Avoid A Winter Emergency Move With These Easy Maintenance Tips

Whether you have your current home on the market, or are just settling into your new place – avoid spending your holidays handling stressful Winter-related disasters with a bit of preventative maintenance.

Indoor Prep – Start inside your home, where properly working equipment, maintaining heat, and preventing pipe bursts are of utmost importance.

• Schedule annual maintenance checkups of your HVAC, heating system, fireplace, and chimney by licensed contractors.
• If you use oil heat, check the fuel level and schedule fuel delivery early in the season. Monitor fuel level and usage throughout the season.
• Set thermostat no lower than 55 degrees.
• Open doors to unoccupied rooms to keep an even temperature throughout the home.
• Inspect and add additional insulation in the attic to prevent heat loss and ice dams.
• Check or install weather stripping around doors and windows to guard against drafts and heat loss.
• Remove screens and install storm windows and doors.
• Check for any leaking pipes or faucets. Insulate any pipes in unheated areas of the home.
• Learn how to shut off your water and where all pipes are located in case of a water emergency, flood, or pipe burst. Test your sump pump.

Outdoor Prep – Once inside your home is prepped, move outside to prevent potential external disasters including leaks, falling limbs, and ice dams.

• Scan your roof for missing, loose, or damaged shingles. Replace immediately to prevent leaks and damage.
• Check and repair breaks in the flashing around chimneys and vent stacks.
• Clean all gutters of debris, which can block melting snow and create ice dams. Make sure gutter downspouts direct water away from the foundation of your home.
• Turn off exterior faucets and drain and winterize sprinkler systems.
• Trim trees and dead branches to prevent breakage when heavy snow hits.
• Once the in-climate weather begins, clear ice and snow immediately.
• Service snow blowers and generators.
• Stock up on supplies: shovel, roof rake, salt, sand, ice melt, and fuel for snow blowers and generators.

When it comes to Winter-related emergencies in the home, having professionals by your side is one of the keys to easing the stress of any unexpected disasters. Damages to a home in the form of floods, ice dams, fire, bursting pipes and others can be more than just an inconvenience, they can cause months of stress and worse, cost untold amounts of money. That’s why you need an emergency moving service you can trust.

Click here to learn more about Humboldt’s Emergency Moving Services & Restoration Division.