Rock Valley officials give tips on winterizing homes damaged by floods [Video]

ROCK VALLEY (KTIV) – Homes in Rock Valley, Iowa, damaged by flooding could be subject to further damage if not properly protected from the upcoming winter.

In a Facebook post, Rock Valley city officials are urging residents, whose homes were damaged by the June flooding, to ‘winterize’ their homes. Rock Valley’s public works director Myron Van Ginkel tells KTIV that homeowners should unhook water lines and blow compressed air through them to keep pipes from freezing.

Also, if a house doesn’t have electricity, Van Ginkel says homeowners should put a small propane heater in the basement to keep temperatures above freezing.

“If you do not get heat in the basement, the frost will go underneath your footings throughout the winter, and that heaves the footings up, which will compromise your house,” said Van Ginkel.

Van Ginkel also says homeowners should seal up homes if they’ve been damaged by flooding. That …