It doesn’t matter how cold it gets in Michigan in January, there is always someone walking around ill-prepared for the elements. You might see her on the street with a light jacket when it’s 25 degrees out. You might see him shoveling his sidewalk without gloves. Or you might be that person we’re talking about.

At Aaron’s Restoration, we deal in disasters all the time: storms, fires, floods, etc.. But our business involves working around things that can be replaced. It may be flooring damaged by flooding, a dryer burned in a fire or a wall lost to a tree felled by a storm. But human fingers and toes aren’t easily replaced when amputation becomes necessary after frostbite.

It may seem unusual for a restoration company to be discussing a medical condition. After all, you won’t find a doctor blogging about mold remediation. But we understand the need to be comfortable in your home, your sanctuary. It’s difficult to do that when your health and well-being are affected by the impact of frigid weather on your body. Even just adding a hat that covers your ears can prevent you from losing 40% of your body heat when you’re out in these chilly conditions.

Working outside for any period of time makes it imperative to dress properly for the weather. As you’ve certainly felt recently, our temperatures have stayed below freezing quite often, and even a gentle breeze at those temperatures can produce a fierce wind chill. That’s why we make sure our crews are prepared for the weather each and every time they respond to a call.

A little bit of extra time getting dressed for our cold Michigan winter days and nights is always well worth it. It may only take an extra sixty seconds to find those thick gloves and put on a warm hat. Easy enough, right? You want to be prepared for an emergency, not become one.

As January rolls along, temperatures in Michigan are dropping even further. In fact, as daytime highs fail to climb out of the 20s, you’ll miss those warmer winter days when our highs topped 40 degrees. But while you’re dressing in layers outside or covered with an extra blanket inside, your water pipes may not feel so warm and toasty.

There are numerous ways to protect those pipes. For example, you could buy a product to insulate them. Some people recommend leaving a tap on to allow water to steadily flow through the pipes, reducing the risk of a freeze. Yet whatever option suits you best, it’s wise to address the potential problem before it becomes an actual problem.

The extended freeze makes a pipe burst more likely because the daytime temperatures don’t warm up enough to make a difference. And there is a huge difference between a few degrees. 29 is not 33.

A few days of freezing temperatures coinciding with a weekend can lead to a disaster if no one is home to tend to the pipes. A wise Michigan resident who is out of town during these particularly cold spells will contact someone to check on the house in his or her absence. An early observation of a developing problem can become a significant game changer with the right intervention.

A developing problem that gets neglected during a deep freeze can lead to widespread damage, depending on where the pipe burst occurs. It may affect flooring, furniture, walls and much more. By the time the disaster is discovered, the expense of clean-up could have doubled, tripled or worse.

Your best bet is to expect the best but prepare for the worst. That’s pretty much a smart policy to adopt in any area of your life, especially if you’re new to Michigan. Winters around here can pack a pretty cold punch.

Aaron’s Restoration is ready to handle disasters round-the-clock, during even the most chilly conditions. Whether it’s water mitigation, mold remediation, fire and smoke clean-up or virtually any other home disaster, the team of specialists at Aaron’s Restoration can return a home to its original condition quickly and expertly. Visit www.aaronsrestoration.com today or call 888-442-2766.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s turning up everywhere these days. This Saturday, you can take the kids to see St. Nick at Cranbrook House and Gardens in Bloomfield Hills at noon. Maybe a 1 pm lunch with Kris Kringle at Stonycreek Metro Park in Utica sounds good. Or for early birds, meet the jolly man in the red suit at Macy’s (Oakland) in Troy for breakfast at 9 am. Yes, he sure seems to travel fast. But so do you.

Quick departures from home to get to the stores, community events, school functions, or church services can be the norm this time of year. After all, there is so little time and so much to do. But during the next few weeks, as we wrap up 2011, it definitely pays to take time for a few precautions before leaving the house every time, no matter how short the expected trip may be.

Fireplaces are the usual suspects and hopefully you know better than to leave a fire burning when you’re out of the house. But what about a clothes dryer? An unattended clothes dryer is another fire hazard, especially one with a build-up of lint. The safest option is to turn it off before leaving.

Attending that office holiday party may prompt you to use the curling iron to look your best, but leaving the curling iron on, one without an automatic shut-off, is a hazard that can lead to horrendous consequences. The same can be said of a clothes iron. These household items should be safely turned off and moved to a place they can cool off without igniting nearby fabric or material.

As a safety precaution, do a walk-through of your home to inspect for potential fire dangers. Identify what items, if left on or unattended, could spark a fire. Then, when it’s time to get on the road, assign each family member a room to check. The extra few minutes you spend now just might save you thousands of dollars later.

In the event of a fire, rely on Aaron’s Restoration for 24-hour emergency service from board-up to rebuilding. Visit aaronsrestoration.com anytime, or when disaster strikes, call 888-442-2766 first.

Weekend Events Info

This month delivers frequent festive moments during holiday office parties, visits from relatives, family meals and much more. Yet December also brings a unique set of threats at home. Michigan residents who decorate with holiday lights and put up a Christmas tree could create hazards in the home if they’re not practicing a safety-first approach.

Many of us are familiar with the holiday disasters caused by one fictional movie character, Clark Griswold of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase’s Clark, always over-the-top in his quest to create family traditions, covers the home and property with 25,000 lights. But decorations don’t have to be elaborate like Griswold’s to pose a risk. Even a modest amount of decorations and lighting can lead to trouble, if not set up correctly.

Published figures show roughly 240 house fires per year are linked to artificial and real Christmas trees. Another 150 house fires are linked to holiday lighting products. Among those decorative lighting fires, a whopping majority (73%) were caused by electrical problems. The list of problems most likely includes plugging too many items into one outlet and using lights that have been damaged during previous use or during the removal or packing process. A fire starting due to an item that was too close to the lights only accounted for 15 percent of the total fires.

Before decorating, carefully inspect each lighting product and test it before use. After decorating is done, remaining vigilant can reduce the risk of fires. Observe your lights daily and immediately remove any lighting product that malfunctions. Also, make it a habit to turn off lights while no one is home. When removing these lighting products at the end of the holiday season, carefully remove and pack them so they do not sustain damage before you haul them out again next year.

Aaron’s Restoration provides disaster response in Michigan in Clinton Township, Macomb Township, Saint Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Troy and Grand Rapids. More information can be found online at www.aaronsrestoration.com. For 24 emergency services, call 888-442-2766.