Red Cross Cold Weather Safety Tips

With the bone-chilling record cold temps on the way, I thought it would be a good time to revisit some tried and true cold weather safety tips courtesy of the Red Cross. Some of this stuff will seem obvious, but good things to be aware of.

• Don’t forget your pets - bring them indoors. If they can’t come inside, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.
• Protect your pipes - run water, even at a trickle, to help prevent your pipes from freezing. Open the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals out of the reach of children.
• If you are using a space heater, place it on a level, hard surface and keep anything flammable at least three feet away – things such as paper, clothing, bedding, curtains or rugs.
• Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.
• Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.
• Use generators correctly – never operate a generator inside the home, including in the basement or garage.
• Don’t hook a generator up to the home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.

For more information on how to stay safe this winter, visit the winter storm safety information available on the Red Cross web site.