The changing of the seasons comes with pleasant weather as well as time with family and friends as the holidays come closer. The fall is also a great time to tackle some home maintenance tasks that may have slipped by during the summer. In much of the country, as the weather becomes cooler and wetter, now is a great time to get your home ready for fall.
We’ve put together a checklist of ways to get your home ready for the cooler season and prepare for the seasonal changes.
Clean Your Gutters
As the leaves begin to fall and the season changes, getting your home prepped for cooler and potentially wetter weather starts with cleaning up your gutters. Gutters can get clogged up with debris throughout the year, but they can get especially dirty as the leaves fall. If your home is surrounded by trees, you may need to clean your gutters a couple of times.
In addition to cleaning your gutters, the fall is also a great time to inspect your gutters for damaged or broken parts and repair them as needed. Gutters are essential to protecting your home, especially older homes, from too much moisture entering crawl spaces or eroding around your foundation, so ensuring that they’re free of debris and running smoothly could save you big money down the road.
Check for Drafts
The cold winter winds can be a cruel mistress, especially if you live in colder parts of the country. Not only are drafts inconvenient and uncomfortable, but they can cost you some serious money on your heating and air conditioning bills throughout the year. During the fall, before things get desperate, find any potentially drafty areas and take care of them.
Drafts can come in all forms, but some of the most notorious areas are under doors, around windows, or in attic or crawlspace access areas. For the most part, you can rectify these problem areas by applying insulating molding, sealing around trim with caulk, and generally closing up any gaps where air could infiltrate your home.
Bring in or Cover Outdoor Furniture
With wintry weather on the horizon, you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and headache by preemptively taking care of your outdoor furniture. If you have space to bring in your outdoor furniture, that’s obviously the best option, but if you don’t, simply covering your furniture to protect it from moisture and the elements may be just as good.
If you’re like a lot of homeowners and enjoy the beauty and temperatures of the shoulder seasons in your area, then there may not be a huge rush to pack in your outdoor living space; however, it never hurts to plan ahead for the winter. At least take the time to figure out where you’d like to store your outdoor furniture or how you’d like to protect it before you do it in the rain or snow!
Check Your HVAC System
After a summer of running your air conditioner, it’s not a bad idea to go ahead and schedule an experienced HVAC technician to check your furnace or heater. Preventative maintenance and having an expert look at your system could help eliminate problems or at least identify them before you really need your heat.
As a homeowner, you can certainly change your filter, clean any ducts or grilles, and possibly do a little air conditioner maintenance by cleaning out your condenser from a long summer of use.
