Tips For Prepping Your Home, Car For Freezing Temperatures

Ice and snow are a pain for us all, but it's our homes and cars that could suffer the most in freezing temperatures.

But just a few simple steps could end up saving you a lot of time and money this winter.

Winter is coming on strong, but it's no match for Tulsa resident Mike Hocutt and his four-wheel drive.

"I'm ready! Yeah, got to get ready, it's coming," Hocutt said.

Still, before the snow falls and roads freeze, Hocutt wanted to stop in at Randy's Automotive to make sure his new tires are ready to roll.

"I changed to my winter tires for this foul weather that's coming in," Hocutt said.

The shop owner, Randy Stringer, said the average tire pressure for cars should be between 32 and 35 pounds, and 40 to 60 for trucks.

12/4/2013 Related Story: Winter Storm Warning Issued For Eastern Oklahoma

You also want to make sure your battery is clean and charged. If it's more than two or three years old, Stringer said you should look into buying a new one.

"The cold snaps will really tend to burden the battery," Stringer said.

Next, test your antifreeze. If it's too old or the levels aren't right, the radiator could freeze, overheat and crack.

"Whenever that happens, you're into an overheat situation, stranded, side of the road, highway--snow everywhere," Stringer said.

That doesn't sound like fun, but neither does being stranded at home with frozen pipes. Which is why Mullin Plumbing CEO Robert Morris says you want to leave all exterior wall faucets running--not just dripping.

"In the single digits, just a drip isn't going to be enough water movement to keep that from freezing, so you really want to leave just enough water running to have a steady stream," Morris said.

Outside the house, you'll want to disconnect waters hoses, make sure the faucets aren't dripping, and seal up the area around the faucet.

Another thing you can do inside to push a little more heat to your pipes is to open the cabinet doors underneath your sinks.

And here's one more tip for your car: pop up your wipers to keep them from freezing to your windshield.