Tips to protect your home, plants and pets from cold weather

KUSA – With the onset of cold weather, you can protect your home, plants and pets through some simple steps.

Pipes: The American Water Works Association says there are a few things you can do to keep your pipes from freezing:

• Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses. • Insulate pipes or faucets in unheated areas of the house. • Consider installing "heat tape" or "heat cable." • Seal off outside access doors and cracks to keep the cold out. • Locate your master shutoff so you know where it is if you do have a pipe break.

The city of Boulder Utilities division offers these tips to prevent frozen pipes:

• Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage. • Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. • Also, let faucets drip a little – even just a trickle can help prevent frozen pipes. • During extreme cold, keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. • If you will be going away during cold weather, leave the heat set to a temperature no lower than 55 degrees.

The Colorado Division of Emergency Management adds that you might also want to wrap pipes in insulation or layers of old newspapers. Cover the newspapers with plastic to keep out moisture.

Plants:

As for your plants, City Floral in Denver tells 9NEWS if your plants are covered with snow, they are already insulated. If they are not, you can put mulch around them.

If you have a shrub in a pot that's outside, you can move it closer to your house to shield it from the elements. Bringing it inside is not a good idea for a plant already accustomed to the colder weather.

Pets: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says you should bring in cats and dogs, even animals that normally stay outside. Outdoors, cats can freeze, become lost or stolen, injured or killed.

When your dog comes in from being outside in the snow, thoroughly wipe off his/her legs and stomach. The ASPCA says dogs can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

Also, during the winter, the ASPCA says cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of your cars.

Be sure to clean up any antifreeze spills from your vehicle because that is lethal to dogs and cats.

Bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

The City and County of Denver Office of Emergency Management adds that you should also work with your family members, neighbors, and caregivers to ensure you have all the necessary foods, medicines and other supplies that you may need over the next few days.

Work with each other, your family and neighbors to ensure everyone is safe and warm.

If you have an emergency, call 911.