Winter Tools You Should Always Have On Hand

During the summer, most people spend time completing their maintenance tasks around the house, but winter is the time that you have to be truly prepared. The right equipment can make all the difference in the winter months, and if something goes wrong or breaks down, it can mean anything from frozen pipes and no hot water to a loss of heating.

When the snow starts coming in, you need to have the right tools to get rid of it, so having a battery operated snow blower is just good sense, especially if you live in an area anticipating snow. If you like a spot of DIY then you know that having the right tools will really help. So here are the things you should have on hand ready for the winter months.

1. A radiator key. If you have optical radiators around your home, you may want to be able to bleed your radiators in the winter months. Air bubbles can find their way into the central heating system and these can cause blockages in the pipes. When these air bubbles go into a radiator, you actually prevent the central heating fluid from filling up that space, and then you end up with a half cold radiator, but you’re still paying for heating. A radiator key isn’t expensive, and it allows you to bleed out the radiators by opening the valve at the top to let out any trapped air. Once you’ve got rid of that air, you will know that your radiators will be hot again.
2. A flashlight and batteries. Torches are an essential winter maintenance item because of the fact that the weather is gloomy. No matter whether you’re headed outside to the shed or if you’ve lost power because of the cold, you need to have a flashlight or two on hand. Ideally, keep one in the garage and one in the kitchen and somewhere that you know where you can find it in the dark.
3. Something to clear the snow. Earlier on we talked about a battery powered snow blower, but a snow shovel can also help. If you’re in a power cut or you’re in a situation where you can’t charge your snow blower, you need to have a manual way to get rid of the snow if you lose power. A proper snow shovel and not a garden spade can make the job so much easier. Pair it with the next item for easy snow removal.
4. Ice salt. If you want to make shoveling snow and getting rid of snow around your area easy, then you need to put down some ice, salt, or even some grit to help your driveways, sidewalks and paths. Gaining some traction will stop you from slipping over if you just want to get to work in the morning. If you put down salt after you’ve snow shoveled then you’ll be able to prevent any further fall, and if there is some further snowfall it won’t be as much to clear.
5. Insulation for your pipes. Foam insulation is really going to help your outside pipes as much as it can your inside pipes. Burst pipes are no fun for a homeowner because all you’re going to have to deal with then is flooding and potential freezing. It can cause some catastrophic plumbing damage to you, so you need to make sure that you have insulation for your inside and outside. Switch on the outside faucets for a few minutes before you turn them off completely for the winter, just so you can clear out the pipe.
6. Sturdy roof rake. Now, ideally you should have somebody come in and clear your roof for you because you are not a roofing contractor nor are you an expert. But if you live in an area that is prone to snow, there’s a good chance your home has an angled roof. This is due to the foresight that your home will be able to handle heavy snow loads. It’s always a good idea to have a roof rake on hand to remove snowfall and help your roof out because you don’t want to have too much weight on it if possible. Be mindful not to scrape the shingles though because you don’t want to push snow underneath them or break the shingles off. You only need to get the roof rake out if there is too much snow. A few inches really won’t make a difference.
7. A gutter scoop. Before the cold ready sets in, you need to clear your gutters anyway, but a gutter scoop can help you to get rid of any built up debris or leaves if you had some whipping wind or even some snow. If you have any debris, the whole thing can congeal and become icy, blocking the pipe work where there will be nowhere for the melted snow to go. A gutter scoop is shaped specifically to remove any debris from the gutters, but you can still get a professional to come in and do that for you.
8. Draft excluders. You can use these for either the chimney or underneath the doors of your home, but if you want to bring out the draft stops now, you’ll prevent the chilly air from entering and keep the heat in the house. If you’re paying out a lot of money for your heating this winter, then you should be able to have poorly sealed doors fixed in advance. This can help you to mitigate your energy costs and you can get either made to measure solutions or you can buy ones from the DIY store.
9. Sort your car out. Antifreeze, screen wash and a thermal blanket should be in your car ready for the winter months. The last thing you want is to be snowed in anywhere, so you should also keep a snow shovel, a snowbrush, and ice scrapers to hand. A bottle of water and high protein snacks in the boot of the car can also help if you get stuck in the snow.