Keep your home in top shape by following a few easy steps
With every passing season, the wear and tear on our homes becomes a bit more prominent. That includes depletion of residential exteriors from sun, wind, rain, hail, and snow, as well as interior damage from our kids scratching the walls, slamming the front door, or scuffing the floor. Many of these measures are cosmetic, but there are plenty of other ways your home can suffer.
Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to prevent some of the more costly or annoying impacts on our homes. A great way to avoid home-related headaches this season is by creating and following a fall home maintenance checklist. You can use it as a part of an annual home maintenance schedule, which will help you determine things you can take care of yourself vs. items that should be left to a professional.
These tools will also help you learn how to budget for home maintenance each season.
Fall Exterior and Interior Maintenance Checklist
With summer ending and fall just around the corner, now is the perfect time to look at some of the items you should have on a fall maintenance checklist for your home.
Break up your list into “exterior” and “interior” items to check off.
Exterior
- Check your windows and doors. The cold is on the way and you need to be prepared. You want to stay warm but you also need to avoid excessive energy costs which can easily occur with air leaks around your windows and doors. Feel around the frames. Do you feel outside air coming in? If so, use weather stripping, which could help cover the leaks. The best choice would be to replace windows and doors that allow for a draft as they could be improperly fitted or inefficient. Fall is also the time to remove screen doors, clean them, and place them in safe storage.
- Examine exterior siding and the roof. If you are missing pieces of siding or shingles on the roof, it’s best to have them replaced in the fall. As heavy snow moves into the area, you want to avoid any potential for water to leak into walls, insulation, or your ceilings. Mold and mildew that grows from excess moisture can be extremely expensive to remove. Water can also lead to electrical failure.
- Remove debris, outdoor furniture, and deck/patio/pool supplies. Winter is tough on everything it touches when freezing and thawing cycles occur. Carefully inspect drainage points like your gutters and downspouts. Get rid of any leaves, branches, or mud that could present a clog. Next, store as many outdoor items as possible inside, including rattan or wicker furniture, sprinklers, hoses, and home garden items. Now is also the time to close pools, if you haven’t already. Additionally, any sort of motorized unit that won’t be used for several months should be winterized. This includes gas powered lawn mowers, trimmers, and edgers which need stabilizer added to their remaining fuel.
Interior
- Have your HVAC and fireplace inspected. Your maintenance checklist needs to include two important fall season home safety tips. Ensure your furnace is properly working and is not omitting dangerous and potentially deadly carbon dioxide. Additionally, creosote buildup or birds’ nests can often hamper a fireplace, creating a fire hazard.
- Complete general maintenance and cleaning. This is an item that is great to have on your checklist for every season. Replace the filters in your furnace and clean them monthly during the fall. It’s also a good time to change your smoke detector and carbon monoxide device batteries, change lightbulbs, and fix or replace any leaky faucets or toilets.
- Explore new designs and renovations. There’s nothing like a new season to make a fresh start. Tired of your outdated countertops? Have you always dreamed of an updated laundry room? Fall is the ideal season to change your interior with a home improvement. Design a custom kitchen that the entire family can enjoy or update the bathroom or basement.
Partner with Experts for Fall Home Maintenance
Exterior and interior maintenance can be easy at times, but out of reach during others. If you want to upgrade your home with modern amenities that are efficient and look great, talk with the professional team at Reliable Home Improvement.
You can view new windows, siding, and doors or check out cabinet displays, the latest plumbing fixtures, and more in our showroom and design gallery. Our experienced team is ready to assist you with quality products and superb customer service. To get started, contact us or give us a call at 630-579-6600.
