Hurricane Irma pro tip: Close your doors. ALL of them.

Facebook is really useful in times like this.

Scrolling around Friday (so not Friyay), we kept seeing advice about how to stay as safe as possible when Hurricane Irma rips through South Florida (H/T @Cata Balzano)

One really useful —and super easy — pro tip: Shut the doors.

According to the info packed website disastersafety.org, you need to close all the doors in your house. We’re talking bathrooms, closets, laundry rooms. Every one of them, inside and out. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety — which conducts studies in order to help consumers strengthen their homes and businesses against natural disasters and other causes of loss — found that during such intense hurricanes as Irma winds can rip through a house and cause immense upward pressure on the roof.

Closing interior doors helps compartmentalize the pressure and cut down on the force on the structure that keeps your house intact — the roof.

“The roof is your first line of defense against anything Mother Nature inflicts on a home, and during a bad storm your roof endures fierce pressure from wind, rain, and flying debris that may be outside,” said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. “But the roof also must withstand internal pressure if winds get inside. The pressure in your home can build like air in a balloon, eventually causing the roof to fail and blow apart, which – particularly in a hurricane – allows water to come pouring in.”

Other great tips provided by the Disaster Safety site include check doors, windows, and walls for openings where water can get in. “Use silicone caulk to seal any cracks, gaps, or holes– especially around openings where cables and pipes enter the house.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Hurricane Irma pro tip: Close your doors. ALL of them.."