As the temperature begins to drop and the leaves along with it, fall has finally arrived. With the break of autumn comes plenty of wonderful things, but it is not all pumpkins and apple cider. With the advent of fall comes a new host of things that you will need to keep an eye out for when it comes to your home. Home maintenance becomes even more important the closer it gets to winter and the harsh conditions that it brings. Here is some of the essential fall home maintenance that you should perform on your house to get ready for the colder months.
Clean Out Your Gutters
While the falling leaves can be beautiful, they are also a nightmare for your gutters. All that extra foliage must go somewhere, and the gutters of nearby houses seem to be where they gravitate to. During the fall, and definitely before winter arrives, regular gutter maintenance is a must in order to ensure that your home has proper drainage. Remove any foliage buildup and test the flow of your gutters with a hose to make sure it’s not clogged anywhere that you are not able to see. Forgetting to do this can lead to much more troublesome problems in the winter, including leaks and damage to your roof.
Maintain Your Heating System
Perhaps even worse than being without air conditioning in the summer, being without heat in the colder months can be a truly terrible concept. Now is the time to make sure that every part of your HVAC system is in tip-top shape. Make sure to change the air filter regularly to keep your heater in working condition and always have spare filters ready to go just in case you need to change them. To be extra safe, you may want to call in an HVAC specialist to inspect your system and tune it up so you can have some peace of mind when winter rolls around. Along with the heater itself, be sure to inspect your vents and ducts for any sign of wear and tear. If you do not yet have one, a programmable thermostat is going to be your best bet when it comes to heating your home and saving on energy costs.
Bring in Your Patio Furniture
One less involved task that is easy to do is to bring in your outside patio and deck furniture. You may be tempted to just leave them out, especially if you live somewhere that gets less snow than average. However, the cold itself can have detrimental effects on your outdoor furniture, so it is a good idea to pack them up and wait until it is nicer out once again. Remember to cover them with a blanket or other covering in order to keep them in good shape for next year.
Drain Your Outdoor Faucets
Any faucets or water lines that you have outdoors need to be drained and shut off before the temperature gets too low. The last thing that you want to deal with in fall or winter is to have to deal with a frozen or burst pipe. Make sure to disconnect any hoses you have set up outdoors as well if you do not want them to freeze over as well.
Inspect Your Roof
Your roof is going to be the only thing protecting you and your family from the harsh weather conditions outside, so it pays to keep an eye on it. This is especially important if any severe storms have rolled through your area throughout the summer. You will need to check for wear and tear and fix these problems accordingly. If you have any shingles that are broken or cracked, they will only get worse as the season goes on so be sure to replace them as soon as you can. Check around problem areas, such around chimneys or skylights, to make sure that nothing is seeping in through the sides of them.
We at Distinctive Metal Roofing understand how important this aspect of your home is and we want to help you have the peace of mind that a good roof can give you. Our metal roofing in Butler, PA, as well as our other locations, is of the highest quality and is installed by skilled professionals with years in the industry to help make sure your home and family are safe during the harsher months of the year.
Prepare Your Lawn
Lawn maintenance does not stop the moment summer has ended. In fact, if you want your lawn to look great when the next spring comes around, you will have to do take some preventative measures. Grass roots are still active even in the colder months when the grass is not actually growing. This means that fertilizer is still your best friend. Fertilizing your grass in the fall means that it will bounce back to its lush, green state even faster once winter is over. It goes without saying that raking or blowing away the fallen leaves on your lawn is also very important for your grass to continue to receive that all-important sunlight it needs.
Test Your Winter Equipment
While the weather is still nice and you have the extra time, you may want to give your winter equipment a test run to make sure it is still running. You do not want to wait until you need your snowblower only to find out that the lack of use has made it break down over time. Fall is the perfect time to test out things that you will need for winter before it you actually need them. If they are broken down now, at least you do not have to run out into the frigid cold to get them fixed.
Distinctive Metal Roofing has compiled this list of essential fall home maintenance items because we want you to be as prepared as you can possibly be for the wintery months. Slacking on doing these things will only cause you future headaches, and you will have to deal with those headaches in the blistering cold, so it is better to take care of these things now. When you are ready to future-proof your home’s roofing, we will be there to make that transition and simple and as easy as possible.
