Maybe you are just now experiencing winter this year or maybe you are in an area that's been hit several times by the freezes, ice overs and wintery mixes. There are a number of things that you can keep in mind to help make your apartment life a lot easier or to help prevent and damage that could happen to your home during these times of cold.
Inside Faucet Slow Stream - First off - protect those pipes! If you are expecting an overnight freeze, it is very important to leave both your hot and cold internal sinks on a slow stream to prevent the pipes from freezing, busting, and causing damage to your apartment or home from a terrible leak due to burst pipes. Often the advice is to drip the faucets, which may help, but a slow stream can be even better at preventing water from freezing in the pipes and causing issues. Keep it flowing!
Open Up Those Cabinets - More than likely inside your home you will have the heat running and the inside temperature will be comfy and cozy. For added protection to your pipes that are under your sinks, allow that inside heat to help keep those pipes warmer by keeping your cabinet doors open under the sinks. This little bit of extra heat can help.
Cover the Outside Faucets - If you have outside faucets make sure that they are all covered and insulated. You can buy covers at your local hardware or big box superstore, but short of having one of those there are some other methods that can work. One backup method for covering and insulating your outside faucets is to wrap them in towels, rags, or old T-Shirts wrapped in duct tape. You could even take that one step further and wrap that in a plastic grocery bag and tape it again - to help prevent the rags or towel from becoming water logged. Whichever method you choose, make sure you take care of this very important step and protect the outside faucets!
Heaters - Don't be afraid to crank up the heater a little to be safe. With a central heating unit you should be in good shape, but to prevent your electric bill from sky rocketing and being a strain on the grid that could cause a "Texas-sized" power outage, be sure to turn down the heater when your apartment or house is not being occupied or when you don't need it. When you find yourself in a period of running the heater more than usual, it can also be very helpful to the grid to avoid running any other unnecessary power draining appliance. If you are considering using space heaters, first off you will need to consider whether your landlord or apartment community even allow them because it can be against many leases to use space heaters. If you are able to use a space heater and do, though, always remember to use them safely!
Pets - Bring any and all of your pets inside. Just because they have fur, means nothing in the face of a wintery mix. Pets can freeze to death if left outside during a freeze, so make sure that you are ALWAYS bringing your little furry companion inside so that they can stay warm and not freeze -even if they are an "outside pet". Break out the cute pet sweater too. More than just making your little one look cute on social media, those pet sweaters and jackets also have a functional purpose.
Plants are People Too - Okay - so obviously plants aren't really people of course, but they are effected by freezes just as we are and can in fact be killed by being stuck out in the freezing cold. If you have plants on your porch, you'll want to bring them inside if possible. If you can't bring them inside, cover them with some bed sheets, to try and help shield them from the blistering cold.
Shut off Your Sprinklers - If you live in a home with an irrigation system, make sure to turn it off when going through a freeze. The low temperatures can cause harm to sprinkler systems that may lead to costly repairs, so better to shut them off and let them rest awhile during a freeze.
Pools - At an apartment community this is likely taken care of by the management staff, but if you live in a home and have your own pool you will need to also make sure to make proper preparations in a freeze for that too. Pools that do not have an auto freeze system will likely need to have the pump continue running during a freeze, so be sure to check that that is happening.
Layers and Blankets - Break out the ugly old ski jacket or the millions of blankets. Whatever you need to do to maintain your comfort, do it! Trust me, staying warm is well worth the embarrassment of a silly old jacket, or the work of getting your old heavy blankets out of storage. It's even an added benefit to have them already easily accessible in the event of a power outage where you may lose your heating.
Parking Lot Care and Driving - Be careful not to park under any trees during a freeze. If there is any precipitation that freezes onto tree limbs, it very common for limbs to break and fall. You want to avoid these limbs falling and causing damage to your vehicle whether you are parking in the apartment parking lot or in your own driveway. Also be wary of the roads. If the roads freeze over and you absolutely must drive on the iced roads, use extreme caution everywhere - especially in the parking lot of your apartments. Let your car heat up a little before you begin driving and be careful if you are sliding around in the parking lot. Drive SLOW if you have to drive. Otherwise just stay home and warm.
Many of us love the winter, but we ALL need to take the right precautions and most importantly, be cautious of the dangers and prepared to overcome them. Enjoy the winter! I know I will.
