During the winter, snow, wind, and cold temperatures can take a toll on your home if you’re not careful to take the necessary precautions to prevent damage. Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall can cause severe damage to both the outside of your home and the inside.

Even the mildest of winters can be rough on your house with a ton of rain and ice. Once you grasp how winter weather can damage your home — and how to protect it — your home will be safe from any weather that comes its way this season.

The Damage Winter Weather Can Do

Without any prevention or protection for the winter weather, your house could experience some serious damage that could leave you spending money on repairs. Between the wind, ice, cold weather, and snow, all the elements during winter can damage your house.

Wind

The winter brings huge gusts of wind. Wind can easily blow down trees and branches that could fall onto your home, garage, or vehicle. Fallen branches may also cause you to lose power. Wind blows debris into gutters, too, which can weigh them down along with snowfall.

If there are any gaps in windows or doors, the wind could leak in and cause the inside of your home to drop in temperature. This could lead to a rise in energy bills as your heating system tries to compensate for the cold winds. High winds could potentially blow out pilot lights as well, causing a gas leak.

Ice

Ice is one of the most dangerous elements in winter. It can be invisible at times and can lead to costly repairs. Ice can build up on trees and your gutters, as well as your rooftop. If it gets too heavy, those objects can fall and damage your house or harm you, or the melted ice could seep into an attic.

Additionally, ice may form in cracks in your home’s foundation, sidewalks, or driveways. This can lead to leakage into your home. If excess moisture from ice enters your home, you may experience mold issues.

Ice buildup can also trigger a shutdown for your heating system. Not to mention, with ice and snow on roads, the salt put down to melt it can eat away at your vehicle and can damage the concrete in your driveway or garage.

Snow

Like ice, heavy snow may pile up on trees and roofs, causing them to cave or fall. On warmer winter days, snow can melt and lead to flooding. The water cannot get into the cold ground, so it seeps into basements.

Snow can also cause damage to landscaping. Heavy snow on bushes can cause them to weigh down, and the branches could snap.

Cold Temperatures

Freezing temperatures can cause mortar to weaken, leaving steps, chimneys, or any other part of your home made with mortar to crumble. Also, low humidity may cause the plaster inside your home to crack.

Besides the damage just from cold weather, rodents like to seek shelter from the cold weather. They may enter your home, eating away at insulation and wires. Cold weather also poses a risk to pipes. They can freeze, which may cause them to burst.

How to Protect Your Home in the Winter

Fortunately, you can prevent much of the damage that winter weather can do to your home. Below are just some of the ways to protect your house from the snow, ice, cold weather, and wind that winter brings.

1. Wrap Your Pipes

To avoid freezing pipes and potential flooding, wrap exposed pipes with insulation. It’s an easy and cost-effective method that can prevent a ton of damage to your home.

2. Clean the Gutters

Ice dams quickly form when gutters are full of debris. Ideally, you should do this before winter arrives. However, there’s still time to clean them, even if you have snow. Remove all debris to prevent leaks, clogs, and flooding.

3. Seal Windows and Doors

The cold winds that come through the cracks in your doors can cause a cold home. Ice could form in those cracks as well, which can damage windows and doors.

Make sure to caulk any cracks, both on the inside and outside of your home, to prevent a cold home and potential damage. Caulking cracks also deters rodents from entering your home.

4. Keep Your Garage Floor and Sidewalks Clean

Salt is necessary to keep roads and sidewalks safe to travel on during the winter. However, all of that salt can build up on your shoes and your car. You easily track it into your home without even knowing it. Salt can leave stains and may cause floors to crack. Throughout the winter, make sure you clean your garage and shoes often.

5. Trim Branches

Trees in your landscaping can add so much value to your home. They’re beautiful and provide shade in the summer. However, if there are some faulty branches, a heavy snow or ice storm could cause them to snap and fall through the roof. You should check for dead branches and have them removed before winter hits.

Keep Your Home Damage-Free This Winter

By knowing the damage that winter weather can do to your home and how to prevent it, your house will be safe and sound this winter. Taking precautionary steps to protect your home can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.