When cold, wintry weather approaches, one can’t help but look for ways to protect your home from the effects of freezing temperatures. Wintertime is undoubtedly a joyous time of the year, but severe cold weather can utterly ruin the delight of the holidays.

During cold weather, an unprotected home could slowly deteriorate and unless it’s adequately safeguarded. You may risk developing mould or some other unwelcome problem. Don’t allow harsh, sub-zero temperatures to damage your property; try to increase your home’s energy efficiency to enjoy this wonderful season to the full. Here are some of the most effective and practical ways to protect your home from freezing temperatures and all the inconvenience and expenditure that it can bring.

Protect pipes and plumbing

The pivotal thing to do is to ensure that all plumbing and pipes are properly protected. Outdoor plumbing fixtures, especially, need to be insulated and covered to ensure the pipework doesn’t freeze. You need to protect outdoor taps, pipes and joints as, if they freeze up, the pipes could burst and cause flooding and other devastation.

Add insulation

One of the main ways to protect your home from damage caused by freezing temperatures is to install quality insulation. If you were to add double bubble insulation to your walls or roof space will maximise the potential to prevent frost damage to the water pipes located in exterior walls. Not only that, but with quality insulation materials, you won’t have any damp issues, problems with condensation or lose heat which is vital during the cold months. Insulation is one of the most important and beneficial methods of protecting your property.

Seal any cracks and gaps

During cold months, the freezing air can easily find its way indoors through gaps in window frames and other small openings. If you feel chilly, despite closing all your windows and doors, use expanding foam insulation to fill any cracks around windows, door frames or points where cables and wires enter the house. In addition, inspect the property’s exterior annually for any gaps, openings or cracks, and repair them before winter approaches.

Clean the gutters

Leaves, twigs and other debris can create a huge mess, and even cause water damage unless maintenance is carried out. By cleaning the gutters at the end of each autumn, you minimize the chances of gutters and downpipes becoming blocked and causing damage to the roof, interior ceilings and exterior walls.

Inspect attic ventilation

When freezing temperatures arrive, you don’t want ice dams forming on your roof due to the lack of attic ventilation. Another nifty hack for protecting your home from freezing temperatures includes having suitable airflow via soffits or attic vents. Ensure there’s no insulation blocking the air vents and that there’s a free flow of air in order to prevent warm air from melting the snow on the roof. Unless there’s adequate attic ventilation, the ice can melt, trickle into the attic and refreeze at the roof edges, causing damaging damp penetration.

Keep the garage door closed

It’s absolutely crucial to keep your garage door closed during cold months. If your garage is attached to your house, keep the door between the two closed to keep cold air out. By doing this, you protect all plumbing fixtures, wires or pipes that go through shared walls between the house and garage and stop them from potentially freezing. In addition, keeping this door closed means that the central heating won’t need to work as hard.

Replace outdated appliances

Energy saving and cost-efficiency are what will keep your home safe during freezing periods. Make sure that all indoor appliances are up-to-date not to get high energy bills and not proper heating. Replace outdated and faulty appliances, cover outdoor items like the AC unit, install solar power if possible. Updating appliances will help increase the home’s efficiency and cut energy bills during the winter.

Heed our preceding advice to protect your home from damage caused by freezing temperatures and save yourself the inconvenience and expenditure of altogether preventable repairs.

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