Winter Household Tips – Protection Against the Cold

27/10/2020 |
Private Clients

The following are tips to help prevent any issues that may arise during the cold weather:

Have your heating system and boiler checked by a licensed professional. Faulty heating equipment is among the leading causes of home fires during the winter months.
Call out a chimney sweep to check your fireplaces and chimneys. An annual inspection is important as a clogged flue can harm you and your family due to the increased risk of fire, as well as the possibility of toxic carbon-monoxide gas poisoning.
Check all gutters and pipes and have them cleaned out if necessary, as this may otherwise result in flooding.
Check the roof and replace any roof tiles that are missing or damaged. Please ensure that the whole roof is watertight.
Make sure that trees are trimmed and kept away from the house. This will help protect your drains and prevent damage from falling branches during storms.
Check your windows for possible areas of bad paintwork and loose putty. Gaps may admit water and cause the window to swell, jam or even rot.
You may wish to check the foundation of the house for areas where water may puddle. Areas of crumbling brickwork must be repaired without delay to ensure water cannot get in and freeze.
Check that your smoke alarms are in good working order. Batteries will need to be replaced twice a year, while the detectors themselves usually have a life span of about 10 years. Hardwired smoke alarms also need to be replaced after a decade of use.
Check your fire extinguishers and charge or replace these as necessary. We recommend keeping a small multi-purpose fire extinguisher and fire blanket within the kitchen and mult purpose fire extinguishers on each floor of your home.