As the season starts to change from summer to fall and fall to winter, we wanted to remind you to make plans for your seasonal home maintenance. Keeping up with your home’s maintenance is important and necessary to prevent problems in the long run.
Checking up monthly and seasonally on things like your home’s interior and exterior appearance, as well as the electric, plumbing, cooling and heating systems, will keep the bones of your home in good shape.
Below is a to-do list for you to use as a guide this fall season as you are working on your home.
Clean Gutters & Downspouts
Try to tackle this project after the last of the leaves have fallen. Cleaning your gutters will allow precipitation to flow where it is intended…away from your home’s foundation.
Rake up Leaves
Although fall leaves can be beautiful, they can wreak havoc on your grass. Piles of leaves can smother your lawn, not allowing proper sunlight for continued growth.
Prune Plants
Late fall is the best time to prune plants and trees. Your goal is to keep limbs and branches at least 3 feet from your house so moisture won’t drip onto roofing and siding and fallen branches won’t damage your home.
Winterize Sprinklers
If you have in-ground sprinkler systems, you will want to blow out the pipes for the winter months, or hire someone to help you. Failing to do so could result in frozen, burst pipes over the winter months that could possibly destroy the sprinkler system.
Inspect, Clean & Replace Storm Windows
If you have an older home with poor quality windows, storm windows may be a lesser expensive option (vs. replacing windows) to allow for improved home insulation.
Caulk around windows & Doors
Don’t waste money on heating the great outdoors! Spend some time caulking cracks around windows and doors as well as adding weather stripping as needed. This will keep your home feeling more cozy, but will also save you some cash!
Schedule Any Needed Maintenance on Heating System
Scheduling an HVAC maintenance prior to jumping into the winter months allows your system to be tested and cleaned for the best, most efficient performance. This could mean more than just saving money. It’s also a matter of safety, especially if you have a gas heating system.
Change Batteries in Detectors
Changing batteries in smoke detectors & carbon monoxide detectors is such an important, yet overlooked home maintenance task. Test them and make sure they are working.
Clean & Sweep Chimney
If you have a wood-burning chimney, schedule yearly maintenance to be certain it is clear of debris, reduce the risk of house fire, and feel more confident about the safety of your family.
Eyeball your Roof
Look for warning signs of an aging roof. Shingles that are buckled, loose, damaged, cracked or missing, rust spots on flashing, or cracked plumbing vent stacks. Call in a pro if you need some repairs.