Best Fall Checklist For Home Maintenance

Fall is highly anticipated by many given that it provides a nice respite from the high temperatures of summer, offers gorgeous foliage, opportunity to carve pumpkins, and time to kick back and enjoy football games.

This season, however, also comes with messy front and backyards, temperatures that are increasingly cold, and many other issues.

People who take the time to prepare the home for the fall months will fare much easier in the colder and increasingly harsher weather. Drafting a fall checklist for home maintenance will expedite these efforts and ensure their success.

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The Autumn Checklist For Home Maintenance

This article will share a variety of highly effective strategies for getting your home fall-ready.

1. Set An Appointment For A Heating System Tune-Up

During the fall and right through winter, temperatures will continue to drop. At one time, it will eventually become necessary to start relying on your heating system for warmth and comfort. You’ll want to make sure that it’s going to be up for this seasonal demand.

Your heating system should receive a professional heating tune-up each year that’s performed by a certified HVAC technician. An HVAC company can thoroughly inspect your home heating equipment, perform any small yet essential repairs, take care of seasonal cleaning, lubricate everything, and perform many other forms of essential maintenance. These services can promote a higher quality of indoor air, improved reliability, and efficient operation overall. Call Townsend Energy to schedule your heater tune-up right now.

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2. Set Up Heating Oil Delivery Service

When your home is reliant upon heating oil for fuel, contacting your heating oil supplier as quickly as possible is important. This is key for ensuring that your household is cold weather-ready. Moreover, when you pay for your winter oil supplies before winter or the peak season actually starts, you’ll get much lower prices on this resource. Make sure to call Townsend Energy for details on our oil delivery services, our options in oil delivery, and the various payment plans we provide.

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3. Increase The Energy-Efficiency Of Your Home By Sealing Cracks And Gaps

Your heating system will work hard all of the time and with very few benefits if the resulting hot air is constantly escaping through cracks and gaps that are around the windows and doors in your home. In fact, these things will make your heater work both harder and longer so that more heating oil is used just to maintain a moderate temperature. This makes it prudent to check these openings for cracks and gaps. You can seal any problems that you find up with foam tape or weather stripping, caulking, film, or other products meant for this purpose. You should also make sure that the insulation in your home has a suitably high r-value, and that you have plenty of it.

5. Check Batteries Of Home Alarms: Ensure Safety From Smoke & Carbon Monoxide

In some instances, when a heater malfunctions, it might emit carbon monoxide or considerable amounts of smoke. Both of these issues are dangerous problems that should be detected as quickly as possible. Smoke is an indicator of fire that could result in widespread property damage. Carbon monoxide is a harmful gas that has no color or odor – and inhaling carbon monoxide can prove fatal. As heaters are put back into commission during fall, take the time to check the batteries in all related detection systems and alarms.

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5. Create Safe Winter Conditions On Stairs, Walkways, Driveways, And Other Exterior Areas

Winter is looming right on the horizon. Before winter actually arrives, you should ensure the safety of your entire home. Check all parts of the building structure that are exposed to the natural elements. For instances, stair rails, stairs, driveways, walkways, and any other paved areas should be inspected, readied for the winter, and made accident-free. If there is something broken or neglected, take care of it right away before snow covers it over. Make sure that hand railings are reliable and stable. Your driveways and pathways should be solid and level for easy shoveling and walking.

6. Take Care Of Your Trees And Shrubbery

Trees can look absolutely splendid during the months of fall. As their leaves turn colors and as they undergo other seasonal changes, their aesthetic beauty flourishes. These changes are also a sign of good or bad health in some instances. For example, if leaves start turning colors earlier in the season in normal or if there are numerous dead or dying branches, then plant disease may be an issue. Hire an arborist to help you with this work if you have a lot of shrubbery and trees to attend to.

7. Rake Up Dead Leaves And Other Debris

Leaves start falling from trees pretty early in the fall season and at this time, the sight can fill people with excitement as the eagerly await the cooler season. Letting the leaves accumulate is pretty common given that there are always other chores to deal with. This, however, won’t look as picturesque further down the road when temperatures drop lower and snow starts to fall. This can inhibit growth in the spring. Raking and removing these leaves and other tree-fall is best done right away.

8. All Downspouts And Gutters Need To Be Cleaned

Rather than on the ground, dead leaves, twigs, and other debris can wind up collecting on your rooftop and in your gutters. This is an issue as these things can stop the flow of water. Rotting organic debris also tends to lure in pests. Take the time to regularly clean out your downspouts and gutters, especially if these are in close proximity to any trees. If your gutters are too high, consider hiring a professional to do the job.

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9. Complete Repairs At The Property Exterior

While you’re outside, cleaning the gutters, check the roof for evidence of damage. This is something you should also do with the foundation and your siding. The property exterior suffers a tremendous amount of environmental stress and thus, problems can develop out here a lot faster than they often do at the building interior. If any issues are identified, have them taken care of before winter arrives.

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10. Turn Off All Faucets And Drain Hoses Outside

The final step in your fall home maintenance is to turn off all store hoses and faucets at the building exterior. This will prevent the pipes from freezing. These fixtures should not be getting any water flow given that water expands during freezing which can wreak havoc on the plumbing system. Before the temperatures fall, drain out all water. You should additionally apply spigot covers on all outdoor faucets.

 

Get In Touch With Townsend Energy For Help With Your Home Comfort

Connect with Townsend Energy for access to reliable services in home comfort. We provide an extensive suite of HVAC solutions like furnace tune-ups and repairs, heater installations, and many others. Our licensed technicians have plenty of experience in improving the efficiency and performance of home heating equipment.

You should also check out our heating oil delivery services. Our prices on fuel oil are competitive and our delivery services are both reliable and fast. We offer payment plans and delivery options to suit every household and budget. This means that you can streamline your oil delivery service to perfectly meet your requirements. Set up an appointment now by calling Townsend Energy today.

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