. Liability laws can hold you responsible if someone falls outside your house on your sidewalk because snow wasn’t properly cleared in a timely manner. Also ensure your home is winterized in terms of draining outside taps and turning the water supply off from inside the house. Understanding how to set indoor temperatures when the house is occupied or vacant also saves money on heating costs.
Ever wonder why a ceiling fan in the bedroom comes with a reverse direction button? Read on because it has something to do with winter and hot air.
Comfortable House Temperature
Personal preference and a bit of experimentation will help but in general terms a temperature of 72° F (22° C) during the day is reasonable for most people but a lower temperature of 68° F (20° C) will save you money on heating costs which can really add up in winter. Dress warmly inside the house – sweater, long sleeved shirt, pants – and you won’t notice that it’s a bit cooler but your wallet certainly will.
At night, if you can set your thermostat to 62° F (17° C) or thereabouts, it can help with sleeping and also save you more money. Then set the thermostat to begin warming the hour perhaps an hour before you wake up and it’ll be more comfortable when you get out of bed. Buying a thick duvet, winter bedsheets and warm pyjamas is much cheaper than turning the heat up.
If you live in an area with time of use electricity where prices go up and down at different times of the day, you can further adjust your temperatures to match. Also, keep window blinds open during the day to let sunshine in to help heat the house and close them at night to help retain heat.
Vacant House Care
Ensuring that snow is shoveled outside the house not only keeps the house looking lived in, it also ensures you can’t be held liable if someone slips on the snow or ice outside your house because the sidewalk wasn’t cleared.
One of the biggest problems inside a vacant house is the risk that the heat goes out (broken furnace, power outage, gas problem) and the temperature drops to the point that pipes freeze and burst. The resulting flooding can be very messy and costly to repair.
In addition to ensuring that heat inside the house is set at an adequate level, it’s a good idea to have someone check on the house regularly if possible to ensure it is being heated. 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13C) is the lowest to keep a house when it’s vacant during winter. Holding this temperature takes into account that no one is in the home so it doesn’t need to be comfortable but does need to be high enough that pipes don’t freeze.
You may also consider a monitored home security system that includes a water sensor that triggers an alarm with your security company in the instance where a pipe bursts and begins to flood the basement.
When Do Water Pipes Burst?
As mentioned, bursting water pipes is a major concern during winter especially in a vacant house or if you are away on holiday for a few days or longer. It’s best to have someone check on your house if possible when you’re away in winter and to shut the main water supply off to be safe.
It depends on local conditions but in general terms water pipes can freeze and burst if the outside temperature goes below 20 degrees for 6 consecutive hours or longer. Your level of insulation matters as does the location of the pipes and the inside temperature of your house.
Prevent Pipes From Bursting
If you are at home and the furnace breaks in the middle of winter, you can slightly turn on several taps in your house to slowly drip water while waiting for the repair to occur. This keeps water moving in the pipes and may prevent the water from freezing. Normal use of the toilet and taps will help, too.
Also open cabinet doors in the bathroom to allow heated air to circulate under the sink to keep the pipes from getting cold. An electric heater used in the coldest spots of the house (basement typically) can help to keep the room and pipes warm while the furnace is broken.
Never used a portable gas heater or any heating device inside your house that is not meant to be used indoors due to the emissions which can kill people.
Things To Consider
Living in a home with both a double car driveway and a sidewalk, and in an area that gets significant snowfall, I’ve learned a few things over the years regarding snow clearing.
Snowblower
If you don’t own one and get at least a few large snowfalls per year, a snowblower is a very handy way to clear snow quickly. Plus it’s kind of fun to use too. If you buy a snowblower, look for one that has a feature on the handle that enables you to hold one lever down while adjusting the auger (it directs snow that is thrown) that keeps the snowblower in motion. If you have 2 independent handles (one is the clutch, one controls the auger throwing the snow) you have to start and stop and as you adjust the direction that the snow is thrown. Don’t worry about specifically getting a machine with a light as the snow illuminates the ground anyways.
A decent snowblower can last 20 years. While you want to get one that meets your local snowfall needs, it’s better to get one slightly larger than what you need rather than too small. Wet snow gets very heavy.
Shovel
Get a decent shovel with a small metal strip at the bottom as it helps to chip into ice and hard packed snow. A cheap plastic shovel even with a wooden handle will eventually break, perhaps sooner rather than later.
An ice pick can also come in handy if you have ice around walkways and steps to quickly chip away at. A snow shovel doesn’t work well on ice and can break.
Ice Melter
There are a number of environmentally friendly options available these days to help speed up snow and ice melting. It can help to quickly melt ice and snow when sprinkled on a walkway especially if you were late to start shoveling, melting started and then freezing kicked in and turned the snow to ice.
Shovel Sooner Rather Than Later
As mentioned above, it’s best to shovel snow throughout the day especially if it’s coming down hard and accumulating. The longer you wait the more snow there is to remove. If you have a snowblower it’s not so bad but when doing it with a shovel, it be very tiring.
The health risks of snow shoveling are well established with an increase in the chance of heart attack
a particular concern. Slipping and falling is another issue especially (ironically) after you’ve cleared the snow as the driveway can be slick.
Winter Home Safety Checklist
Here are a number of winter home safety tips for both inside and outside your house to ensure you are ready for winter.
- Ensure your gutters are clear of leaves to allow water drainage from rain and melting snow. A shingle roof loses shingle granules over time which can block drains as can leaves and twigs.
- Ensure that water spouts are free to drain water away from the house.
- Change batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. This is especially important in winter as fires commonly occur from heating homes during cold months and Christmas lights left on.
- Turn off water supply to outside taps and garage taps and drain remaining water out if you live in an area that gets freezing cold water in winter.
- Bring your garden hose in as it can crack and leak from cold weather. No point leaving it outside if it isn’t being used.
- Make sure your furnace is ready to go. I’ve had furnace breakdowns in two consecutive Januaries in the middle of winter. Both times the $20 ignitor broke and had to be replaced. It’s a $200-$300 repair with labor.
- Also ensure your humidifier works as air gets very dry in cold winter months with constantly heated air.
- Check windows and doors for air leaks that can be fixed before the cold sets in.
- Cover your outdoor air conditioner unit with the factory cover or with a homemade version to stop damaging ice and snow from accumulating on the blades. If the AC is accidentally turned on, ice can break the blades.
- If you have a ceiling fan, reverse the direction so it runs clockwise as this will push hot air down during the winter to better warm the house. Hot air rises so this sends it back down towards the ground.
- If you have a pool ensure it’s properly winterized and protected with a safety cover. This link is to my Salt Water Pools Report website which you might find handy for your pool needs.