All You Need to Know to Make it Through the Cold

Signs You May Be Getting Frostbite (according to www.cdc.gov)

-Skin appears white or waxy.

-Exposed areas begin to feel numb, as if anesthesia has been applied.

-Skin feels stiff.

Treatment

-Move person to a warm area.

-Soak affected areas in warm water (105-110 degrees Fahrenheit), but NOT hot

water, as this could cause further damage.

-Do not warm affected region unless you can be sure that skin will remain warm.

-If symptoms remain for over 30 minutes, get medical attention.

Tips for your car in the winter

Buy a snowbrush/scraper (it’s about two dollars at Walmart) and keep it in your car. Without one, it’ll take you a lot longer to leave in the morning. Make sure you brush the snow off your headlights, taillights, license plate, windows, mirrors, and front and back windshields or else other cars won’t know what you are doing, increasing your chances of an accident.

Don’t just start your car and go. Allow your engine some time to warm up before you start driving.

Snow tires, never a bad investment.

Keep hat, gloves, scarf, boots, and a blanket in your trunk in case of emergency. If you have to abandon your car, or even just sit inside it waiting for rescue, you’ll need those items.

Drive slowly, don’t think your Escalade can beat winter. 4x4 vehicles can slide just as easily as any car.

Tips to keep your pipes from bursting

Always keep your heat at least 65 degrees (but if you’re in the on-campus apartments, def crank that shit up because it’s been bought and paid for, baby).

Keep the cupboards under your sink open. There are water pipes in there, and the heat should circulate around them. Note: make sure you don’t fall over the open cupboards ‘cause if you have a broken leg, you won’t be able to reach the thermostat.

Take a few minutes one day and find the stop valve on your water supply in case you need to use it. A burst pipe spraying toilet water is never glamorous.

Insulate all your water pipes and tanks to prevent the above occurrence. Twelve feet of pipe insulator is about four bucks at Home Depot.

Find a reliable plumber and keep their number on hand because you gotta have someone to fix that mess after your sorry ass skimped on the insulation.