How to Prepare for Severe Winter Weather in Marriottsville and Carroll County

Winter can be a beautiful time of year, summoning images of snow covered trees, kids sledding down powdery hillsides, and friends and neighbors strolling through town bundled in cozy layers of toasty warm clothing.

But there’s another side to winter. One that brings sub-freezing temperatures, dangerous snow accumulations, and wind gusts that can knock out power and immobilize an entire region for days. Fortunately, a little planning can make winter storms a little easier to bear.

• Equip your car with a brush and ice scraper, blankets, flashlights, and ice melt. Throw in a bag of sand or kitty litter that can be used for traction in icy conditions.

• Prevent the fuel line from freezing by keeping the gas tank full.

• Make sure your snow removal equipment is in good working order. A two foot snow fall is a bad time to find out that your snow blower is on the fritz.

• Put together a supply kit that could help you get through at least 3 days of being home-bound. Include drinking water, non-perishable and easy to prepare food, battery-powered radio, flashlights and batteries, a first aid kit, and warm blankets and clothing. Don’t forget pet supplies and any necessary medications.

• Have plenty of sand, rock salt, or kitty litter on hand to make walkways and steps less slippery.

• Prepare for loss of power and heat. If you don’t have an alternate way to heat your home, such as a fireplace or wood/coal burning stove, consider staying somewhere else before a major storm hits.

• If you do lose heat, keep as much of it inside your home as possible by not opening windows and doors unless you absolutely have to.

• Help keep food in your refrigerator and freezer cold by opening the doors only for as long as absolutely necessary.

• Don’t forget to check on your elderly neighbors and those with small children in the house.

In the event of a power outage, un-insulated water pipes in your home could freeze, burst, and cause major water damage, especially in unheated areas like a crawl space or garage. So act now to properly insulate your hot and cold water pipes. But should your pipes freeze anyway, contact Your 1 Plumber for expert pipe thawing and repair, and to help minimize if not eliminate the threat of flooding and resulting water damage. At your request, we’ll also be happy to inspect all household water pipes, recommend which ones should be properly insulated, and then get the job done once you approve our guaranteed upfront price.