This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Fair Warning: Winter Isn't Over Yet

Despite the generally moderate weather, Rosemount homeowners still need to be ready for occasional bouts of severe cold.

One effect of Minnesota’s winter lite: Homeowners who might ordinarily take precautions against sub-zero temperatures get lax, and wind up unprepared for occasional bouts of severe cold, such as this weekend’s arctic winds.

Bad idea. Winter isn’t over yet; temperatures in Rosemount dropped into the teens again last night, will remain below freezing overnight for the next week, and could easily direct a few more bouts of severe cold our way before spring finally arrives.

In the meantime, here are a few suggestions to avoid ice dams, broken pipes and unnecessarily high electricity bills:

Find out what's happening in Apple Valley-Rosemountwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Hold off ice dams: Minimizing the damage of ice dams by chipping them away or dragging the snow off your roof is fine, but an ounce of prevention (say, a heating wire in your gutters) is even better. Even better, have your attic’s insulation checked, for that’s where ice dam problems are born.
  • Resist the draft: Drafts can get in under and around doors with alarming ease, and can eat up heat in a hurry. One simple solution is a simple bath towel rolled up and stuffed under a drafty door. Weather stripping along door jambs (especially near the handle) is also good for keeping out cold air.
  • Change those filters: Many homeowners only change their furnace filters once per year, or even less often. In fact, you should replace or clean them at least once a month during the winter. A dirty filter can block air flow, leading to higher energy costs. So why not just clean them once a month and be done with it?
  • Turn the fan around: Think about it – running a ceiling fan in the summer pulls warm air up, right? So running the fan in reverse during winter will take the warm air that tends to rise and collect near the ceiling and pushes it down and around the room.
  • Get a tune-up: It’s worth a few bucks to get a furnace technician (ideally one from the place that sold it to you) to come out every couple years and make sure it’s running up to par.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?