{"id":2220,"date":"2018-06-28T18:25:02","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T18:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-home-from-hurricanes-or-severe-storms\/"},"modified":"2018-06-28T18:25:02","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T18:25:02","slug":"how-to-protect-your-home-from-hurricanes-or-severe-storms","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-home-from-hurricanes-or-severe-storms\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Your Home from Hurricanes or Severe Storms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2221 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/749\/2018\/06\/protect-home.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/749\/2018\/06\/protect-home.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/749\/2018\/06\/protect-home-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/749\/2018\/06\/protect-home-768x508.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Hurricanes are the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Hurricane Irma alone caused up to $200 billion worth of damage in 2017. While homes and properties are highly vulnerable to such disasters, the damages can be reduced by following a few key tips. Here\u2019s how to minimize the impact of hurricanes on your home.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Review your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/does-my-homeowners-insurance-cover-water-damage\/\">insurance<\/a><\/strong>. Regular homeowners policies don\u2019t cover damage from flooding caused by natural disasters. So, before a hurricane strikes your area, make sure to get separate flood insurance. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floodsmart.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/www.floodsmart.gov\/<\/a> for more info. Also keep an inventory with photos and videos of your belongings to help file the insurance claim.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secure your<\/strong> Make your roofing and frames stronger by installing reinforcements, such as straps or clips. Also secure loose shingles with heavy-duty adhesive and seal around your home\u2019s chimney or vent pipes to keep water out.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maintain<\/strong> <strong>gutters and downspouts<\/strong>. Clean your gutters and downspouts regularly to prevent clogs. These could cause water damage to your home when rain starts to pour. Also ensure your gutters are strong and not sagging.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secure your windows.<\/strong> Strong winds can shatter your windows, leaving your home vulnerable. The best way to secure your windows is to install permanent storm shutters, which can be made of steel, aluminum, and other materials. Installing plywood is also a good defense for your windows. However, avoid taping as it doesn\u2019t prevent glass from breaking.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Caulk your home. <\/strong>Caulking is a fast way to waterproof your house and reinforce vulnerable areas. Caulk around your windows and doors, the edges of your house, and around chimneys and other roof penetrations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Insulate the outside first floor walls<\/strong> with rigid foam or install plastic sheeting. It won\u2019t stop all the water from getting in, but most of the silt will be kept out.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reinforce your<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/dont-let-flooding-ruin-your-garage-learn-how-to-prevent-it\/\"><strong>garage<\/strong> <\/a>To make it withstand powerful winds, secure your garage door with a brace kit rated for storm and hurricane winds. Other ways to strengthen your garage door are installing a metal post system or covering the door with metal panels, fabric screen or 5\/8-inch plywood.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trim trees<\/strong> <strong>and shrubs<\/strong>. Loose branches in your yard (and neighborhood) could be struck by powerful winds during a storm, damaging your house. So cut those dead or loose branches to safeguard your property.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secure loose objects. <\/strong>Your yard may also host objects that could become projectiles in high winds. Tie down and secure anything that could be swept up by winds, such as potted plants, lawn furniture, and dog houses. When a storm is imminent, bring light objects inside.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protect appliances from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/how-can-i-prepare-for-a-power-outage\/\">power outages<\/a>. <\/strong>While you should unplug electrical devices during a powerful storm, it\u2019s ideal to also purchase a surge protector. It prevents damage to your devices in case the power goes out.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Move valuables to a higher floor<\/strong>. As electronics and appliances are susceptible to water damage, move them to a higher floor. If you can\u2019t, at least raise them off the floor on concrete blocks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use sandbags when a storm is hours from arriving.<\/strong> Pile up sandbags at least two feet high as an efficient barricade against floodwaters. If you don\u2019t have sandbags, place heavy-duty garbage bags \u2013 filled one-third of the way with water \u2013 around your house doors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When a hurricane arrives in your area, there\u2019s no time to prepare. Don\u2019t postpone \u2013 make the necessary preparations to protect your home against hurricanes now. For water removal services and mold cleaning services, contact your local PuroClean office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hurricanes are the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Hurricane Irma alone caused up to $200 billion worth of damage in 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","blog-category":[13],"class_list":["post-2220","blog","type-blog","status-publish","hentry","blog-category-water-restoration"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/2220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/2220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/san-diego-ca-puroclean-emergency-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-category?post=2220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}