Preparing your home to survive the seasons is easy. It’s also less expensive to do it yourself. Follow a few simple seasonal, fall and winter strategies to keep your home in tip-top condition and save yourself the headache of costly and time-consuming repairs. A man’s home is only his castle if it doesn’t crumble around him.
Fall and Winter Maintenance Tips
outside your home
Using a ladder may be safer, but it is also more time consuming, and perhaps even cumbersome, to climb up and down to move the ladder to a new location. If you choose to go up on the roof, do so carefully and be sure to wear well-soled shoes.
roof and gutters
Remove Debris – Mother Nature has a way of depositing a lot of things on top of house roofs. Remove debris from the roof. Use a soft-bristled broom to gently sweep all the debris into a pile. Pack up the debris and dispose of it properly.
Clean out gutters – Leaves, roofing grit, and other debris have a way of collecting in gutters. Carefully remove large pieces by hand and dispose of properly. Use a small tool, such as a shovel or trowel, to remove small, gritty pieces.
Clean downspouts where the gutters meet the walls of your house. An old pair of flip flops can come in handy for this task. This will help prevent a pool of water on your roof.
Repair minor hardware damage – Tighten any loose hardware to ensure the gutter stays attached to your home.
Replace accessories: All accessories that have been damaged beyond repair must be replaced with new ones.
Minor Damage Repair: Silicone caulk and a small piece of aluminum foil can be used to repair small holes that exist in the gutter. If water seeps through the gutters in places it shouldn’t, it can result in a leak in the house.
Rinse the roof – Rinse everything with water from a hose to make sure you have picked up all the debris.
Cover – By covering the gutter with chicken wire, you can prevent debris from accumulating in your gutters in the future.
Covers: Pool and Others
Sweep up debris from the deck and place it in the trash.
Store pool toys, floats, skimmers, foot baths, thermometers, etc.
Replace any loose deck nails or screws with new deck screws. First, remove the loose ones.
Windows and doors
For window casings and doorways where existing caulk has begun to peel away from the surface, remove the old caulk as completely as possible.
Be sure to clean the area where the caulk will be applied.
Wait until the area to be recaulked is completely dry and recaulk.
exterior taps
Close the inside water valve of each outside faucet to prevent freezing.
Turn the outside handle of the faucet to release any remaining water from the pipes once you have closed the valve.
inside your home
Repairs and preventative maintenance inside the home are just as important as outside the home. This is possibly more important if you are thinking about your personal comfort. Plan to spend the lesser half of a weekend researching the necessary repairs. Then plan to spend most of it implementing those repairs. This is where a “stitch in time” actually equates to “one minute now or hours later.”
isolation
Purchase and install an insulating blanket for the water heater to conserve heat. In the event of a power outage, this can lessen the chance of water damage.
Prevent freezing of water pipes in an unheated part of your home by insulating them with special pipe insulation. A more expensive and time consuming endeavor would be to completely relocate the plumbing and reroute it to a hot region of your home. Heat tape can also be applied to the pipes instead of the other options.
Research the R-value of your existing insulation. Check if you have the correct value for each of the areas that are insulated: floors, ceilings, and walls. If you discover that the wrong insulation has been used, replace any area of your home with the proper R-value.
Heating systems
Change your furnace filters and put in new ones every fall.
Clean registers in each room for the best possible efficiency.
Move loose furniture, drapes and rugs away from registers so air can circulate freely and prevent a fire hazard.
Check the gas oven to make sure the pilot light is blue. If not, call and have a company technician check it out right away.
Hire a chimney sweep to inspect the chimney and flue and remove any creosote buildup.
Lighting and Fans
Check all your lights, lamps, and fans for loose wires. Replace any that need to be replaced.
Clean all your ceiling fans, lamps, and light fixtures.
Turn off the fan power supply and lubricate the motor.
Change the direction of the fan to maximize the benefit of circulating heat in your home.
Air leak sealing
Replace sheer curtains with heavy drapes to retain heat in your home.
Check for air leaks around electrical outlets, plumbing fixtures going into or out of the house, attic openings, windows and doors.
Seal or add insulating plates (for electrical outlets) in any place that requires it.
Apply temporary weatherstripping to prevent air and heat leaks on windows.
safe processes
Purchase smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors for each floor. Keep in mind that these need to be replaced every three to five years depending on the model.
Replace the batteries in your alarms at least once a year.
Check the alarms to make sure they are still in good working order.
Trim shrubbery away from windows, doors, and water pipes.
Have a professional trim any bushes that are growing too close to electrical wiring.
Replace exterior light bulbs for motion detectors and entry lights.
Invest in some outdoor solar lighting kits for an inexpensive way to add security to your home.
People spend many hours and handfuls of dollars to maintain their cars each year. However, they often overlook the family home and the necessary maintenance tasks that need to be done. Considering the large sum of money that goes into a home, it’s worth a few more bucks to keep it in tip-top condition. Remember, a car can take you where you want to go, but a home is where you want to be. Pamper your home with tender loving care, and it will return the favor.
