3 of the Best Tips to Prevent Ice Damage to Your Home

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While it may be the name for our favorite winter-based Disney movie, there’s nothing friendly about frozen when it comes to our homes. As early as October, it can actually wreak considerable havoc on the life of our homes. It’s so important to prevent ice damage to your home now rather than later.

That’s why when it comes time to winterizing our homes, many of us keep defrosting in mind. This is the time of year when you should be securing your windows and repairing your roof before the leaves start to fall. If you want to keep the severe dangers of ice from your home this winter, it’s also vital that you spend some time taking the following defrosting precautions.

1. Protect your pipes to prevent ice damage to your home

Swelling ice in your pipes can lead to burst piping. Even if they don’t actually burst, frozen pipes can leave you without the hot water you need to get by—particularly during the most inopportune times like right before a home water birth!

If you don’t have it already, insulation in your attic and garage around piping can be a huge help here. Note, too, that simple steps like keeping your heat on or even opening cupboards containing pipes to let hot air circulate can make a big difference. Research tips like these now so that you can keep ice at bay later. You’ll want to start preparing for the cold by at least October.

2. Gather defences around your gutters

The pre-winter gutter clear out should be a staple for any homeowner. Fall leaves alone are enough to block up our gutters like nothing else. When you add this to falling rain and freezing temperatures, it’s like you’re asking for frozen gutters. If this happens, you’re again at risk of cracks due to expanding ice. The formation of ice dams can also put your home at significant risk.

Make sure this doesn’t happen by clearing out those gutters now and intermittently through fall. Of course, clearing alone isn’t enough to prevent freezing altogether. You might also want to invest in additions like roof heating systems, which are suitable for gutter installation and can altogether eliminate risks like ice dams. Never again will you have to worry about the cold getting its grip on your gutters.

3. Pamper your pond

Though it might not be a part of your house exactly, your pond still matters from a property perspective. This is a central feature in your garden, and the chances are it has real impact on exterior appearances. Yet, ponds can freeze over fast when cold weather hits.

This can put your fish and even pond plants at risk, not to mention that it doesn’t look great. Luckily, there are simple ways to ensure your pond doesn’t entirely freeze over. Something as basic as an inflated ball in the water can keep things moving and thus avoid a total freeze. Installing a pond de-icer is also a simple and efficient way to thaw things out all year round.

It isn’t easy to avoid ice altogether when cold weather hits. With a little effort now, though, you’ll be able to mitigate a lot of the risk that comes with ice.