B&E Air and Heat

5 Ways To Prepare For An Arctic Blast in Charlotte

If you live anywhere around Charlotte NC, you can expect a blast of cold weather to welcome the new year into our area! The 7 day forecast from WCNC Weather in Charlotte, shows that not only will we experience the coldest weather in more than 10 years, that cold weather is here to stay for several days!

We have been through many of these winter freezes over the last 25+ years of serving Charlotte customers, and wanted to offer 5 simple tips to make sure you are ready for the freezing temperatures!

5 Ways To Prepare for Freezing Temps in Charlotte

It goes without saying – Being Prepared for the Worse, Will Always Yield the Best Results! By following these simple steps below, you can rest assured you are prepared in case of a freezing emergency!

Make Sure Your Heating & Plumbing Systems are Ready!

More than just turning them on to be sure they operate correctly – Your heating system is going to be asked to do quite a bit of added work over the next week, a few precautions now could save you a service call, and keep you warm when others fail!

• If you have an oil heating system, make sure you have oil and a clean filter on hand!
• If yours is a Heat Pump System, make sure the outdoor condenser is clear of all debris, and the fan motor starts properly!
• Heat Pump owners should also switch the thermostat to emergency heat, to be sure it works properly!
• Any forced air systems should change their filters now, if not done in the last 3 weeks!
• All outdoor water pipes should be wrapped in insulation!
• If your kitchen sink is on an outside wall, leave the cabinet doors under the sink open! This will keep the pipes a bit warmer and help prevent freezing.

If You Have a Fireplace – Prepare it for Use!

Your fireplace can be a great source of backup heat when all else fails! In the ice storm of 2002, fireplaces kept many of the 1.3 million without power, warm until it was restored!

• Make sure your flue is clean!
• Make sure the damper operates!
• Set your stockpile of firewood closer to where you need it!
• Stack wood in the fireplace, ready to light!
• Make sure you have matches or a long-tip lighter ready to go!

Visit the ATM and Get Some Cash in Hand!

Nothing works like cash! While we are not expecting any ice during this cold blast, there may still be trees that fall onto power lines and render ATM and charge card terminals useless! If you lose power or your heating system fails, you may need to get to a motel in a hurry! Having some cash in your hand will be the easiest way to make sure you get a warm place to sleep!

Fill Your Car with Gas, and Check the Antifreeze!

Gas stations always have a little bit of water that accumulates within their tanks & the same holds true for your own car! When you go below 1/8th tank of gas, the fuel to water ratio is greatly increased and when freezing temps come around, you risk freezing. By keeping your tank full of gas, you can sleep at night knowing the car will start in the morning!

If your vehicle has nothing but water in the radiator, you should look for a way to park it in a garage in severe cold temps, or face the thought that the water may just freeze! The easiest solution is to make sure you run a 50/50 mix of coolant in yur radiator. It will not only help the car run cooler in the summer months, but prevent freezing in the winter!

Always Have a Backup Plan!

Regardless of how prepared you are, there is always the risk of failure of one or more of the preparations you take. Use the following list below to make sure you have a backup plan!

• Put the Phone Number of your Emergency Heating Repair and Plumber on the Refrigerator! B&E has put all of our heating technicians on call for the next week, and we will always have a service tech within 1 hour of your home! Our 24 Hour Emergency Heat number is 704-333-0363
• Unpack your Spare Blankets, and make sure they are handy and ready for use!
• Have your flashlight and spare batteries ready to go!
• If you have space heaters, get them out today and make sure they work!
• Make sure you always have a Fire Extinguisher in your home and readily charged for use!

Share Your Own Tips Below!

There is an endless supply of emergency preparation tips – why don’t you share some of those you find to be the best? Here are some additional resources you can read.

• About.com – Extreme Cold Weather Planning
• Ready.gov – Storms and Extreme Cold

2 Responses to “5 Ways To Prepare For An Arctic Blast in Charlotte”

1. Tweets that mention 5 Ways To Prepare For An Arctic Blast in Charlotte | B&E A/C and Heating -- Topsy.com Says:
   January 2nd, 2010 at 10:53 am

   [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brad Panovich, Mark Hansen and topsy_top20k, topsy_top20k_en. topsy_top20k_en said: @wxbrad #charlotte #clt #cltwx 5 Ways to Prepare for the Arctic Blast in Charlotte http://bit.ly/7lE5n4 [...]

2. Genny Says:
   January 2nd, 2010 at 11:04 am

   We live in the Mint Hill area and always seem to lose power! Rain, Ice, even just cold weather! Anyhow, one of the best things we always try to do is make sure we have plenty of dry food on hand that needs no cooking. Cereals, cookies, bread, etc.

   We have gas logs in the home, which have provided backup heat more times than I care to state!

   Great Tips – Thanks!

   Genny

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