How to Prepare Your Home for Fall
With the fall and winter months just around the corner, pre-season prep work needs to be done to ensure no uh-ohs! come up unexpectedly or when it is too late. For you and your family’s health and safety, prioritize interior and exterior home preparation while the weather outside is still pleasant and suitable for maintenance work. By following our eight-step guide below to prepare your home for fall, we can guarantee that you will enjoy the Autumn weather and go worry-free about the seasonal upkeep of your home.
1. Clean your Gutters and Downspouts
If you can do so safely, visually inspect your gutters and downspouts for leaves or other plant-based material that may have gotten stuck during the summer. Prioritizing your safety, use a stable ladder to scoop out any undesired material and debris to prevent leakage or mildew from forming in the soffits. Any leftover material can later cause wood to disintegrate and even roof leaks. You may need to revisit this task periodically in the upcoming months to prevent buildup in your gutters and downspouts.
2. Check the roof for any loose or missing tiles (If you can do it safely).
While you’re up there cleaning out the gutters, don’t forget to check the roof for any loose or missing tiles before cold and stormy weather hits. If you can’t get on to the roof try viewing from the ground, a slanted window overlooking the roof, a drone (if you’re tech-savvy!), or bring in roof inspection experts.
3. Prune landscaping and clear any leaves.
For a fresh look, prune dead and overgrown stems and branches of plants and bushes before the fall. Make sure to use a leaf blower, or just your hands and a plastic bag, to pick up and dispose of excess leaves in and around your yard. Get the whole family involved in this task by making one big pile of leaves, leaping into it, and finally cleaning it up. Who knew prepping your home for the fall could bring such joy to you and your family?!
4. Check windows for drafts.
Nearly 30% of temperature treated air through drafty windows. On a windy day, hold a piece of paper up to the inside of your windows. If the paper flaps, it means you need to check and even replace your weatherstripping.
Weather stripping is important to get right, if you don’t know how to do it yourself, call out a Bell Brothers window technician. This will help reduce your energy bill by preserving your home’s heat as much as possible by trapping warm air inside.
5. Re-organize the Shed or Storage Area.
To minimize hassle trying to sort through seasonal equipment during the fall and winter months, take some time to reorganize your storage spaces. Move all your fall and winter equipment such as rakes, shovels, leaf blowers, Christmas lights, holiday decorations, etc. to the front of the storage area. Then move back spring and summer equipment. To save space, consider disposing of, selling, or donating dated equipment you haven’t used for a long time.
6. Check your Thermostat Settings. Adjust for fall.
To save money on your utility bill, set your programmable or smart thermostat to approximately 68 degrees Fahrenheit, as advised by the U.S. Department of Energy to all homeowners during the fall and winter months. Be sure to reset your thermostat while on vacation and when sleeping to conserve energy.
7. Clean or replace HVAC Filter.
For the health and safety of you and your family, be sure to regularly check and replace your home’s HVAC filter. This is one of the best things you can do for your HVAC system. Regularly checking and changing the filter will lengthen life of your HVAC system, save on energy bills, and ensure your family is breathing in clean air.
8. Schedule a furnace tune-up.
Finally, schedule a furnace tune-up in order to restore your heating system to peak efficiency and extend its lifespan. At Bell Brothers we recommend doing this this before the fall and winter seasons. However, no matter what time it is in the season, a tune-up never hurts.
We’re Always Here to Help Prepare Your Home for Fall!
We hope this guide helps you identify important tasks to complete before the fall and winter months roll around, and if any issues with furnaces, plumbing, HVAC arise, you know who to call! Our friendly technicians are always on-call to answer your questions and provide thorough estimates for your needs. Call the number at the top of the screen or click here to request an appointment online.