January 3, 2014 – Our region is bracing for extremely cold temperatures in the coming days and some predict it will be the coldest air mass to cover our area in 20 years.  Seasoned veterans know that the bitterly cold temperatures can cause extra problems for your facility.  Here are a few things to watch for from our team of experienced professionals and a few possible remedies.

  • Overhead Doors-With shifting that sometimes occurs in cold temperatures, exterior overhead doors can experience troubles.  Be alert to stalling and don’t force the door.  Make sure the door is not frozen to the ground or opening the door can rip and damage weather stripping and seals.
  • Ice-In extreme cold it is possible that our standard ice melt salt won’t work to protect against slick spots.  Add some sand into your mix to make sure exterior walkways and pavement are safe.  In these kinds of temperatures surfaces often appear fine, but are very slippery.  In our area we call this “black ice.”  Any condensation freezes immediately and can cause rapidly changing surfaces in your driveways, docks, and parking areas.
  • Batteries-Sub-zero temperatures quickly drain batteries of all kinds from vehicles to safety equipment.  Double check battery backups, plug vehicles in or store indoors if possible to avoid delays or non-starts from dead batteries.
  • Breakage-Intense cold can make materials that are ordinarily pliable very rigid and easy to shatter.  Plastic ornamentation, seals, or trims can break easily in frigid temperatures.  Use care and caution around these items that become fragile in extreme cold.
  • Freezing pipes-If you have an area where there might be a concern about frozen pipes be sure to take precautions to avoid a crisis situation.  You may be able to provide additional heat in the area or speak with your municipal water department about leaving some water run to avoid a freezing problem.  In this case, especially, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
  • Dry Air-Cold weather dries out the inside of homes and offices. You may want to consider running a humidifier to help eliminate dry air which can adversely affect your comfort level, wood flooring, and wood trim.  Humidified air also is easier to heat.  Dry air will also dry out floor drain traps (hint:  after filling the floor drain add a tablespoon of cooking oil which puts a protective coating on top of the water in the trap to help the water from evaporating out of the drain).
  • Clear Vents-Be sure to check and keep high efficiency furnace vents clear of ice and snow as the ice and snow can close off these vents and shut down furnaces.  Be sure to keep roof vents clear from being covered over with snow.  A snow covered roof vent will not ventilate properly.

The best tip of all is to use caution in extreme temperatures because of the dangerous conditions they create for all of us and remember how wonderfully warm our normal winter temperatures will feel when they return.