With freezing precipitation moving in to South Texas, is your car and home ready for the freeze?
SAN ANTONIO — We may be running out of time to prepare for the extreme cold but if you haven’t prepared your pipes, car and heating options yet, now is the time to do so.
Staying warm in your own home when temperatures get this cold is a must. But you need to do it safely. Not by turning the oven on and opening the door or lighting any kind of fire in the home that is not in a fireplace.
Space heaters can save your life by keeping you warm, but they could also take your life if you aren’t safe. Here are some tips to make sure you’re using it properly and safely:
Keep it away from things that burn or are flammable like drapes and furniture. Remember to turn it off when you leave the room. Keep it away from water and never use it in the bathroom or near a sink. And make sure the cord and plug attached to it are not damaged or cracked.
Other space heater tips that you may not think of put it on a level surface so it can’t be knocked over. Use a heater with safety features like an automatic shut-off or tip-over switch, keep children and pets away from the space heater and always plug it directly into a wall outlet.
Also make sure that your heater is certified and labeled by a nationally recognized company and follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions. And just in case something was to catch fire because of that space heater, make sure your smoke alarms are in working order by testing them.
When it comes to protecting your pipes, it is all about the insulation and keeping the cold away. You can use pipe sleeves or heat tape to insulate the pipes in unheated parts of your home like attics, crawl spaces and basements.
If you don’t have those, wrap them with a newspaper, rags, towels or plastic foam. And make sure to seal all leaks around pipes with caulk or insulation.
With your outdoor faucets, make sure to locate the water shut off valve or water key and know how to use it before any kind of disaster strikes. Also turn off the water to all outdoor faucets. And open the outdoor faucets to drain them of any remaining water.
When it comes to your indoor faucets turn them on with a slight drip to keep water flowing in your pipes to keep them from freezing. Open cabinet doors under the kitchen and bathroom sinks to allow more warm air to reach the pipes. Set your thermostat to at least 55 degrees. And have an emergency water supply set aside just in case your run into any kind of water problem.
Also make sure to disconnect your hoses from any faucets or sprinkler systems and insulate your outdoor faucet with an outdoor faucet cover. They’re just a few bucks at any big box store. Or your can use Styrofoam and duct tape to keep the cold air from doing any damage.
The most important advice when it comes to your car don’t drive if you don’t have to. But if you must drive here are some tips you need to know:
First, make sure you slow down and increase your following distance to between five and six seconds, make sure to accelerate and decelerate slowly. If you do run into ice and lose traction apply the gas slowly and turn into the direction your car is skidding to regain control and if you must drive try to avoid bridges and overpasses and stick to surface streets.
Others you may not think of: Use low gears to keep traction. That is especially the case on hills. Keep your lights and windshield clean, avoiding hot water to remove ice because it could crack your windshield. Signal earlier than normal before a turn or lane change. Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts. And never use overdrive or cruise control so you can react faster.
AAA also says to make sure your tires are properly inflated. Make sure your windshield wipers aren’t too old and are working properly. Ensure your car battery is working properly and has a decent charge and always keep an emergency road kit in your car.
What should be inside that kit? Jumper cables, a first aid kit, cell phone charger, water and snacks, a flashlight, warm clothes, a blanket, a bag of sand or cat litter incase you get stuck and need to use it for traction to get going, and an ice scraper or snow brush. If you don’t have either of those you can use several credit cards, spatulas or even an old CD case.