You should be as prepared as possible and not get caught out before the rains come. Here are 7 perspicacious ways to get your home organised and ready.
1. Get your roof ready
Get someone to inspect your roof or if you are the DIY type then do it yourself. Look for cracks and make sure the flashing does not have any holes or rusty spots. Check the gutters to make sure that they drain well and there are no holes, sticks, sand or leaves clogging them. Gutters can go a long way toward preventing rot, mould, and other rain-related problems so make sure that they are clean. Also make sure that you don’t have any blockages in the down pipes and they too are clear.
Later, when the rain does start clean the gutters weekly to ensure that they are free of debris and free of blockages.
2. Get your ceilings ready
Check for water rings, mould and discoloration on walls and ceilings as these are signs that you will have roof and other leakages. Make any necessary repairs to fix all the issues to prevent their worsening during the upcoming rainy season.
3. Check the windows and exit doors
Tackle your doors and your windows. Make sure that both close and seal properly, because if they’re poorly or improperly sealed they could end up allowing water to enter the home.
If you can afford to place awnings above your doors and windows to prevent water damage on the doors and water leaking into the house through windows and doors.
4. Prune trees
Make sure that you remove any dead branches from the trees around your house and remove all trees too near to the house. This will reduce the risk that they will fall during the storm and damage your home.
If you have trees that are growing near power lines do not attempt to prune or cut them down yourself but report them to the local council or the power utility company. They will come to prune or cut the trees for you.
5. Make sand-bags with empty mealy-meal bags
If you live in a flood-prone area, or your drive way, yard and street has flooded before, take some time to prepare for this. If you have a low lying garden that is prone to retaining water then consider the use of mealy-meal bags filled with sand to make a flood barrier. Sandbags placed in the low areas around your house will help keep your yard from getting flooded.
A flood in the garden will make it difficult to move around the house or even access your doors so start making sand bags now before the rains come to keep the water at bay.
6. Prepare for the onslaught of the mosquito
With the rain so too comes the mosquitos and other bugs. If you live in a wet environment, you could be at significant risk of flooding when the rainy season starts up but also for mosquito infestation. With this in mind, it’s smart to have the space inspected before the rains start. Make sure that there are no breeding places like holes, empty vessels and long grasses. Clear the garden and make sure that the mosquito does not have a breeding area around your house.
If you can, hire someone to come and spray around your yard and in your house before the season starts and use a mosquito net.
7. Stock up and make checks
With the rains come power outages so you may have to ensure that you have got a stock of candles, batteries, torches and solar or other non-electric light readily available.
If you drive check that the wind shield wipers are working properly, check that all your windows close properly, and check that all the lights are working and that the tyres are road worthy.
Do not forget to make sure you have an umbrella or rain coat at the ready!
