Experts raise awareness on Winter preparation

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- With Cold Weather coming into the Tennessee Valley, experts are urging folks to prepare for the winter. 

“We have two storms back to back the first taking shape this weekend, possibly a second storm towards the later part of next week. So of course, winter precipitation is going to be a big threat as well. So certainly, keeping an eye on the forecast over the next week as that that cold air really settling in. So now is the time for people to start preparing,” said Gauthier. 

The Institute for Business and Home Safety found More than 6 million dollars was spent in property damage due to frozen pipes and leaking roofs. 

Rachel Gauthier, with the Institute for Business and Home Safety says it’s important to prepare your home for cold and windy weather

“The Roof is your first line of defense for your home. So you want to make sure that any water or melting snow, even if it’s just a cold rain, you want it to be able to hit your roof, flow down into the gutters and then away from your home. You don’t want it to back up into your home. You don’t want any of that freezing or being clogged up. So that’s another really simple thing that you could do.  

According to News 12’s Chief  Meteorologist  Austin Onek, temperatures are expected to be in the 40s next week. 

Gauthier shares tips on how you can keep your pipes from freezing. 

“Then, if you are at home, during that cold air, you can let the faucet strip you’ve heard that to keep the water flowing through your pipes and prevent that from freezing. You can also open up some of those cupboards in your bathroom or your kitchen to let some of that warmer air circulate around your pipe. So so those are some of the things that you could do to protect the pipes around your home,” said Gauthier

And Gauthier believes preparing for the winter weather can protect your home. 

“Once water gets into your home, that is what we call a damage amplifier. So that just really increases the amount of damage that you can see in your home. So you really want to keep your pipes from freezing, and you want to keep all water out of your home. So taking these steps now and just are just really simple and easy things you can do to prevent avoidable losses, down the road in the future,” Gauthier concluded.