Skip to main content

Fall is Coming: Follow This Ultimate Fall Home Maintenance Checklist To Keep Your Family Cozy All Season Long

We hope you like the products we recommend. Just so you are aware, Freshome may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. 

Fall is almost upon us. Are you and your home ready for the coming season?

If you’re not sure, you’re in luck. We’ve put together the ultimate fall home maintenance checklist to help you make sure that you have all your key maintenance tasks covered. Read on below to see if you have anything left to do. If you complete all the tasks on this list, you can rest easy knowing that your home will stay safe and dry all season long.

fall home maintenance checklist

Don’t forget to clean out your gutters. Image: Sundeleaf Painting

Clean out your gutters

The season is changing and with it comes falling leaves and heavy rainstorms. Do your best to make sure that your gutters are clear to handle any of these occurrences and the resulting muck. Unfortunately, when left untreated, clogs can cause pooling, standing water and runoff in inappropriate locations, which can lead to water damage.

How: Fortunately, cleaning a gutter is fairly simple. Starting close to the downspout, you’ll want to use gloved hands to get rid of any debris that’s gotten stuck in the gutters. Once all the solid debris is gone, use a hose to wash out the remains and make sure water is running through the gutters properly. The biggest concern, in this case, is safety. Make sure you have a spotter while you’re up on the ladder.

seal

Seal off windows, doorways and exterior cracks. Image: Landmark Custom Builder & Remodeling, LLC

Seal up windows, doors and cracks

As the weather turns colder, gaps and cracks in a house can become readily apparent. On the one hand, doors and windows can let in airflow, resulting in chilly rooms and increased heating bills.  On the other, small, unnoticed cracks on the exterior of your home can provide entry points for mice and other pests that are trying to escape dropping temperatures.

How: Again, this is an easy fix. Applying a few lengths of weather stripping around drafty windows and doors is typically enough to keep your heat sealed in and your bills manageable. Cracks, though, require a bit more effort. They require caulking with a silicone-based caulk that rodents will not be able to detect as easily.

fireplace

Hire someone to service your fireplace and heater. Image: Elms Interior Design

Service your heater and fireplace

On a cold, winter day, the last thing you want is to discover that your main heat source is broken. With that in mind, it’s crucial to take care of home maintenance before disaster strikes. Take time in the fall – before bitter temps truly hit – to have your heater and fireplace serviced. That way, you can make sure that your family stays warm all winter long.

How: Normally, we’re all for going DIY, but this is one place where it’s truly worth it to bring in the professionals. They’ll be able to safely inspect your fireplace and chimney from the roof, as well as to really understand the inner workings of your heating unit. On your end, just be sure to get on the schedule for an appointment early in the season. That way, you won’t have to risk encountering a problem while you’re waiting to be seen.

landscaping

Make sure to prune your landscaping. Image: Greenhaven Landscapes Inc

Prune and rake your landscaping

Yes, the leaves on your landscaping will fall off on their own, but nearly all prudent gardening advice recommends pruning them anyway. If you do so, they will have much better growth the following spring. Additionally, though it may be a hassle to keep up with on a regular basis, you really should dispose of the leaves on your lawn rather than letting them decompose naturally. Choosing not to rake could inhibit your grass growth next year.

How: Fall pruning is a much more laid-back exercise than it is in the spring, Rather than chopping back entire sections, simply remove dead sections. It’s important to note that it’s best to prune plants after they’ve entered their winter dormancy period, so don’t be afraid to leave this task until the end of the season, just before winter temperatures really hit.

The post Fall is Coming: Follow This Ultimate Fall Home Maintenance Checklist To Keep Your Family Cozy All Season Long appeared first on Freshome.com.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SKÅDIS: 5 ways to make the IKEA pegboard even better

IKEA introduced its own pegboard system, SKÅDIS, two years ago and I’d say it’s one of the best systems IKEA launched in recent years. I love how super customisable it is, with a growing range of accessories that help keep things organized. It works everywhere, in your wardrobe to bathroom . Probably anywhere you have a flat surface to hang it up. Photo: IKEA.com SKÅDIS pegboard system See it on IKEA.com But no matter how perfect a system, you can trust IKEA hackers to improve on the SKÅDIS. And they’ve settle these 5 issues you may have faced with the handy IKEA pegboard. Read on for their fixes. 5 IKEA SKÅDIS issues and fixes #1 Expensive hooks? You’ll need quite a number of hooks and accessories to fill up the SKÅDIS pegboard, and Kenyer was shocked at how quickly they all added up. So he figured he could make his own hooks to save cost. Photo: Kenyer Over at Instructables , he shows us how to twist copper wires into the SKÅDIS hook shape. It works s...

KALLAX desk ideas: Three ways to set up a workstation

Three great ideas for a KALLAX desk . #1 Compact, minimalist desk for laptop I put together a KALLAX desk for my laptop for just under 25 euros. Just a KALLAX 2×2 is needed. No other materials required. IKEA item used: KALLAX 2 x 2 (77 x 77 cm) KALLAX 2×2 | IKEA.com All you need to do is assemble 3 of the pieces in a U shape. That is all.  If you want to strengthen the structure you would need to drill a couple of holes in order to use the long middle shelf of the KALLAX unit as a back reinforcer. Easy and it works. ~ by Fabio Tudela #2 KALLAX standing desk I choose to stand at work because it makes me feel infinitely more productive. Our department recently moved into a new building and we had the opportunity to design our own spaces. Items Used: VIKA AMON / TORNLIDEN table top x 2 (discontinued, replaced by LINNMON ) KALLAX 4 cube x 2 KALLAX drawer unit x 2 8 – 3″ locking casters / wheels 1 – 6′ zinc brace I had a few VIKA AMON tables ...

Amped up KURA bed with drawers and safety rail

We saw other KURA beds with storage drawers underneath on this site. So, we also wanted the same — to make space for LEGO s and wooden trains under the bed. We installed the additional headboard panels because the configuration of the room and the location of the windows in the room meant that we wanted the children’s heads on the right and the ladder on the left. The KURA plans did not seem to allow this configuration, though I have seen online that there are models of this bed from 2003 that allowed more options for setup. Additional safety features Safety rail panel for the lower KURA bed helps our two year old feel secure, as he just transitioned from a crib directly to this bunk. Likewise metal handles on the ladder. They added a lot of confidence for both the five-year-old and the two-year-old when climbing up to the top bunk. We are aware that the bunk is now even higher than before and both children are under 6. Use caution and common sense before making these modifi...