Fall is the time we take a close look at our home and conduct regular inspection or repairs to make sure that it remains in a proper condition and comes prepared to enter the winter.
While the weather has not gotten too bad, it’s nice to make the full use of the last days before the first major colds and fix all the damages your home has undergone throughout this year in order not to let the bad weather conditions late fall and winter will certainly deliver to deteriorate them even more. In addition to that, some elements of our houses require seasonal preparation, which will get them ready for a more extensive exploitation during the more challenging weather conditions.
Therefore, include these home projects and check-ups into your fall home maintenance checklist to remain safe and cozy inside your house after the winter strikes.
Top 5 fall home maintenance tips
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Staying warm: heating system maintenance
Keeping your house warm and toasty throughout the cold season means that you have to maintain your heating and conditioning systems in the working state.
For that matter, as well as for the sake of prolonging the lifespan of your house heating equipment, you should schedule professional inspections and repairs of your heating units and ACs before the active start of the colder season and at its end.
Thus, make sure to call the HVAC services to book those check-ups for the mid-fall and mid-spring. Or, you might leave a heating unit examination request for the HVAC service providers at HireRush.com to get in touch with the most qualified and licensed pros in your local area. Leave your request here
Don’t miss a chance of having an HVAC pro around and ask him to drain your water heater to clean it out and get rid of the hard water deposits, which drastically decreases the usage expectancy of the water heating fixtures
.These check-ups, clean-ups and tune-ups will make your heating system much more effective and safe to use.
Don’t forget to prepare your air conditioners for the winter by protecting the outside boxes with special covers to prevent the weather damage of the most substantial parts of the equipment, as well as replace the furnace filters to avoid health consequences.
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Yard work
Don’t forget to winterize your sprinkler system, garden hoses and outside faucets to make sure that they don’t get ruined by the low winter temperatures. Drain the fuel from your lawn moving equipment, put it in the covers and find a well-protected place to store it for winter.
Pull out your snow removal tools and organize them the way that you can access them from the inside. This tip will be especially helpful for those, who get quite significant snow storms and need to clear out their pathways to be able to open the front doors and get out of the yard.
Clean your outdoor furniture and put it back into the garage storage before the heavy rains start hitting your local area. Finally, schedule an appointment with the pool services to close the pool season and get your water basin ready for a winter hibernation.
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Tackling cracks and gap
Even the smallest cracks and holes around the outside doors and window areas contribute to the heat loss, and, consequently, to the poor energy efficiency of your house.
Caulk up the gaps and cracks around the door and window frames, siding corners, bathroom and kitchen drain pipes, outdoor faucets and other potential sources of air leaks. Improve the weather resistance of your old wooden windows with the help of window film and weather strips. Check out one of my previous posts to learn a few more ways of sealing your windows for winter.
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Roof and insulation fall maintenance
Heavy rains, snowfalls and ice buildup cause significant impairment to the roof of your house. With the lack of maintenance and fall preparation, your roof might enter the season with the existing damage (missing shingles, perforated underlayment, etc.).
The adverse weather conditions will even worsen those imperfections, which might lead to the roof destruction, sudden roof leaks followed by attic insulation disintegration, in the middle of the winter. Those result in terrible repair and reconstruction expenses.
Avoid them by conducting annual roof and gutter repairs and cleanings, as well as throughout roof inspection to define the problem areas (roof leaks, missing shingles, broken gutters, damaged caulk on the seams, etc.) and carry out the most essential repairs to save your house from ‘the danger from the air’.
And, if you have not insulated your attic yet, make sure to get that done as soon as possible to prevent up to 20% of the interior heat loss.
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Fireplaces and smoke detectors
Gas and wood-burning fireplaces require annual cleanings and inspections normally conducted by a chimney sweep even if they’re not used on a regular basis due to the fire hazard.
Physical damage, chimney blockage and creosote buildup have to be fixed before you may start the active use of the fireplace.
In addition to that, it’s vitally important to maintain your smoke and CO detectors running, especially during the heating season. Don’t forget to replace the batteries in those detectors and carry out an operation test.
