Fall Home Maintenance CHECKLIST:

Your Fall Home Checklist:

Summer is over and as the cold weather months are approaching you’re probably thinking of all the fall and winter fun like pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, leaves pile jumping, recycling rain, wearing sweaters, cheesy pizza parties and preparing your home for the season. Here are some home maintenance tips to help you PLAN AHEAD.

1. HEATING:  Service your heater to maintain optimum performance. Heating often amounts to 50% of a home’s energy bill… Change out your filter or check to see if they are washable and can be reused.  If you have a fireplace be sure to keep your chimneys damper shut when not in use and have the chimney swept frequently. Making sure your chimney, furnace, ducts and vents are cleaned and working properly before you need to turn on the heat is an important safety measure. How about adding a chimney cap if you don’t already have one to stop the critters from crawling down your chimney.
2. SMOKE AND CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS:  With cooler weather and the approaching holidays often come various forms of fire from candles to tree lighting.  Replace old batteries in your detectors, and while you’re at it check to see if your fire extinguishers are up to date and working properly.  Also, if you use humidifier in the winter make sure you clean them out as bacteria and spores can build up in a dirty water tank. 
3. OUTDOOR LIGHTING: The days are getting shorter and when we Fall Back on Sunday November 3rd we’ll lose one hour of daylight. Make sure your home has automatic lights that come on so you can safely enter your home.
4. APPLIANCES: You’ll want to switch the direction your ceiling fans rotate in order to create an upward draft and redistribute warmer air from the ceiling.  Also, de-grease the range and filter, clean the oven, clean light fixtures, small appliances, wash the wall, etc. Impress your holiday guests with a sparkling clean kitchen. 5. WINDOWS & DOORS:  Drafty doors and windows can let cold air in and raise your bill. Check for any drafts and apply weather stripping where needed. Seal any gaps where critters could enter, mice only need a tiny gap to sneak into a warm home.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 6. RAIN GUTTERS: Be sure to clean your gutters of leaves and dirt which can cause water buildup and damage to your roof.  With fall comes fire season and keeping dry leaves and dead plants to a minimum reduces fire hazards in your yard. If you have a pool, keep it covered from leaves falling in it and clogging your filter.                     
    As the season change please consider these fall home maintenance tips and do what is needed now before its too late.  While this list has only a few items, take a walk around your property and look for obvious flaws and fix them. PROTECT YOUR HOME!  Call me if you need a list of vendors that our company uses and recommends.