How to prepare your home for freezing temperatures

SEATTLE -- On a day like Monday, you could feel the temperature dropping. So can your home.

Karen Rich, with Take Winter By Storm, says the first thing in preparing your house for the cold is to remove those garden hoses.

“Let everything drain out of the hose. Make sure that it’s off and then either dome the outdoor facet or wrap cloths around it just to make sure it’s protected so it doesn’t freeze, any remaining water in there doesn’t freeze,” said Rich.



When you’re out of the house, set the thermostat to at least 55 to keep pipes warm or run a faucet in the home.

“This is a sink that is against an outdoor wall. So one thing that you can do is just turn it on and let it drip just a tiny bit,” said Rich.

Insulating pipes along those outdoor walls will keep them from freezing.

“This is really cheap inexpensive material that you can get at your local hardware store that wraps around you pipes. There’s also this tape insulation as well that you can also use,” said Rich.

Rich says, now’s also a good time to prep the car for winter. Have things like snow chains, flashlights and batteries.

“Make sure that you always have reflective clothing, gloves are a great idea,” said Rich.

Water and snacks are also a good go to when stuck on the road.

“This is also a great little tool it’s a solar-powered battery pack,” said Rich.  “As well as your multi-prong USB device. Always an ice scraper, we always need that ice scraper for ice, we’ll probably need it tomorrow morning. And then extra batteries for those flash lights, then lots and lots of extra blankets, sturdy shoes extra socks, things like that.”

For more helpful tips on how to prepare for winter, head to http://takewinterbystorm.org/