Follow These Tips to Keep Your Home Safe During Hurricane Season
September 09, 2024
Fall is approaching. While we’re excited about the change in seasons, we can’t forget that we are still in the middle of hurricane season. (Hurricane season on the Atlantic coast lasts through November 30). In fact, last month, we saw firsthand all the damage and flooding emergencies Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Ernesto caused. The lesson? Always be prepared!
Is your family ready to fight the elements? In addition to scheduling HVAC maintenance prior to hurricane season, here are some extra tips to keep in mind.
How to Prep for Stormy Weather
As temperatures change and hurricane season continues, it is more important than ever to prepare and practice preand post-storm safety tips.
Before a Storm…
- Create a survival kit. The American Red Cross recommends creating a kit with the following supplies: one gallon of water, flashlights, batteries, a batterypowered radio, your medications, a cell phone with chargers, family contact information, blankets, personal documents, extra cash, and personal hygiene items.
- Have a plan. Devise an evacuation plan that everyone in your family is familiar with and knows how to follow. Don’t forget to include plans for pets, too.
- Consider surge protection. To ensure your home’s safety, invest in surge protection for your home. If a storm brings electrical damage to your home, it can be super scary. Surge protection will help.
- Invest in a generator. Power outages during or after a storm are not just inconvenient, they can also be detrimental to your loved ones’ health—especially if you have elderly family members and you end up losing heat or air conditioning. Generators can help save lives.
After the Storm…
- Do a Visual Inspection. Once it is safe to go outside (or return to your home if you’ve evacuated), visually inspect your home. Check your roof, home exterior, lower house levels, electrical system, and even the plumbing system. Total Comfort is always available to restore your comfort post-storm—even offering emergency plumbing services!
- Check for Electrical Damage. If you experienced power surges or lightning strikes, check your circuit breaker panel for tripped breakers. You can also look around the house for burnt wires or appliances that won’t turn on. Any concerns, call an electrician.
- Test Your HVAC system. Turn the AC or heat on to be sure everything is in working order. If it’s not functioning properly, call us for an HVAC inspection.
- Don’t Go Near Downed Wires
- Don’t go near downed wires outside, especially if surrounded by water. Let the power company know.
- Protection from Future Storms…
- Install surge protections. If you suffered electrical damage during a storm and didn’t previously have surge protection, now’s the time to invest.
- Use protective covers on outside units. Protective covers during storms can help safeguard your equipment.
- Tie-down furniture or take it indoors. Storms with excessive winds can often make deck furniture, planters, and other outdoor patio items go airborne! Use bungie cords and rope to tie larger items down or move them indoors.
Rely on Total Comfort to Keep Your Home Safe
As always, Total Comfort is just a phone call away when you need any type of HVAC maintenance, AC repair, water heater repair or other service – whether it’s storm-related or not. We are here for you seven days a week!