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Emergency Tips for New Homeowners

By Morgan Saylor

Home ownership is a cool new path many are pioneering these days, but it’s sometimes hard to know what you should prepare for, precisely. Here is a list compiled by Yahoo of a few things that will help you be ready to deal with the unexpected!

Frozen pipe – If you find yourself in the throw of a cold winter and water from your faucet is running slowly or not at all, it could be a frozen pipe. Yahoo suggests turning on the faucet and looking for a crack, bulge, or sign of frost on the pipe feeding to the faucet, or running a damp cloth over the pipe to detect frost. Once you’ve identified the frozen section of the pipe you can use a hair dryer to melt the clog, but be aware that if the pipe is cracked, it may leak or burst once thawed.

Shut off your water – Knowing where your shut-off valves are is extremely important, and Yahoo suggests closing the main shut-off valve to the water in your home to avoid a burst pipe creating water damage in your home.

Fire extinguisher – Make sure you have a fire extinguisher available and remember PASS ( P, pull the pin; A, aim the nozzle at the base of the flames; S, squeeze the trigger; S, sweep and spray from side to side).

Label circuit breakers – Locating your breaker box when you move in your house and labeling circuits to areas of your house is a necessity in the event of a flood or fire.

Stop toilet overflow – When the bowl drains too slow and new water fills the tank too quickly, you have toilet overflow. Yahoo suggests taking off the top of the tank and pulling up on the float to close the valve that lets the clean water into the bowl, at the first sign of overflow. This will give you time to turn off the toilet’s water source and plunge as needed!

Inventory your home – Keep receipts for your furniture, appliances, renovations, and inventory it all on a spreadsheet. Yahoo suggests making a yearly video of every room in your home, narrating its contents as you go.

Be disaster prepared – Extreme weather creates the need for a disaster kit. Check out our blog that details what should go in yours and how to be prepared for any disaster.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/7-emergency-tricks-every-first-time-homeowner-112919735335.html?soc_src=unv-sh&soc_trk=pi

Tags: Homeowners, Maintenance, Home Prep, tips, preparedness, homeownership, emergency, prepping, budget, budgeting