Home Maintenance Tips for Fall
Your house is more than the place where you live, it’s your home and an important investment. A regular program of maintenance and repair can help you protect that investment, and help keep your family safe.
The productive approach is to take time to perform the following simple tasks. This will help you avoid the most common — and costly — problems before they occur. The time invested in preventative maintenance will be far less than the time necessary to repair major problems.
Add these to your seasonal checklist:
- Check and clean or replace your furnace filters on a monthly basis during the heating season.
- Have your furnace or heating system serviced by a qualified service company (every two years for a gas furnace and every year for an oil furnace).
- Bleed air from the hot water radiators, and turn the gas furnace pilot light on.
- Vacuum electric baseboard heaters to remove dust, remove the grilles on forced-air heating systems and vacuum inside the ducts.
- If you have a heat recovery ventilator (HRV), clean the outside air intake grill, the filters inside the unit, and the core, and pour water down the condensate drain to test it.
- Have well water tested for quality.
- Check the sump pump and line to ensure proper operation. There should be no line obstructions or visible leaks.
- If you have a septic tank, measure the sludge and scum to determine if it needs to be emptied before spring. Tanks should be pumped out at least once every three years.
- Replace window screens with storm windows, and ensure all windows, doors and skylights shut tightly, including the door between your house and garage.
- Ensure that the ground around your home slopes away from the foundation wall to prevent water from draining into the basement.
- Clean leaves from eavestroughs and downspouts to ensure proper drainage from the roof, and check chimneys for nests or other obstructions.
- Cover the outside of air conditioners, and drain and store outdoor hoses. Close the valve to the outdoor hose connection, and drain the faucet (unless it is frost proof).
- Winterize landscaping by storing outdoor furniture, preparing gardens and, if necessary, protecting young trees or bushes for winter.
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