Spring cleaning may excite some as you consider that you will have a wide array of colorful spring flowers ahead. But ahead of prepping for spring, you may want to think about some of the chores that you complete before winter. While they may not enhance the beauty of your property, these chores are important. This is because they prepare your property to deal with the snow, rain, and wind that comes along with the winter season. So what are the chores you should be doing this fall? Here are some of the tasks that should be on your fall chore checklist for 2020.
Change Your Filters
Your ventilation systems will need a look. Examine your filters to see if they are clogged. The cleaner your filters, the more effective they will be at ensuring you get the best quality air while in your house.
Rake The Leaves
If you have trees, if your neighbor has trees, you have to rake. This is the one fall chore that most people can’t get away from. If you were in the practice of pushing your leaves over into the gutter, you should stop. When you do that, the rain comes and the wet leaves, clog the drains and then our streets get flooded.
What you should do, is rake the leaves and then you have two options to deal with them. Either set them out with your organic household waste. Or you can use them for composting, so you can have this ready for next year’s garden and those lovely spring flowers.
Check Gutters and Drain Pipes
Your gutters and drain pipes need attention now. You want to ensure they are not blocked up with any organic matter. This may lead to water backing up and later leaking into your home.
Check Pipes
We don’t often have winters with a consistent cold snap of temperatures dipping below -5 degrees Celsius over five weeks or more. But if we do, would you be prepared for such weather? It happened in the winter of 2016. Many homeowners were not prepared and so pipes close to exterior walls burst. When they turned the heat down they came home to a not so nice, soggy mess.
Fall is the best time to ensure that your pipes are in tip-top condition and also insulated. If you will be gone for an extended period you will fare better if you can turn the water off. You can also have a trustworthy friend or family member to check every other day or so. This can be handy when it comes to trying to claim insurance. The companies like when you can report and respond promptly.
You also want to empty any water in hoses and disconnect those, Check on your outside taps and ensure you close them, cutting off the water supply entirely.
When you follow the above tips you can winterize your home so that in the dark winter months you can be warm and cozy with no unpleasant surprises. This also ensures that your property value is maintained. And the best part is that it really only takes a little attention to detail every fall. Start this fall, by inspecting, updating and replacing the things that you need to keep your home in tip-top shape.
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