When you live in Florida, you know that storm season can bring some nasty weather along with it. Many negative weather events can affect your home, from high wind gusts and heavy rain to lightning storms and excessive heat waves. You will want to take some necessary precautions to help ensure that your plumbing and HVAC systems stay safe.
Install Whole Home Surge Protection
While individual surge protectors can help protect specific appliances, the best way to safeguard your entire home from power surges during storm season is by installing whole home surge protection. This system is installed directly into your electrical panel, providing a first line of defense against power surges caused by lightning strikes, downed power lines, or other electrical disturbances.
Whole home surge protection ensures that excess voltage is diverted away from your home’s electrical systems and appliances, including your HVAC unit, preventing costly damage. By choosing this comprehensive solution, you can have peace of mind knowing your home is better protected during unpredictable Florida storms. Schedule an appointment with Plumbing & Cooling Nerds to learn more about how whole home surge protection can benefit you.
Get a Backup Generator
When storm season rolls around, it can cause widespread power outages in your area. Investing in a home generator can help provide backup power to essential appliances like your water heater and kitchen appliances, protecting them from power surges and ensuring they continue to function during an outage. A generator gives you peace of mind by keeping your home’s critical systems running smoothly, even when the power is out. Just make sure you have spare fuel on hand to keep your generator running until your electricity is restored.
Get Familiar With Your Water Shut-Off Valve
Unfortunately, storm season can mean more pressure in your water supply system. Any existing small leaks or loose joints could end up turning into major leaks. One necessary step that you should take before storm season hits is to familiarize yourself with where your water shut-off valve is. Everyone in your home should know where it’s at and how to operate the valve.
This way, if a massive water leak develops in your plumbing system, any family member can run downstairs and turn off the valve quickly. There’s nothing worse than having water pouring through your home and not knowing how to shut it off.
Get a Plumbing Inspection
Another great option to help prepare your home for the upcoming storm season is to get a professional plumbing inspection. During this inspection, all of your plumbing fixtures will be visibly inspected to ensure that there are no leaks or potential areas that could create a problem in the future.
This inspection not only helps to provide peace of mind but also allows you to fix any problems that are currently going on with your system. For example, if you have a small faucet leak, you can have it repaired before storm season hits and the water pressure increases. We also offer emergency plumbing solutions!
Consider Preventative Drain Clearing Services
If there are any leaks or cracks in your sewage line, heavy rain storms can cause your sewer line to take on water and back up when there is an obstruction. Regularly cleaning your sewer line, such as hydrojetting, can help remove any obstructions, like tree roots, that could prevent water from adequately draining down your sewer line. You should speak with a licensed plumber to determine how frequently you should have your main sewer drain line cleared. Ask us about our drain clearing services today!
Keep Your Outdoor AC Unit Raised
If you live in an area that takes on a lot of water during the storm season, you must ensure that your outdoor AC unit doesn’t get flooded. While these systems are water resistant, they are not designed to stand in stagnant water. One of the best ways to help prevent water damage for your outdoor unit is to raise it on blocks. Just make sure that your unit remains level in order for it to operate efficiently.
Shut Off Your HVAC System During Storms
One of the best ways to help protect your HVAC system from damage due to a storm is to simply shut off the power to it. You can help compensate for the loss of air conditioning by turning down your thermostat a few degrees before the storm hits. Ensure that all your doors and windows are closed so the cold air will remain in your home. As soon as the lightning storm approaches your area, turn off your HVAC system. Wait until the storm completely passes through to turn it back on.
Cover Your AC Unit
When you know there will be a nasty storm coming through with heavy wind gusts, you’ll want to carefully protect your outdoor air conditioning unit. The best way to do this is to turn the unit off before the storm and cover it. If you have an AC cover specifically designed for your unit, that will work, or you can utilize a tarp with hurricane straps. The idea is to protect your outdoor unit from dirt buildup, animals seeking shelter, and any other flying debris that could enter via the wind.
Secure Outdoor Items and Keep Shrubbery Trimmed Back
Another way that you can actively protect your outdoor unit from damage during storm season is to secure the area around it. Any outdoor furniture or other objects that can fly during heavy wind gusts should be properly secured before a storm. Additionally, any shrubbery that is around the unit should be trimmed back to help prevent any of it from breaking off and hitting the unit.
Get a Surge Protector
When lightning storms happen, they can cause excessive power surges to happen. These unpredictable surges can damage the sensitive circuit boards inside your HVAC system and cause malfunctions. One of the best ways to prevent this is to install a surge protector on your unit. This will help absorb any excess electricity before it can reach your HVAC system.
Shut Off Your HVAC System During Storms
One of the best ways to help protect your HVAC system from damage due to a storm is to simply shut off the power to it. You can help compensate for the loss of air conditioning by turning down your thermostat a few degrees before the storm hits. Ensure that all your doors and windows are closed so the cold air will remain in your home. As soon as the lightning storm approaches your area, turn off your HVAC system. Wait until the storm completely passes through to turn it back on.
Anchor Your Outdoor AC Unit
Another necessity to protect your home’s cooling system from excessive storm damage is to anchor it to the ground. You can do this in a couple of different ways. You can have brackets installed on the concrete and have them bolted to your outdoor condenser unit. Or, you can utilize hurricane straps to tie down your unit so that it doesn’t become a projectile in hurricane-force winds.
Reliable Plumbing Service
Plumbing & Cooling Nerds offers reliable plumbing and AC services for the entire Fort Myers community. Our helpful professionals can also assist with all of your heating, cooling, electrical, indoor air quality, duct cleaning, fireplace, whole house fan, heat pump, sewer, and drain needs. We are committed to customer satisfaction on every project, big or small.
In fact, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee to back our work. Our team strives to deliver the latest solutions to your plumbing and HVAC needs. Give our office a call to schedule your next service appointment.
