Here’s Your Fall Maintenance Honey-Do List

Keep Your Home Healthy This Fall With a Little Check-Up

In the fall, a little home maintenance is essential, to keep your home healthy through the winter. When you own a home, it’s an investment. Of course, we all want to protect our investment, so a little upkeep, in every season, is a great idea. It’s well worth the time and can save you $1000’s in the long run.

Just like a vehicle, if we take care of repairs right away, it will last us longer, and will be worth more when it’s time to sell.

Fall Home Maintenance Tasks to Remember

Here are a few things to think about, when it comes to protecting what you’ve worked so far for. If you do these tasks, before the snow flies, your home will thank you. Here’s a checklist, in case you’re not sure where to begin:

• Check that your plumbing vent stacks are higher than potential snow depth on your roof. They must be able to breathe, even when the roof is covered in snow.
• Get on your roof (or hire someone) to check for potential leaks, or ice damming.
• While you’re up there, replace any worn or damaged shingles to prevent leaks
• Clean out your eaves troughs to make sure water doesn’t back up under your shingles and into your home, or cause other costly damage.
• Maintain a humidity level around 50%. It will help you to avoid mold growth and prevent dry skin and nose bleeds.
• Check for heat loss around windows and doors, attic hatches, and light fixtures. (Ask me how. It’s simple and it’ll save you $!)
• Look for heat loss around outlets, on exterior walls as well as interior walls.
• Remove window air conditioners, for the winter. They can cause quite a bit of heat loss.
• Replace deteriorated caulking. Remove and re-caulk to keep out cold air, moisture, and bugs.
• Inspect for bugs and rodents. Pests look for warm places for the winter, and they can cause a lot of damage.
• Turn off outside taps and drain. Wrap all water pipes to keep your water temperature stable.
• Look for moisture gathering and/or mold in your bathroom. Consider adding an exhaust fan, if you haven’t done so yet.
• If you have older windows, consider shrink wrap or heavy curtains to keep the heat in, and the cold out. Be sure to open in the daytime to avoid condensation.
• Look for condensation on windows and walls. If you don’t fix the issue, it might frost up on cold nights.
• Stake out items that may get buried in snow, to avoid catching them with the snow blower.
• Cut the grass one more time. It’s easier to rake off leaves and gravel in the spring!
• This one is super important. Bee sure that your CO2 and smoke detectors are working well.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of fall home maintenance tasks, but it’ll get you started for sure.

Are Spring and Summer the Best Times to Sell Real Estate?

The market is definitely busier during those months, but here’s why I think winter is a great time to sell your home.

If you’re considering it, check out my Guide to Selling your Home in the Winter. If you have any questions, give me a shout!