The HeatTrak Homeowner's Blog & Resources

Icicles hanging from the eaves of your roof during winter may be a quaint and pretty sight, but they can also be a sign of a major hazard: ice dams.

Is it wise to leave your HeatTrak snow melting mats running all winter? How long will it take before this kind of long-term use wears them out?

We frequently hear from our customers that they want to understand more about how heated snow melting mats work and how they fare with long-term use. I want to take this opportunity to answer these questions, and also to address how best to run these mats during the winter season.

Winter is a season marked by the joy of celebration and the beauty of snow-blanketed landscapes. However, winter also brings with it potential hazards and safety concerns that, for seniors, can turn the season into one fraught with anxiety and fear.

With some information and a bit of preparation, winter need not be a perilous or worrisome time. Here are seven winter safety tips to help seniors ward off some of the potential hazards of this season.

It’s that time of year again…

The snow is here, falling peacefully and beginning to gather in piles around your home.

It’s a beautiful scene to watch from inside the comfort of your home, until you start thinking about what needs to be done with those gathering piles. Suddenly, the memories of last year’s back pain come flooding in and the idea of shoveling all that snow starts to feel more and more dreadful.

Once the winter months roll around, do you ever gaze out the window at your hot tub and think that it may be months before the two of you reunite?

Time spent in a hot tub during winter can be wonderful. There’s nothing like experiencing the heat and relaxation of the water in contrast to the crisp, cold air around you. However, if you know that you won’t be enjoying the warmth and luxury of those jets and bubbles for at least three months, it’s a wise and potentially cost-saving decision to look into draining and winterizing your hot tub. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons.

Is snow accumulating on your property? If so, it’s time to get out there and start shoveling.

Allowing snow to pile up on or around your home can cause an array of problems. These might include a deck warping and splintering due to melting snow, potential roof damage due to water leaking under shingles or, worse, a collapsed roof. And, of course, there are slip-and-fall safety concerns associated with ice buildup under accumulating snow drifts.

Breaking out the snow shovel may seem like the natural solution to these types of problems. However, shoveling can cause damage to your property. Here are six things to consider before you get too far into the next snow-shoveling session.

If you're like a lot of people, you have one of two reactions when you wake up to a foot or more of snowfall. Either you're excited and uplifted by this beautiful coating of winter's glory that's covered your world, or your back immediately starts hurting because you know someone has to shovel all that winter splendor.

Shoveling snow: The once-a-year exercise

Power outages are an inconvenience at any time of year, but when combined with bitterly cold outdoor temperatures and/or a winter snow storm, the inconvenience can become a danger. Preparing for a wintertime blackout — stocking up on non-perishable foods, bottled water, warm blankets and clothes, a first aid kit, and a battery-run radio — is key. But what do you do once the outage actually arrives. 

Below, are some basic tips on how to stay safe during a winter power outage:

If you live in a snowy climate and routinely park your vehicle inside a garage, you know that winter weather impacts more than just your driveway and outdoor pavements. It also affects garage flooring by leaving salt stains and other marks on the concrete surface.

Below, we take a look at how de-icing agents get inside your garage and do damage to the concrete flooring, how to repair the damage already done, and how to prevent the damage from recurring.

Approximately 11,500 snow-shoveling related injuries occur in the United States each year, 95 percent of them occurring at or near the injured person's home. While more than 20 percent of such injuries involve adults age 55 or older, the remaining 80 percent make it obvious that seniors are not the only group at high risk for shoveling snow.