10 winter home tips to keep you safe and warm

Winter can be beautiful but the snow, ice and plummeting temperatures can cause damage to properties and the conditions can become dangerous if you’re not ready for it. Here are 10 tips to make sure you can enjoy the winter season by preparing the inside and outside of your home as well as your car.

Inside your home

1. Firstly, protect those pipes. When pipes freeze, they can burst and this is an expensive problem to solve. Setting central heating to around 10-15 degrees can prevent frozen pipes. But, if pipes do freeze, turn off the water, thaw out the area with a hot water bottle or hairdryer and seek out further help from your water supplier. Of course, if there is any water present around the pipes take care with the hairdryer.

2. To ensure that you won’t be left in the cold this winter, make sure you have had your boiler serviced. This will check for sludge, pressure and other things that can affect the workings of one of your most important winter assets.

3. Loft insulation is a top thing to check during the winter too. Ensure that it is well insulated to keep the heat inside your property, but also make sure that there is enough ventilation. Some energy companies even offer free insulation so check with your provider if this is something you could benefit from.

4. Check alarm batteries, particularly smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. This should be done regularly throughout the year but as you’re servicing your home, it’s a good one to pop on the list.

5. Make sure that your house is fully equipped for occasions such as power cuts and simply when a lightbulb goes with a supply of torches and head torches just in case!

Outside your home

6. As you’re checking your loft insulation, you should also make sure the condition of the roof is good and that there are no loose tiles. Repair any pointing that also needs looking at when it comes to walls and clear gutters to prevent blockages. When it does snow, remember to remove any from low roofs - it can get very heavy. Keep a shovel handy for moving snow away fro
m paths and driveways too.

7. Secure loose items such as garden furniture or delicate plant pots in your garden that could be blown over or crack with the cold temperatures.

8. Check that all external light fittings are working properly and, if you don’t have one, think about installing a sensor light to your front and back doors so that you can see clearly when arriving home in the dark and taking rubbish bins out. External sensor lights are also very useful to deter burglars who may take advantage of the shorter days and more hours of darkness.

9. Make sure that door and window seals are intact so you won’t be losing vital heat from inside your cosy home.

In the car

10. Top up your car supplies with blankets, torches, antifreeze, a snow scraper and an extra bottle of screenwash. As you know, roads can kick up a lot more dirt with rain, snow and salt spreading during the winter months which means visibility via your windscreen can be affected more often than in the summer. Also, one thing to always make sure you have is a pair of sunglasses - this might sound ambitious but when the sun is very low in the winter mornings and evenings, it can be very hard to see whilst driving.

There we have it, once you’ve sorted these ten points you should be well on the way to a safe and cosy winter at home. The Nottingham offers ‘Take Your Pick’ home insurance, provided by Royal & Sun Alliance plc which allows you to build a policy that covers everything you would like it to from both buildings and contents insurance to either individually. Find out more here and take advantage of £25 cashback* if you are already a Nottingham Building Society qualifying member with our Member Rewards.

*To qualify for cashback you need to have a savings balance of at least £500 and have either held one of our savings accounts for at least the last 12 months or currently have a Nottingham Building Society mortgage - for full terms and conditions visit thenottingham.com/member-reward-terms-and-conditions

Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc underwrite and administer Nottingham Building Society Take Your Pick home insurance and are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority; registered No. 202323. St Mark’s Court, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1XL. Registered in England and Wales No. 93792.

Last updated on: August 14, 2019
Next review: August 14, 2020
Originally published on: September 13, 2017

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