Fall brings all kinds of things to mind: cooler weather, pumpkin everything, sweatshirts, and football to name a few. Speaking of cooler weather, fall is also an important time to take care of essential home maintenance tasks. Knowing which tasks to tackle and when can be intimating and overwhelming. Here are 8 items to cross off your checklist this fall, ideally before the first frost.
Check windows and doors for air leaks. Keep warm air in, cold air out and save on energy bills!
Clean your chimney. A chimney cleaning and tune-up makes sure everything is in working order and removes creosote - which is a byproduct of wood combustion that contains tar and toxins and can cause a fire.
Schedule a furnace tune-up. The key here is being proactive - you want to make sure everything is in working order before you need to use the furnace, and to catch any potential issues early!
Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. These detectors can be easy to forget about but having them in working order is critical. Checking them annually each fall is a great habit to get into.
Run your ceiling fans in reverse. Changing the direction of your fans draws heat from the ceiling down, and can reduce heating costs by as much as 10%!
Winterize your sprinkler system. Leftover water inside the sprinkler system can freeze and cause damage, which can result in expensive repair bills!
Disconnect, empty and store garden hoses. Frozen hoses can cause the water inside the hoses to burst.
Clean out the gutters. Keeping your gutters clear of leaves, sticks and debris allows them to effectively drain rain and melting snow - which can protect your home from potential leaks.
Source:
"https://www.realtor.com/advice/home-improvement/fall-2020-home-maintenance-checklist/?identityID=5b61da44b0162aca25000040&MID=2020_1005_NL_Multi_Article&RID=5526101382&cid=eml_promo_Marketing_NonPRSL_MultiArticleNL_cons.11988242_2020_1005_NL_Multi_Article-article2-celebrity," Realtor.com.