How to keep your home safe in winter

Summer is officially over and it’s quickly getting colder and colder each day. It’s time to think about keeping our homes safe over winter and here some ideas of things you can do in advance.

Clear the garden

Before the weather gets really bad it’s important to take care of your garden if you have one. To start with, having a general tidy up will really help to keep your garden in good condition. Cut back any plants that need it, do some weeding and clear up any fallen leaves from the lawn. Next, make sure any drains and gutters are unblocked and do this on a semi-regular basis. The last thing you want is blockages when it rains a lot. Lastly, cover or put away any furniture so they don’t get damaged by cold temperatures or storms.

Check the pipes

If you have an older style house then your water pipes might not be as modern as you’d like and you might worry about them getting too cold and freezing. There are a few things that you can do to stop this from happening such as insulating your pipes or colder areas such as a loft/ attic if that’s where your water tank is. You can also turn taps on every so often to ensure they’re still working properly and keep the flow going.

Heating on low

Although energy prices are a lot higher this year this option is definitely better than having to replace your pipes or your heating system. By keeping your heating system on low every day you can avoid breakages and bits freezing around your home. Having the heating on low will also keep each room slightly warmer and stop it from getting too cold so it becomes a problem.

Keep the lights on

With both the mornings and evenings getting darker and for longer this can attract burglars and there are usually more thefts during the winter. You can help to deter people like this though by keeping lights on around the house, especially to the entrance to your house. This can give the illusion that someone is home and thus less likely for someone to try to break in.

Emergency box

Winter can cause all kinds of problems at home such as power outages, especially if there’s a storm. While you probably can’t stop this from happening you can do something to be prepared for such an event. Put together an emergency box which includes things like batteries, candles, lighters or matches, bottled water and a torch. At the very least you’ll be able to find your way around the house and have something clean and fresh to drink.