Fall Season Home Maintenance

With every season there are things we can do to help maintain our home. Fall maintenance items will help us prepare our home for the cold wintery months.

1. Weather stripping - most entrance doors, storm doors and garage doors have weather stripping. Now is a great time to check those and make sure they are in great shape before the weather gets cold.

2. Roof - look for missing shingles on roof - if there are any missing shingles, get them replaced.

3. Chimney - now is the time to get it cleaned and check the damper.

4. Windows - if your weather is nice like ours is right now, it's a great time to open the windows and clean them. I like to do this in Spring and Fall. 

5. Gutters - clean them out. If you have leaves falling over your roof and gutters, you may want to wait until they have all fallen before you do this.

6. Garage door tracks - now is a good time to oil your garage door tracks. I never remember this one until I hear them squeaking, so this year I will be proactive and oil them anyway. 

7. Furnace - have your furnace inspected and/or tuned up. Change your filters. No one wants their furnace to quit working when it's 20 degrees out.

8. Sprinkler system - if you have a sprinkler system, make sure you winterize it.

9. Hoses/Spigots - Remove any hoses from outdoor spigots and cover the spigots with an insulated cover so they don't freeze and burst. I made this mistake and the first time I turned on my hose in the spring, water started coming into the house and running down the wall. It was awful! You can buy them from Lowes or your local hardware store or even order them from Amazon.

10. Landscaping - depending on the type of shrubs and bushes you have, now may be the time to trim them. Always do a google search and see when is the best time to prune your kind of bushes.

11. Garden - if you have a garden, Winter is the time to let it rest. So while the weather is still nice, pull out any old plants that have died and if you have some extra leaves, spread them on the garden. If you have some weeds/grass you want to kill before you plant next Spring, try covering it with cardboard and then with leaves. The cardboard will break down and should help kill the weeds and grass. If you are going to plant garlic bulbs for next year, now is the time to do that.

I'd love to hear if you have any other Fall Maintenance Tips. Enjoy this beautiful season!