10 winter survival tips everyone should kn

9 cold weather tips to prepare your home (and car) for below freezing temps BY KORIE DEAN UPDATED DECEMBER 21, 2022 1:32 PM Loaded: 100.00% Pause Skip Back Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:35 / Duration 1:27 Fullscreen South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin addresses what his team must do to get better after 10 games. BY GREG HADLEY When freezing temperatures and cold weather are forecast in North Carolina, it’s important to keep yourself safe — and your home, too. Properly winterizing your home, among other actions, ahead of extreme weather can go hand-in-hand to keep both you and your home warm, safe and dry. To help you think about key steps and precautions to take as cold weather approaches, we’ve compiled several tips from ReadyNC.gov, part of North Carolina Emergency Management, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Red Cross. TOP VIDEOS × Here’s what to know. 1. PROPERLY WINTERIZE AND INSULATE YOUR HOME Winterizing and weatherproofing your home ensures that cold air stays out — which keeps you warm inside, and can also save you some money on your heating bill. Key steps to take when winterizing your home include: Get unlimited digital access Try 1 month for $1 CLAIM OFFER ▪ Making sure your walls and attics are properly insulated. The Red Cross recommends adding extra insulation to attics, basements and crawl spaces, especially, to “maintain higher temperatures in these areas.” ▪ Caulking or weather-stripping doors and windows to prevent air from getting in or out. ▪ Installing storm windows or covering existing windows with plastic from the inside. Severe Weather Updates Stay up-to-date with the latest forecasts, advisories and news during hurricane season and beyond. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Note: If you have outdoor structures, either for animals or other uses, it’s a good idea to also winterize and insulate those parts of your home as well. 2. PROPERLY INSULATE PIPES, OR LEAVE FAUCETS TO DRIP When water freezes, it expands. And no matter the strength of your home’s plumbing or pipes, when that happens, pipes can burst. To prevent pipes from bursting, you should take steps to insulate them and protect them from cold and freezing temperatures. The Red Cross recommends these tips, for pipes both inside and outside of your home: ▪ If you have water lines or pipes in your garage, keep your garage doors closed. This will help keep outside cold air from getting inside, and keep pipes warm. ▪ At your kitchen and bathroom sinks, open the cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. ▪ Consider buying and using products specifically designed to insulate pipes, such as pipe sleeves, heat tape, heat cables or similar materials. You could also use newspaper, which “can provide some degree of insulation and protection to exposed pipes.” ▪ Leave your faucets at a slight drip to keep water moving through the plumbing. “Running water through the pipe — even at a trickle — helps prevent pipes from freezing,” the Red Cross says. ▪ Keep your thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. “By temporarily suspending the use of lower nighttime temperatures, you may incur a higher heating bill, but you can prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst,” the Red Cross says. 3. LOCATE WATER SHUT-OFFS IN YOUR HOME While you should take the above precautions in hopes of keeping your pipes from freezing, there’s a chance brutally cold weather could still cause some pipes to burst. In case that happens, you should know where to find your home’s water shut-off valves, and be familiar with how to actually shut the water off. Depending on the layout of your home and other factors, the water shut-off valve may be near your water meter or water heater. 4. PROPERLY MAINTAIN HEATING EQUIPMENT You should keep your home’s heating equipment — whether it’s a central system or something like a fireplace — clean and properly maintained all year, but especially when cold weather is possible.

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