PEMCO: How to protect your home, car during cold weather

GRANITE FALLS, Wash. -- A lot of you woke up to a light blanket of snow outside your front door Thursday morning.

Q13 Chief Meteorologist Walter Kelly says the winter weather is just an appetizer for the rest of this and beginning of next week and experts say there is still time to weather-proof your life.

PEMCO Insurance says homeowners should disconnect their garden hose and protect their spigots with a bib to keep them from freezing. Plus, opening the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink to keep pipes from getting too cold especially if they are along an outer wall.

Also, don’t forget to weatherproof your car.

“Test your car coolant if you think it’s mostly water,” said Derek Wing. “You want to be able to get around safely.”

And when the temperatures finally warm up and the snow melts, it might be a good idea to check into flood insurance.

“What we recommend is if you have any doubts about whether or not your home might get flooded, it’s a good idea to look into flood insurance,” said Wing. “That’s usually something separate you have to get outside of your regular homeowners insurance, and a lot of people don’t know this, but it takes 30 days for a flood policy to activate.”