How to Prepare Your Home for Severe Weather (And Cleaning Up When it’s Over)

Preparing your home for storms that happen in just about every area of the world. Some are not so bad and others can cause quite a bit of damage. No matter where you live, you should be prepared for severe weather and be prepared to clean up when it’s done.

3 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Severe Weather

1. Have an Emergency Plan

The first thing you need to do is create an emergency plan for your family. If a tornado, hurricane, thunderstorm, blizzard, or another type of weather event happens, you need to have a plan. The plan will depend on your property and what type of weather you might deal with. For tornadoes, going into the basement or a shelter is a good idea. Hurricanes might require an emergency food supply or an evacuation plan.

2. Have an Emergency Kit

You will also want to have an emergency kit for power outages and for other situations. If you live in an area like Florida where hurricanes are a normal thing every year, an emergency food supply with water and other supplies is necessary. In colder areas, you might need to have a portable heater, blankets, and other types of supplies in your kit. Make sure you build your kit based on the potential severe weather you could end up dealing with. No matter where you live, you should include flashlights, candles, matches, and extra batteries in your kit. This will ensure you can see in the dark if the power goes out.

3. Have Supplies for the Home

In some types of severe weather, you might need to board up windows, especially for hurricanes. It might also be necessary to prepare your home in other ways, too. If you need supplies for preparing your home, have them on hand ahead of time. If you wait until the last minute, you might not be able to get what you need when everybody is rushing to the store for supplies. It’s also a good idea to keep your gutters cleaned out. Clean gutters will ensure water is moved away from your property without causing further damage. You should also secure fences and outdoor furniture. Any trees needing to be trimmed should also be trimmed to ensure limbs and branches don’t fall onto your home or cause damage to cars in driveways.

4 Tips for Cleaning Up After a Big Storm

1. Rent a Dumpster

The first thing you want to do after a storm when you need to clean up is to rent a dumpster. If you suffered damage to your property, tree limbs have fallen, or debris has blown onto your property, a dumpster will help with the clean-up process. You can even go in on the rental cost with neighbors if you’re all dealing with clean-up. It can be helpful to rent a larger dumpster for the entire neighborhood to make things easier and cheaper for each household.

2. Identify any Damage to Your Home

If your home was damaged by hail, ice, a hurricane, a tornado, or any other type of severe weather, you’ll likely need to identify where it was damaged. Look for missing, lifted, or damaged shingles, along with damaged siding, gutters, windows, and doors. You will also want to check for water damage in your crawlspace, on the walls of the basement, on ceilings, and in other areas of the home. If there is damage, you will likely need to get an estimate as soon as you can.

3. Call a Professional ASAP

If you find damage, go ahead and call a professional for an estimate right away. You will likely need to call your insurance agent, as well, especially for damage to your home from a storm. Depending on your insurance policy, you might be covered for specific types of damage. Most homeowner’s policies will cover damage caused by a storm, no matter the type of damage.

4. File a Claim, if Necessary

If you’ve suffered damage from a storm, you’ll want to file an insurance claim as soon as possible. It can take time to process your claim, especially if many other homes suffered damage, too. The sooner you can contact your insurance company and file a claim, the sooner an adjuster can come out and assess the damage. Severe weather can put you in an uncomfortable situation. You might lose power, suffer damage to your property, or even become injured, if you’re not prepared. Make sure to use these tips to prepare your family and your home for any type of severe weather you might deal with in your area. If you do suffer damage, renting a dumpster can make clean up much easier and you should always contact your insurance company as soon as possible. No matter why you need a dumpster for home clean-up, Waste Removal USA is here to help! Simply call us at 844-762-8449 or email us at sales@wasteremovalusa.com.