Tips On Preparing Your Home For Fall

Getting Your Home Ready For Fall

Preparing your home for the fall and winter months starts with three important tasks; gutter cleaning, chimney cleaning, and repairing or installing weatherstripping. Each is low cost and easy to find a professional for locally.

Fall Preparations

Gutter Cleaning: Gutter cleaning prepares your gutters and downspouts to do their job in the coming months, carrying water away from your home where it can do significant damage if left unchecked. Professional gutter cleaning is reasonably priced compared to trying to do it yourself.

Chimney Cleaning: If you have a chimney and you use it during the fall and winter it is crucial that you have it inspected and cleaned by a certified company before using it.

Weatherstripping: Weatherstripping for doors and windows can easily become damaged or decayed during the year. Now is the time to take steps to repair or install new weatherstripping to keep the cold out and lower your heating bills.

In This Article

  • Getting Your Home Ready For Fall
  • Fall Preparations
  • Gutter Cleaning
  • Chimney Cleaning
  • Weatherstripping

Be Prepared For Fall

With fall quickly approaching there are a number of things you should do including gutter cleaning, to get your home ready for the change in seasons. Being a homeowner provides many benefits to you, but it also means you have a lot more responsibilities. If you don’t properly care for and maintain your home then you are going to have to watch as it loses value. With that being said in most cases keeping your home in good working condition isn’t going to be as big of a job as you might think it would be.

In fact as long as you use properly maintain your home and handle small problems when they arise, you can often avoid many of the bigger problems that can cost you a small fortune to fix. One thing that you definitely need to make a priority is doing what you need to do in order to get your home ready for the fall and winter months ahead. By being proactive now you can keep your home in good condition, and ensure that it provides you with the warmth you need during the colder winter months.

Gutter Cleaning

One of the most important things you can do to get your home ready for the Fall is to have your gutters cleaned. The rain gutters on your home aren’t there for decoration, they are there to keep rain water from getting into places that it shouldn’t be getting into. If your rain gutter system is not properly maintained you run the risk of water infiltrating your home, which can cause structural damage as well as black mold. Obviously these are both two things you need to avoid unless you like spending a lot of money on home repairs.

When it comes to gutter cleaning your best option really is to hire a professional. A professional gutter cleaning service can remove any debris found in your gutters and also clean out your downspouts. This is especially important as Fall approaches because as trees shed their leaves your gutters can quickly go from having a minor blockage to being completely sealed off. Not only will a professional gutter cleaning service clean out any debris, they will also inspect your gutters for damage and offer to repair them should the need arise.

Chimney Cleaning

Do you enjoy spending time relaxing with friends and family in front of the fireplace during the cold Winter months? Well if you are lucky enough to have a fireplace chances are pretty good that you enjoy sitting next to it on cold mornings or evenings. Even though fireplaces are no longer used as a primary heat source for most people, they can be used for that purpose in a pinch. Plus during power outages they can be a source of light as well as warmth. Even if you only use your fireplace once in a while it’s important that you ensure that it is properly cleaned and maintained.

A lot of people don’t realize that you really should have your fireplace cleaned and inspected every year. While you can probably handle some of the cleaning yourself, the reality is that a professional company that specializes in chimney cleaning and repair will do a more thorough job. They can insert cameras down your chimney to look for any signs of damage, and they can also inspect the bricks and mortar your fireplace is built from to see if they need repaired.

Something else that is often overlooked regarding fireplaces is the fact that soot from the fire builds up on them over time. That suit can turn into a thick layer, which can then turn into a glaze. Glazes are high flammable and can easily ignite when you light your fireplace. Then before you know it you can end up having a chimney fire, which can threaten your entire home. This is not a situation you want to deal with, and it’s one that is easily avoided. When you think about the potential consequences of a chimney fire, then the small cost of hiring a company to clean and inspect it is well worth it.

Perhaps the most important reason you have to have your chimney swept and cleaned on an annual basis by a professional is that failing to do could prove dangerous or even deadly. Fires produce carbon monoxide, and when a chimney is working the right way that carbon monoxide is vented into the atmosphere. But if your chimney is in poor repair it could end up with a blockage. If that happens you will end up having deadly carbon monoxide vented into your home, which will definitely put your life and the lives of your family at risk.

Weatherstripping Your Doors And Windows Will Save You Money On Your Heating Costs

During the Fall and then the Winter months temperatures outside will begin to drop. In many regions temperatures can drop below freezing. With cold weather comes the need to warm your home, and for most people that means turning on their furnace or central heating system. While a furnace or central heating system can be quite effective at heating your home, it can also be quite costly. One thing that can really have an impact on your heating bill is if you have doors and windows that are not properly sealed. When doors and windows are not properly sealed then the warm air from your house will escape, and the cold air outdoors will make it into your house. That translates to higher heating bills, which nobody really wants.

The good news is that inspecting and if necessary sealing any areas around your doors and windows shouldn’t be too challenging of a job. In fact most people can easily handle it themselves. All you need is weather stripping to cover large areas, and silicone caulking to seal up any smaller leaks. By spending a little money now, and expending a bit of your free time, you can actually make a big dent in your heating bills. While maintaining your home and preparing it for cold weather may not be the most exciting use of your time, it is something you need to do if you want to lower your heating costs.

This article originally appeared in 2018 and was updated in September, 2019.