Fall Home Maintenance Tips

The cool autumn weather is here!  Of course that means there’s a lot to do to get ready for the cold winter weather that follows.  To help you prepare, we’ve put together a Fall Maintenance To Do list to help you get started.

• Prepare your fireplace for winter by checking for soot or creosote build-up and have it cleaned if necessary.
• Remove dead branches from trees to prevent them from coming down during a winter storm and causing damage.
• Install storm doors & windows to increase energy efficiency.
• Test your emergency generator if you have one. You don’t want to wait till the power goes out to see if it’s working properly.
• Change the direction of your ceiling fan so that the blades of the fan should turn clockwise. Doing this will pull the cool air up and push down the warm air.
• Add a fuel stabilizer or drain fuel from lawnmowers, leaf blowers and other gas operated equipment before putting them away for the winter.
• Drain & store hoses and sprinklers to prevent damage.
• Inspect weather stripping on windows & doors; replace if necessary.
• Spread mulch around trees & shrubs. The mulch will help to keep the soil warmer and protect the roots.
• Wrap exposed pipes to prevent them from freezing in the winter.

If as you make your way through the list, you find some issues that require a professional we can help you with that too.  On ServiceWhale you can get free, instant quotes for home improvement projects.