Prepare your home for winter weather

JACKSON, Tenn. — The below-freezing temperatures have arrived, and Blake White at Ace Hardware is helping people prepare their homes.

“People are coming in buying ice melt for their sidewalks and driveways,” White said.

He says to put the ice melt down after the snow or ice starts to fall.

“A lot of times it’s raining beforehand, so what you put down washes off, so once it starts to freeze, you can stay on top of it,” he said.

Be sure to cover your outdoor faucets to prevent the pipes from bursting.

“It’s a cover that goes on your outside faucet. It has a hook that holds on to it and holds it on and presses it against the house,” White said.

Your outdoor pipes can freeze as well.

“We have heat tapes that you can plug in. They come on at a certain degree, when it gets in the thirties, then they kick off when it warms back up,” White said.

Going inside, be prepared in case the power goes out.

“We have the gas heaters and the kerosene heaters in case the power goes out,” White said.

And White says to not just get smoke detectors, but make sure the ones you already have are working. So check the batteries in your smoke detectors.

” You know, a lot of times when it gets cold and people start plugging in heaters, you run the risk of an electrical fire,” White said.