With winters approaching, the time has come for homeowners to get their homes ready for the upcoming winter season. Winter brings with it plenty of snow and ice that can lead to expensive repair issues in the home unless one takes the time and effort to prepare the house for these unforeseen emergencies beforehand. Accordingly, here we have listed some fall maintenance tasks every homeowner need to undertake in order to prepare his/her home for the freezing winter.
Cleaning the Gutters
Fall is synonymous with trees shedding their leaves. As such, one would need to clean the gutters and downspouts completely to prevent them from clogging up and causing runoffs. Old, un-cleaned gutters can literally buckle under the weight of the water and leaves, and separate from the roof, damaging the roof’s underlying structure in the process. Hence, cleaning the gutter is necessary for every home as winter approaches.
Trimming the Trees
Homes that have lush lawns and gardens filled with trees need to be wary off dead branches in the winter. Large sized branches can collect ice over a period and break under the weight, literally damaging anything beneath it beyond repair. In order to avoid this scenario, it is wise to trim/cut down large branches as and when the leaves fall off in fall.
Disconnecting and Winter Proofing Lawn Irrigation Systems
It is advisable to drain out hoses and lawn irrigation systems before winter approaches. Pipes with residual water can freeze and burst in winters. Therefore, ensure that you shutoff and close valve inside the house properly and drain the hoses completely before being put away for the winter. In the case of a lawn irrigation system, having professional assistance would prove cost effective in the near future.
Doing an Energy Audit
An energy audit would effectively find out where the air conditioning and heat is escaping in the house. Sealing off these areas can reduce energy consumption significantly, especially in the winter months when the heater is on at full blast. While one can examine cracks and other possible areas in the house on his/her own, hiring a professional to do an energy audit would be more budget friendly in the end, even after winter.
Checking Electrical Outlets and Generators
Power outages can be a pain in winter. Hence, it pays to invest in a generator, to power up the electrical devices in the home, during these outages. One would also need to test existing generators before winter approaches to ensure that they are working properly. Fall would also be the perfect time to check all the electrical outlets in the house and repair/replace them, thus minimizing the worries of short circuits and power leakages.
Preparing the Car
Car owners would need to be very cautious about protecting their vehicles from the harsh winter weather and fall is be the best time to start preparing for the same. Some of the car maintenance tasks that you need to undertake during this period include replacing the windshield wiper blades, checking the tires for tread and fixing the engine to avoid sudden breakdowns.
Closing the Storm Windows
Many homeowners tend to forget one simple step during fall that could cost them heavily during winters. Failing to close the storm windows before the onset of winters would leave the house vulnerable to the harsh weather outside. You must shut hat all the storm windows in the house properly, with the inner pane down and the outer pane up, before winters. This small step would easily keep out rain and snow from entering the home.
Summary
Many individuals are wary of spending money for home maintenance. However, regular maintenance would help save plenty of money in repairs and replacements in the end, especially during the harsh winter seasons.
