Autumn is an ideal time to prepare your house for the coming season. Even in mild Georgia, winter is the harshest season, and it can do its worst work on your house if you’re not ready for it. It would also be a good idea to put a review of your home insurance policy on your fall home maintenance checklist, too.
Why Fall Maintenance Is Important
It’s all about making sure your house is ready to withstand winter’s hit. Even in the Peach State, freezing weather occurs, especially during the nights and in the northern part of the state.
Georgia’s beautiful autumn weather provides an ideal excuse for walking around your house, getting on your roof (with proper safety gear), and thoroughly inspecting your premises. Once you get into the annual habit of checking off your fall maintenance checklist, you’ll find that you can get through your seasonal home preparation quickly and feel confident that you won’t experience any winter setbacks to your house.
Essential Fall Home Maintenance Checklist Items
This is a job to be undertaken both inside and outside your house and surroundings. Here are some of the key items that should be addressed.
Interior Maintenance
Interior maintenance protects your home’s comfort, efficiency, and safety in winter by preventing costly repairs, conserving energy, and ensuring heating systems and insulation work effectively.
Service Heating Systems and Change Filters
The last thing anyone wants to do is to try getting an HVAC technician in the middle of the coldest winter night because your furnace failed and your pipes are freezing. Instead, call that technician on a mild fall day when there’s no sense of urgency. Let the expert inspect your furnace and do whatever has to be done when temperatures are still well above the need to use your furnace.
Check Windows and Doors for Drafts
A house that’s not well sealed will be more expensive to heat in the winter. And feel a whole lot less comfortable. Are air leaks coming into your house? Does weather stripping need to be replaced? Should storm windows be installed? Seal your place up as tightly as possible before the weather changes for the worse.
Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Once your house is sealed up for the winter, you’re going to want to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working condition. Test each one of them, make sure they have fresh batteries, and replace any broken units.
Inspect the Attic
Sealed tight? Make sure there are no holes in the roof and that the local wildlife isn’t making a home up there. If there is damage, the autumn season is a better time to do roof work than January.
Exterior Preparations
Exterior maintenance shields your home from harsh winter conditions by preventing water damage, strengthening structural integrity, reducing energy loss, and avoiding costly repairs caused by snow, ice, and wind.
Clean Gutters and Downspouts
The leaves are falling. They need to be cleaned out of your gutters. Run a hose through the system to make sure they’re not clogged. That’s an excellent way to make sure you don’t get backed-up moisture in your home this winter.
Inspect Your Roof and Siding for Damage
How old is your roof? Did summer or fall bring on aggressive windstorms or hail? Check it out. Better now than in the middle of winter.
Protect Your Exterior with Paint Touch-Ups
You might not have the desire to get on ladders and paint your entire home, but a little touch-up can do wonders. It will help you maintain your home’s value and protect your siding from the ravages of winter’s snow and ice.
Lawn and Garden Care
Lawn and garden care before winter protects plants, promotes healthy regrowth in spring, prevents pests and disease, and safeguards outdoor spaces from damage caused by freezing temperatures.
Winterize Outdoor Faucets and Sprinkler Systems
Drain your outdoor faucets and pipes so they won’t freeze when winter temperatures fall. Frozen outdoor pipes can burst, causing costly water damage and disrupting your home’s plumbing.
Aerate and Fertilize the Lawn
This is a way of thinking two seasons ahead, not just one. Get a great start on your spring gardening challenges by aerating and fertilizing before winter sets in. You’ll be glad you got this head start.
Prune Trees and Shrubs
This is another spring head start project, and it’s something you’d rather do on a crisp fall day than during the heat of a Georgia summer or late spring.