Winter is at our doorYes folks, it's back. The dreaded "W" word. Six simple letters that strike fear in the heart of the most intrepid Canadian. Six letters that conjure up visions of treacherous roads, wood stoves and high heating bills, or dreams of long sandy beaches, palm trees and pina coladas. You know the six letters we mean? w-i-n-t-e-r.Yet there are ways of making winter a little easier as well as saving money on costly home and car repairs caused by the cold and ice. In fact, there is a multitude of inexpensive, easy-to-install products on the market that will help you face the worst that winter has to offer. Here are a few products that will surely make life easier: Gutter and downspout de-icing cables Have you ever needed to repair a leaky roof in the winter? It's to be avoided and a good way to do so is to install electric de-icing cables that protect the eaves and gutters. Successive freezing and thawing causes ice to work its way under roof shingles which often results in leaks. Also, over the winter, the increasing ice mass can tear gutters away from their supports. To prevent this ice formation, install de-icing cables that are thermostatically controlled, can be regulated with a timer and are designed for most roof and gutter configurations. Gutter and downspout heating cables are equally effective in both aluminum and plastic gutters. Outdoor electrical cords Are you putting up outdoor Christmas lights or using an electrically powered snow blower in the winter or lawn mower in the summer? Indoor electric cords are not designed for these purposes and can even be dangerous. Outdoor cords are covered with a thicker, tougher covering that resists rain, snow and cold. Be sure that the cord capacity suits the job. Always remember that the further away you are from the electrical outlet, the lower the wire gauge you'll need, as lower wire gauge means better conductivity and performance. Consult an expert on the choice of extension cord gauge to prevent overheating that may create a fire risk. Pipe heating cables A frozen water pipe can burst and flood a basement in no time. This is often the case with pipes that are not buried below the frost line or indoor pipes that run inside an outdoor facing wall. Needless to say, the damage caused by a burst water pipe can be considerable. If you can't move the pipe, the next best solution to prevent such a catastrophe is to wrap it with a pipe heating cable. This easy-to-install cable is safe, works on both plastic and metal and can protect against temperatures as low as -60F (-51C). Timers Timers save power, are inexpensive and simple to install and program. They're an efficient way to control such devices as automobile block heaters, gutter heating cables, pipe heating cables, outdoor Christmas lights, etc. With a timer your heating devices or outdoor lighting can be turned on and off automatically and thus are only functioning when you need them. Better yet, you don't have to go to the trouble of turning them on and off, or worse, forgetting to do so. Automobile block heaters When a car won't start in cold weather, booster cables are an efficient but sometimes dangerous alternative, as boosting can damage a car's fragile electronics or worse, if not connected properly, cause a battery explosion. A better choice is a block heater, particularly when the car spends the winter parked outdoors. To reduce the cost of heating a motor overnight, add a timer to the block heater circuit that turns it on two or three hours before you need to start the car. This will give the heater plenty time to do its job. Experts may be helpful in some cases Most of these products are designed for the do-it-yourselfer. However, some installations may require the participation of qualified experts such as auto mechanics or licensed electricians. If this is the case, we strongly urge you to take advantage of their knowledge and expertise. So yes it's true, winter can be a chore, but by taking a few basic steps you can avoid the worst and spend a few extra hours in that big comfy chair by the fire. ____________________________________________ *Thank you to Rona.ca |