Top Home Maintenance Tips for Fall
As a homeowner, you should begin to consider what you’ll do to protect your home as the
weather gets colder. It doesn’t take a whole lot of time and effort to make sure your home is
ready for the seasonal change and here are the top four tips I give my clients.
1. Change all the filters and the dryer lint trap.
Now that you’re running the air conditioner less and less, it would be a great time to service and
make sure your unit is operating smoothly and efficiently. In fact, hiring a professional HVAC
technician to come by and check the actual unit isn’t a bad idea. The easiest thing you can do
as a homeowner though, is change the filters. It helps keep the air clean and circulating easier
and you’re going to want everything to be neat and clean as you transition to using the heater.
Whenever I think of changing the filters, I think of the lint trap in the dryer. You should be
cleaning that out regularly already but if you’re not, now is the time to make sure you do that.
You should also look into having a professional come out and clean out all the ducts from your
dryer. Lint and dust collects in the ducts running between your dryer and the vent on the exterior
of the home. That is an overlooked maintenance item for almost everyone.
2. Clean out your gutters.
Fall is the time for trees to lose their leaves. Leaves and tree debris can cause a lot of damage
when left unattended to. Not only can they damage your roof but they can clog your gutters.
Clogged gutters and blocked water flow from rain or snow can lead to major issues.
Not only could your gutters break or collapse if they’re too full but puddles around the house
could cause damage to your yard or even the house’s foundation. Hop on a ladder and make
sure your gutters are working well and the water will flow through and away from the home
when there is heavy rain.
3. Aerate, fertilize and seed your lawn.
The best time to make your lawn look great in the Spring and Summer is to do the work in the
Fall. Aerating, fertilizing and seeding your lawn in the Fall gets the grass ready to grow and
green in the Spring. It’s not nearly as complicated as one would think.
If you’ve never done this before, you can Google the methods and strategies that work best for
your area and type of grass your yard has. You can usually rent the equipment from Lowe’s or
Home Depot and probably knock it out on a Saturday morning.
4. Clean out your fireplace.
It won’t be long before you’re ready to use the fireplace. Whether you have a gas or wood
burning fireplace, Fall is the perfect time to make sure that the chimney and fireplace area are
clean. Ashes, dust, bird’s nests and other debris could have easily collected since the last time
you used the fireplace so you’ll want to make sure everything is clean and safe to use before
you fire it up again.