Fall Home Maintenance Guide
1) Winter at home.
Make sure there are no leaves or debris in your drains and downspouts. This will help reduce water buildup in the drains, prevent clogging, and keep the roof in good form.
2) Prepare your home interior
After the yard has been cleaned, you need to make sure the home interior is kept cleaned also A simple trick in home maintenance is to reverse the ceiling fan direction. Running them clockwise can pull up the air conditioner and keep the room comfortable. If you set the fan to low speed, you can use the furnace even more efficiently.
Another simple trick is to turn it off when it gets cold outside. Use a thicker blanket and choose flannel. Warmer bedding can help you reduce the need to start the furnace and can save energy costs!
3) Set up the furnace
The stove must be stopped before winter. This is one of the most important fall maintenance tasks you can do. During the winter, your crucible will do a lot of heavy lifting to keep your family warm and comfortable. Successful optimization can make your system more energy-efficient. This is a great opportunity to spot small issues before they get serious and turn them into high maintenance costs.
If you have a working chimney, please check and clean it professionally before using it this season. Also, buy firewood for a full season before early fall and stack it neatly outside the home. Delivering your firewood can be expensive in winter.
4) Practice fire protection
Frequent use of chimneys during winter increases the risk of fire in the home. Take the time to focus on fire safety by testing every smoke alarm in your home and replacing the battery. This little maintenance step for your home can not only make you worry about using the chimney; it can also keep your family safe if something happens.
5) Check the attic insulation
An important part of autumn home maintenance is checking the attic’s insulation and replacing or adding more insulation if necessary. In the colder months, inadequate attic insulation is one of the biggest causes of heat loss. Look around the entire room. If you see the floor joists popping out, you may need more insulation. For significant tasks, consider hiring a professional to perform a comprehensive inspection and repair of the insulation.
6) Protect your pipeline
Before freezing for the first time, make sure your plumbing is well insulated. You can use insulation foam, thermal tape, or even a few layers of rags or newspapers to prepare the pipe. If you’re freezing badly and still worrying about the pipes freezing, you can turn on the faucet until it starts trickling. A small amount of water is usually enough to prevent freezing. For the internal sink, open the cabinet door at the bottom so that the heated indoor air can enter the duct.
7) Check your roof
Prepare the roof for rain and snow. Look at the roof from the ground. If it’s safe, use a ladder to look at the top of the roof. Look for broken or missing shingles and large areas of rust or discoloration. If you find any of these, it might be time to ask a professional to review and fix any problems before the rain arrives. If you cannot see the roof with certainty, contact a professional to have it checked.
8) Check the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
The weather is already cool. Even if it gets cooler, you will use the heater more. If you have a fireplace, you can relax by the fireplace from time to time. The risk of correctly installing fireplaces is small, but you are not too safe if it catches fire and carbon monoxide. Fall home maintenance inspections should include testing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and replacing batteries or old monitors that have stopped working.
9) Prepare your pool for winter
If you do not live in a warm area of the country and can use the swimming pool all year round, you need to protect the cold swimming pool. Fall is the time of year to accomplish this task. It takes a lot of work to keep the pool safe from the cold, but you can do it yourself.
All pipes and filter systems in the pool must be cleaned to prevent the water from freezing and damage in cold winter. If you don’t know how to handle it, please have a professional carry out the maintenance and necessary repairs.