Overlooked Risks Inside Your Home This Winter
With the beauty of winter also comes its hazards. With just one winter storm, your home can be battered by heavy snow, melting ice and powerful winds that can all do a number on your home. With roads impassable, you could find yourself trapped at home for days, making it all the more important that you do everything you can to ensure home is a safe, secure space.
However, thinking ahead and taking proactive measures can help you secure your home for a happy, healthy winter. To save yourself the trouble – and the expense – of winter repairs, these are the top five winter household hazards to watch out for this season.
Top 5 Winter Household Hazards
Every winter, millions of people fall victim to the same winter household hazards, causing untold amounts of damage and stress each season.
“As a personal injury lawyer, winter cases often trace back to small oversights that escalate fast once people are spending more time indoors,” says Benson Varghese, a Board-Certified Criminal Lawyer who is Founder and Managing Partner of Varghese Summersett.
However, you are not powerless. This is how to prepare for them to protect your home.
Monitor Heating Sources
Most home fires occur in winter, and almost half of all U.S. home fires are caused by faulty heating equipment. In 2021 alone, home fires resulted in an estimated 190 deaths and 625 injuries with $442 million in property loss.
Home fires can happen for many reasons. Faulty heaters and generators, frayed wires and heating systems in need of service can all cause a fire.
“Many people assume if it heats, it’s okay to use,” explains Lo Choe, Owner of Aura Fire Safety and Fire and Life Safety Advocate. She is a licensed systems professional with two state fire certifications. “An ancient wall-mounted unit, dusty heat exchanger or closed vents may operate fine while slowly building up carbon or producing excessive heat.”
Another cause is the placement of flammable materials too close to heating sources, such as fireplaces, portable heaters, radiators and wood stoves.
“Heating is very much needed during winter,” acknowledges Tamer Sayed, HVAC expert and Owner-Operator of Tamas Mechanical. “At the same time, it can be a cause of hazard. If your home’s heating system has an issue that’s left unnoticed or unaddressed, it might become a cause of fire, electrocution or carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Varghese agrees. “Heating sources need clear space around them and regular servicing because space heaters and poorly maintained boilers are a common cause of burn and fire claims,” he explains.
How to secure your home:
- Avoid using an oven to heat your home.
- Choose a space heater or generator with safety and transfer switches. If it does not come with them, you can ask a licensed electrician to add them.
- Check that cords and wires are not damaged or frayed.
- Plug space heaters directly into an outlet, never using an extension cord. Be sure to turn them off whenever you leave the room.
- Test your backup generator before the storm hits to ensure you can safely set it up and use it.
- Throw away damaged electric blankets or those that are more than three years old.
- Use the test button on your smoke alarm every month to ensure it is in working order, and replace it every 10 years.
Also, have chimneys and other heating sources, like oil burners and furnaces, professionally cleaned and inspected before the start of each winter season.
“Make sure you schedule a heating inspection before the first frost,” advises Sayed. “The heating sources or elements, vents, and thermostat must be checked and well-maintained.”
There are seasonal hazards, too. While holiday decorations are beautiful, they may also present extra risk. Use extra caution with candles, watching their placement to ensure that they are not near anything flammable. Never leave unattended while lit.
“You should place fire buckets near your main source of heating,” Sayed says. “Have a handy fire extinguisher as well.”
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning is another enormous risk within the home during winter.
This colorless, odorless and tasteless gas can be a deadly invader in contained areas, causing headaches, dizziness, nausea and even death.
Accidental poisoning can be due to a number of factors, including a non-working CO detector or malfunctioning furnaces, space heaters or fireplaces.
“Any indoor fuel-burning equipment needs 2 things: a clean path to vent exhaust AND access to fresh air,” explains Choe. “If either one of these becomes restricted, dangerous levels of CO will be present within hours.”
If you have a snow or ice storm, it can block the vents of your furnace, dryer and gas appliances, leading to a buildup of carbon monoxide. And, with windows and doors tightly sealed to keep the cold out, you can accidentally trap dangerous gases inside the home.
How to secure your home:
- Have a licensed professional check and service your heating system.
- Have a certified technician inspect and, if necessary, clean your furnace, chimney and vents each year.
- Have a radon test performed once every few years.
- Make sure you have properly installed, fully working smoke and CO detectors.
- Have at least one carbon monoxide (CO) detector for your home.
- If you have an attached garage, a generator or fuel-burning appliances, install a carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home.
- Ensure CO detectors are located near the bedrooms in your home.
- Do not use a portable generator within an enclosed space. Limit use to outdoors only and keep generators more than 20 feet from your home and away from windows, doors and vents.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
Frozen Pipes and Leaks
Frozen pipes can easily burst in the winter, creating a particularly expensive winter household hazard. In fact, burst pipes are one of the leading causes of property damage during low temperatures, according to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS).
This can flood your home, resulting in costly repairs that can seriously dampen your budget and pose risks to the home.
“The winter injury claims that insurers see have a high incidence of water and air issues that people don’t even realize they have,” says David Gammill, a trial attorney and Founder of Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers. “Leaving pipes to freeze and possibly crack can cause hidden leaks in walls — which, in turn, can lead to mold growth. This is especially true in bathrooms and basements, both of which are often more prone to mold and have worse air quality to begin with.”
Another common winter hazard is ice on your roof, which can create leaks and potentially cause structural damage.
“And those leaks won’t fix themselves — the damage will only get worse,” Gammill warns. “It can also cause respiratory problems to develop in children and older adults. Yet, owners can do a lot to limit their liability.”
Megan Doser, Owner of Doctor Fix It Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric, adds another consideration. “It’s not even the pipe burst itself that’s so expensive to repair, but the water leaking from the damaged pipe inside the walls and basement when you turn the water back on in the spring. You might not even know if the pipe is damaged because it’s hidden inside the walls.”
“Leaks inside walls and basement might cause a lot of damage by the moment you know about them,” she says. “In addition to the pipe repair itself, you often end up tearing out drywall, repairing flooring and other finishes, remediating mold, and replacing insulation.
It makes it all the more important that you prepare.
How to secure your home:
- Locate your main water shut-off valve in case of an emergency.
- Ensure exposed pipes are insulated in any areas of your home that are not heated, such as the garage, basement or crawl spaces.
- Ensure your attic has proper insulation and ventilation to better support your roof during inclement weather and extreme temperatures.
- Remove snow from your roof immediately to keep it from freezing.
- Allow faucets to drip to keep water flowing instead of freezing.
- If it is especially cold, open the cabinet doors under your sinks to let warmer air in.
Mold and Poor Indoor Air Quality
When it is cold outside, moisture can build up on indoor windows and walls. This can easily create mold, affecting the air quality and creating a dangerous situation within your home.
Dry air and little ventilation can also be a problem, leading to respiratory issues. Indoor air can carry up to 100 times more pollution than outdoor air. This is particularly dangerous because air pollution has been linked to several serious conditions, including cancer, heart disease and lung disease.
How to secure your home:
- Upgrade the filter in your forced-air system to one that is better able to capture smaller particles.
- Use a dehumidifier in damp areas.
- Run exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathrooms.
- Replace the filters in your furnace every one to three months.
- Enlist the help of a humidifier to keep your indoor humidity between 35% and 45%.
- Keep all harsh chemicals, such as pesticides, solvents and glues, away from your living areas.
Also, be sure to maintain a healthy circulation of fresh air by cracking a window or using a heat recovery ventilator (HRV).
“What really makes sense but very few people practice is shock ventilation when you open multiple windows, ideally opposed ones, for just 10 minutes at most – or five when it’s freezing outside,” recommends Doser. “It replaces around 80% of stale indoor air, reducing carbon dioxide and excess moisture and doesn’t change the indoor temperature because this time is simply not enough for walls and other surfaces to cool off.”
Overwhelmed Outlets
Between holiday decor and all your usual devices, it is all too easy for an outlet to become overloaded. However, this can be an extremely dangerous winter household hazard, especially if you live in a home with an old electrical system.
“More electrical and heating-related injuries happen during the colder months, while homes rely more on temporary solutions,” explains Stephen Bardol, Founding Attorney of Bardol Law Firm, LLC. “In too many homes, overloaded outlets, extension cords under rugs and makeshift heating solutions are to blame for wintertime fire and shock accidents.”
In 2021 alone, the U.S. Fire Administration reported over 24,000 electrical fires in residential buildings, resulting in an estimated 295 deaths and 900 injuries, along with more than $1.2 billion in property loss.
“Nine times out of 10, it’s due to a $3 extension cord that wasn’t heavy-duty enough,” Choe explains. “A 14-gauge wire connected to just one 15-amp outlet is only capable of safely delivering around 1,800 watts of power. Plug in two 1,500-watt space heaters, and you’re pulling 3,000 watts through an outlet/circuit that wasn’t designed for that amount of energy.”
It can have serious implications, she adds. “The walls heat u,p and plastic outlet covers melt before the homeowner realizes what’s happening.”
That is why it is so important to be proactive in your winter prep.
“Safety should be addressed before an accident happens rather than afterward,” urges Bardol. “Regular inspections of heating systems, detectors, electrical systems and plumbing are all part of a preventive plan to keep people safe.”
How to secure your home:
- Have a certified electrician inspect your home’s outlets and electrical system to address any existing issues and add additional outlets as necessary.
- Refrain from using an extension cord or multi-outlet converter for appliances.
- Avoid plugging in too many devices into a single outlet.
- Install surge protectors throughout your home.
- Use GFCI-protected breakers for any outlets located near water, such as in your kitchen or bathrooms.
- Do not run extension or product cords under other items, such as rugs, appliances and furniture.
- Keep an eye out for these red flags from the Electrical Safety Foundation (ESFI).
- Flickering, blinking or dimming lights
- Low power to appliances and devices
- Repeated blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers
- Warm or discolored wall socket or light switch plates
- Crackling, sizzling or buzzing
- Burning smell
- Sparking or mild shock when plugging in a device
This could be because too many devices are plugged into a single outlet, or because your home has outdated wiring that can easily spark a fire. Other causes could include voltage fluctuations, an old electrical panel or loose or damaged wires and connections in your electrical system.
Bottom Line
Winter can bring a host of winter household hazards to your home, but with a few precautions, you can secure your home to help ensure your family’s safety. Be sure to keep a fully stocked emergency kit both in your home and in your car stocked with essentials like water, non-perishable foods, a flashlight and extra batteries.
With a little preparation, you can be ready to face winter head-on without fear of the top winter household hazards plaguing your home.
