Get Ready for Winter

Tips, tools and information to help you prepare for Winter

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Protecting Your Home •  When You're Away •  Home Improvements
•   Essential Heating Tips •  Safe Heating Checklist

Almost everyone would agree that spending a frigid, dark winter evening without heat is an uncomfortable nuisance. But, what if you were without heat for a weekend? Or, even a week? How would you manage? What impact would that have on your family? And, what about your house?

Stormy weather conditions during the winter months can cause unexpected power losses no matter where you live - in or out of the city. A loss of electricity can translate into no heat. And, severe winter weather can also lead to problems with frozen pipes. It can also damage the exterior of your home or create dangerous walking conditions on your property.

Our Winter Emergency Preparedness Tips can help keep you - and your home - safe and warm during the winter months. We hope this information will help you heat your home during power disruptions, keep you safe when you decide to have a warm cozy fire, protect your home from damage and keep your family free of injuries.
 

Protecting Your Home

• Clean gutters so melting snow and ice can flow freely if it snows or freezes
• Keep the house heated to between 10° and 15°C (50° to 59 °F).


• Keep cupboard doors open below sinks.
  If it snows or freezes, keep all lower cupboards open since most plumbing runs underneath cupboards to allow warm air to circulate.
• Turn on hot and cold faucets enough to let them drip slowly.
  Keeping water moving within pipes will prevent freezing.
• Identify the main water shutoff in your home.
  Find out where it is and how it works in case you have to use it.
• Keep garage doors closed.
  The door inside the garage leading to the house is probably not well-insulated as an exterior door.
• Remove dead tree branches.
  Ice, snow and wind can make them break and damage you house or injure someone walking near, or on, your property.
• Keep sidewalks and entrances to your home free from snow and ice.
  If you clean after each snowfall, the task will be easier.

When You're Away

• Keep the temperature between 10° and 15°C (50° -59 °F)
• Have your home checked regularly.
  If there is a problem with frozen pipes or water leakage, attending to it quickly could mean far less damage.
• Have the water system drained.
  If you plan to be away for an extended period of time, draining the system by a professional can keep pipes from freezing or bursting.

Home Improvements

• Make sure steps and hand railings are in good shape.
  This will help ensure that your family and visitors remain safe.
• Add extra insulation in attics and basements.
• Make sure all outside hoses are disconnected.
  Check outside spigots where hoses are attached.
• Wrap pipes with heating tape.
• winterize doorways and windows.

Essential Heating Tips

• Install a back-up heat source - such as a wood stove
  Natural gas, propane and pellet stoves are also options. If you have a fireplace, consider a wood, natural gas, propane or pellet fireplace insert or a pellet basket. Make sure to choose the product with the most fueld availability in your area.
• Have all existing fireplace inserts and stoves serviced early.
  Maintenance ensures you won't get caught without a working back-up heat source when you need it most. Gas, wood or pellet stoves, fireplace inserts and fireplaces are best serviced by the dealer who installed the product, by a HEARTH certified fireplace and stove shop in your area or by a WETT-certified Chimney Sweep.
• Stock up on fuel
  Obtain well-seasoned firewood as early as possible to ensure availability. Manufactured firelogs are easily stored for use in fireplaces. Wood pellets for pellet stoves and fireplace inserts can be purchased in bulk and in many cases delivered directly to your home. Propane is also available for delivery to your home.

Safe Heating Checklist

• Make sure your back-up heat source is installed properly.
  Incorrect installation of a stove or fireplace insert can result in fire or toxic gases coming into your home. A HEARTH certified fireplace or stove shop has qualified installers to ensure that your stove or fireplace insert is installed accordingly to local building and fire codes.
• Always operate your back-up heat source correctly.
  For stoves and fireplace inserts, always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for proper installation, use and maintenance.
• Have your chimney and venting systems inspected annually and cleaned as necessary by a chimney sweep certified by Wood Energy Technology Transfer (WETT).
  If using a fireplace, stove or fireplace insert, make sure your chimney and vents are functioning properly.
• Don't position furniture or other flammable material too close to your back-up heat source.
  According to the National Fire Protection Association, all materials should be kept at least 36 inches away from anything that can burn.
• Only use the fuel specified for your back-up heat source.
  For gas heat sources, use gas. For wood heat sources, use wood.
• Check your smoke alarms.
  If you have smoke alarms that are hardwired into your home's electrical system, check to see if they have battery back-ups. Every fall, replace all batteries in smoke alarms as a general fire safety precaution.
• Only use heating devices designed for home use.
  Don't use a kerosene heater, charcoal grill or candles to heat your home.