Most of the country is in the deep freeze of winter right now, and it is important to properly care for your home to make sure you and your property come through safely. Read below for some tips to make sure you are prepared when the temperatures take a dive.

Protect Your Pipes (Exterior). Before the temps get below freezing, make sure that you have taken care of any exterior pipes. Water left in pipes can freeze and burst, potentially causing some major damage and expensive fixes. To avoid frozen pipes, disconnect hoses, shut off the water to the exterior and drain the faucets.

Protect Your Pipes (Interior). As if worrying about the outside wasn’t enough, if the temperatures get REALLY cold, you will want to take care of your interior pipes to prevent freezing as well. Opening cabinet doors under sinks will allow warmer air to reach the pipes, leaving a drip on faucets, from both hot and cold sides, and running the water through occasionally will hopefully keep the pipes in the house from freezing or bursting.

Stay Warm, Safely. In the case that you have lost power and the weather is extremely cold, there are a few things you can do to help stay warm inside. Take advantage of the sun by opening the curtains on any windows facing the sun and closing any on the opposite side. As soon as the sun starts to set close all curtains in an attempt to keep as much heat inside the house as possible. If you are using a generator, make sure that you are taking precautions regarding carbon monoxide. Replace batteries in your detectors and make sure they are all working properly. 

Stock Essentials. Having a stock-pile of essentials on hand may seem like something you would see on a TV show called “Doomsday Preppers”, but making sure you have certain items on hand for emergencies just makes good sense. You don’t need to go overboard, but having enough on hand that can get you through a few days without power is smart. Things such as candles, non-perishable foods, prescription medications, batteries and fuel for a generator (if you have one) are items to make sure you have before a storm hits. Waiting too long to prepare can put you at risk of depleted stock at stores and leave you without the essentials. 

Yearly Maintenance. While it is hard to predict when you will see extreme weather, doing a few things every year will hopefully keep you ready in case of a bad snap. Have your furnace inspected every fall to make sure it is working properly. Doing this can help you avoid being the 200th person looking for help when the temps bottom out. Also, be sure to do a roof inspection and check the weather proofing on the exterior of the home every fall and fill in any cracks or replace weather stripping as needed.

Being prepared is key to making it through these cold winter temps. Cambria Mortgage wants to help you be financially prepared for your future. If you are thinking about purchasing a home or want to see if you can save on your current mortgage, reach out today to get started: call 952-942-0110 or visit CambriaMortgage.com.