Paul Hope with Consumer Reports was live on AccuEarly to provide viewers with tips for preparing your home for the cold weather.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Paul Hope is Senior Home and Appliances Writer with Consumer Reports.
00:04Paul, thanks for joining us.
00:05We often have you back here during big events here.
00:08And Paul, for traditional cold weather cities preparing your home for winter,
00:13it's a common occurrence.
00:14But what about folks in the path of this storm?
00:17What should they do to get winter ready?
00:20Yeah, you know, some of those things that we sort of take for granted
00:23or do naturally in some of the cold weather in northern states
00:26may not be first nature for folks in the south.
00:30So one of the biggest problem areas people encounter is frozen pipes,
00:34particularly in spots where they're run in basements,
00:37crawl spaces, or along exterior walls, which tend to be quite a bit colder.
00:41A frozen pipe is one of those things that is really easy to prevent,
00:45but just catastrophic when it actually happens.
00:47In many cases, you might spend $3,000, even $5,000 on a repair.
00:51And the issue is really that, you know, it's not that it's so expensive to repair.
00:55It's really just that it can do an enormous amount of damage,
00:59especially if it's allowed to run for quite some time after it bursts.
01:03And obviously, what about, if we can continue to scroll here,
01:08what about the safety with the space heaters?
01:12A lot of people using space heaters.
01:14What about generators? That can cause a problem.
01:17What should you remember about those products to try to keep staying warm and stay safe?
01:25Absolutely. You know, space heaters are great appliances when used correctly and safely.
01:30So you want to make sure that they're run on a dedicated circuit.
01:33You don't want to use them with extension cords, surge protectors,
01:37or jumble them with a lot of other high-wattage appliances
01:40because they're likely to overload a circuit in your house,
01:43which ideally would trip a circuit breaker,
01:45but in the worst-case scenario could start a fire.
01:48Obviously, make sure you only use them when they have plenty of clearance around them.
01:51You don't want to have clothing or anything that's remotely flammable near a space heater.
01:56And then generators are, you know, maybe not something people in these areas need all the time,
02:00but they are really, in some cases, life-saving and at least life-improving devices
02:05in the event of a prolonged power outage.
02:08They're especially important and helpful in instances like these where, you know,
02:12as you mentioned, road crews are not adept at necessarily clearing areas for utility companies quickly.
02:18There could be folks who experience power outages that go on days, even weeks.
02:22So a generator really can make, you know, make all the difference in a storm like this.
02:27You covered a bit about the interior, but how about the exterior?
02:29From the roof to the foundation, what can folks do to get ready for this cold
02:34or the cold for the rest of the season?
02:37Absolutely. You want to make sure to shut off any outdoor sources of water,
02:40especially, you know, hose bibs, things you might not normally have to deal with
02:43in areas where you're not expecting freezing temperatures.
02:46But you also want to check your roof.
02:48And, you know, it might be a little late for some folks now,
02:50but the idea is just look at your roof for any loose, missing, damaged shingles.
02:55Anything that's going wrong with your roof now is only going to get worse during a snowstorm.
03:01And, you know, worse, a roofing contractor might be able to make a simple repair now in 15, 20 minutes.
03:06If you wait until there's more damage or worse, until there's snow and ice on the roof,
03:09you're going to pay an enormously high rate because it's very dangerous, intense work.
03:14So try to make any roofing repairs you need before a big storm.
03:17If you get through this one, have a roofing inspector check it before there's another snowstorm.
03:22Paul Hope, Senior Home and Appliances Writer with Consumer Reports.