Cincinnati homeowners will need to prepare their homes for the snow and ice. Call TurnLeaf Property Management LLC at (513) 831-1111 to handle the weather conditions or follow the 10-point checklist below.
- Best to start winterizing your home in summer in fall, but it is never too late.
- Inspect insulation, caulking and weather-stripping
- Check and clean fireplaces
- Change smoke detector batteries
- Have your roof and flashing inspected. Make sure rain gutters are cleaned and re-adjusted to help shed water away from foundations and prevent ice dams from forming during heavy snowfall.
- Have asphalt driveways inspected and sealed as needed or repair cracks before freezing and thawing.
- Close outside vents, remove garden hoses and clean dryer vents.
- Furnace and humidifiers filters should be changed. Check water heaters.
- Inspect doors and windows. Do not forget to have your garage doors serviced. Consider battery backup for your garage doors to function in power outages.
- Reverse the direction on ceiling fans and check interior and exterior light bulbs.
- Purchase sand and ice melt before the rush.
- Service your cars and give special attention to antifreeze levels, windshield washer fluid and tire tread depth.
- Prepare an emergency kit starting with this handy list:
- Flashlights and batteries
- Candles and a lighter or plenty of matches. (Wrap them in a plastic bag to help keep them dry.) You might have a battery operated lamp or an oil lamp. (Do not store an oil lamp with oil in it. Keep this flammable liquid tightly sealed and separate until you need to use it.)
- Battery operated radio
- Keep foods on had that can be eaten cold
- Canned fruit and canned meats such as tuna or shredded beef
- Cereals that can be eaten dry
- Chocolate bars or bags of chocolate chips
- Plenty of water
- Small, propane operated camping stove and at least two extra canisters of propane. (Do not ever, ever use a charcoal-type camping or cooking unit indoors!)
