Every Winter Checklist Should Include these 10 Essential Items

Winters can be brutally cold in South Windsor, CT and the spring season can be very foggy and damp. This area of the country is also vulnerable when it comes to sudden thawing and freezing, violent storms and patches of fog.

This is why it is essential to create a checklist that includes these 10 important items to make sure that your home can stay safe, warm and crisis-free.

10 Essential Items to Have on Hand for Winter

1 - Make sure you have a stockpile of de-icing salt on hand to make the clearing of your paths and driveway much easier.

This type of coarse salt melts sheets of ice that are hard to see, especially in the dark and also helps to reduce the banks of snow that must be shoveled away after an ice storm or snowstorm.

2 - Be sure to keep extra flashlights, candles and battery-operated lighting in case of a sudden power outage. Power outages are common during floods, storms with high winds and heavy episodes of freezing rain.

3 - It is important to have a big stock of indoor and outdoor light bulbs on hand to keep your place well lit on stormy or foggy days.

This helps avoid accidents on your garden paths, driveway, and sidewalk. The best type to buy is the bright LED light bulbs, which last longer and also help you to save money on your energy bills.

4 - Be sure to have extra batteries on hand for your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector.

Although you should check these items to make sure they are operational every fall before winter begins, there is always a chance that they could fail.

When they do fail, you are usually alerted by a series of short beeps from the unit.

5 - Make sure that you have a sump pump on time and that it is in good working order. These units are your best defense against a sudden flood due to a back up of water in your pipes due to a sudden thaw or overflowing of city sewers.

6 - Make sure that you have a working blow dryer on hand to help thaw out individually frozen pipes. If a pipe in your basement suddenly freezes, you can thaw it out and prevent it from bursting by warming the swollen and frozen area of the affected pipe with a blow dryer for a few minutes.

7 - Make sure you have at least two space heaters on hand, in case the furnace breaks. Space heaters can help keep the heat in your home in the event of a complete breakdown of your heating system.

They may be the only source of warmth available to you if your home does not have a fireplace.

8 - Make sure that your home is well ventilated by installing a new furnace filter at least once a month.

This prevents carbon and dirt from building up and blocking your furnace’s blower from efficiently distributing hot air through your home’s system of ducts and vents.

9 - Keep a couple of cans of foam insulation on hand to seal up any damage caused by storms. If a tile or siding blows off of your home, you can use canned foam insulation to help patch up the hole.

10 - Tubes of caulking can provide a permanent or temporary fix for all kinds of household emergencies. It can be used to patch a leaking pipe or seal the edges of a window that is letting in the frosty air.

Remember that having a lack of proper supplies at the right time can lead to a minor disaster such as a total blackout during a period of no power at night or a major disaster such as a fire because your detector failed to go off. It is always better to be prepared, rather than try and figure out last-minute solutions for major household problems at the very last minute.