How to Winterize Your Home & Car Before Cold Weather Hits

While getting your home and car ready for the winter isn’t likely on the top of your list of fun fall activities, doing so can help prevent costly damage and protect your family from danger. Here’s how to winterize your car and your home, so that you can enjoy the winter months.

How to Winterize Your Car

Wondering how to prepare your car for winter? There are plenty of car winterization tips that can help you keep your vehicle running smoothly throughout the cold months. In fact, they can even help keep you and your family safe on the road!

• Put on your snow tires or chains
• Check and maintain your tire pressure
• Install winter wipers
• Replace your wiper fluid with freeze-resistant wiper fluid
• Consider switching to thinner oil
• Get your battery tested
• Maintain the correct antifreeze/water mixture to prevent fluid from freezing in your radiator
• Check your rear window defroster
• Keep your gas tank full
• Pack an emergency kit with a flashlight, flares, matches, blankets, leather gloves, hats, a small shovel, a bag of sand, jumper cables, an ice scraper, extra antifreeze, water, and snacks

How to Winterize Your Home

Looking for tips for winterizing your home? Completing this home winterization checklist can help prevent expensive damage and unnecessary insurance claims.

• Clean out your gutters and downspouts
• Cut away tree branches that hang over your house.
• Turn off water to outdoor spigots
• Disconnect your sprinkler system
• Drain and store any outdoor hoses
• Bring outdoor furniture indoors
• Bring your grill and propane tank out of the elements
• Make sure you have a snow shovel or snow blower if you do your own snow removal
• Put stakes around the edge of your driveway if you hire someone to plow snow
• Insulate any pipes susceptible to freezing
• Install a water, leak, and freeze detection system like Roost
• When temperatures are severely low, keep a stream of water running in a few faucets to guard against freezing and bursting pipes
• Seal any cracks or gaps around doors and windows
• Service any furnaces, boilers, and chimneys
• Set your ceiling fans to run counterclockwise
• Replace furnace filters

Now that you’ve winterized your home and car, it’s important to make sure you’re fully protected through your Homeowners and Auto insurance. Contact an independent insurance agent near you to learn more about coverage from Grange Insurance Association. In the meantime, check out our insurance blog, where we cover everything from what you need to know about water damage and Homeowners insurance to what to do if you get in a car accident.

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