A Guide To Getting Your Home Ready for Fall

As you’ve probably noticed, the temperatures are starting to cool. In fact, things are already pretty close to freezing. So what do you need to do to ensure your home is ready for those cool fall evenings and the winter months ahead?

First, make sure you're cleaning out your gutters. If you have trees around your property, it's critical to clean out your gutters because if they get full of leaves, water will run right over the top and potentially damage your foundation. If you get too much water on your foundation, it can cause problems, especially as things freeze.

Make sure you check your downspouts too. Grab a garden hose, run it up there, and make sure that water is draining down the downspouts. If things are difficult, you can go to a hardware store, buy a snake, and clean out the downspouts easily.

It's critical that you get water to drain away from your house. That’s why you should unhook your garden hose from your water spigot each night. If you don't, the water inside your garden hose can freeze up and cause your water line to pop on the exterior and create issues. 

"People often forget about their smoke detectors."

By now, you may have the air conditioning off and are getting ready to turn the furnace on. That makes now a great time to clean out and change the air filters in your furnace and air conditioning unit. It helps to make sure things are running efficiently and that you don't have any problems with those units. Go ahead and do a check on your smoke detectors’ batteries too. If there’s a fire in your house, you should make sure the alarms will catch it. 

This is a fantastic time to aerate and clean up your yard. You'll want to make sure that you're cleaning up the leaves as well, because if leaves remain on the top of your nice grass, they’re going to suffocate it, and you're going to have weeds next spring. Also, the last time you cut your grass this year, cut it a little shorter than normal. If it’s too tall, it will suffocate itself. 

If you have any questions about fall maintenance or the value of your home, don't hesitate to call or email me. Have a great day!