Your Fall & Winter Maintenance Guide

Certain home maintenance tasks should be completed each season to prevent structural damage, save energy, and keep all your home’s systems running properly.

Here are some maintenance tips for the Fall to help you prepare for the cold winter that will be arriving soon!

• Clean your gutters. Leaving debris in your gutters is an invitation for trouble. Not only can it freeze and damage the gutters themselves, but it also can force freezing water up under your shingles and damage the roof. Even if your home has a covered gutter system, it's still important to remove the covers and clean out any debris that may have still gotten through.

• Clean and put away lawn and garden equipment. Do a visual inspection of the yard to identify anything lying around — garden tools, hoses and nozzles, patio furniture and accessories. Leaving these items out in the snow and ice may damage them so they should be stored somewhere dry for the winter. It's important to leave your lawn mower with an empty tank of gas. Gas left behind can degrade and lose some of its combustion ability. Worse, gas can react with the air in the tank and oxidize, forming deposits that affect the machine’s performance; worse still, moisture can condense inside the tank and cause rust that blocks the fuel lines.

• Schedule a furnace tune-up. The technician will work their way through a checklist of items such as inspecting filters, checking the chimney exhaust, and examining the blower and fuel connections.

• Protect your air conditioning unit. If your outdoor air conditioning unit is located under trees or under the drip line of the house where icicles and snow may fall, give it a little protection by placing a sheet of plywood over the top and draping a dropcloth over it. However, don’t create a fully enclosed space, as that can trap moisture and offer winter protection for rodents.

• Close your storm windows. It’s a simple step, but an easy one to forget. Make sure the windows are shut properly so that the outer pane is up and the inner pane is down; this keeps rain and other forms of precipitation out.

Spending a weekend or two on maintenance can prevent costly repairs and alert you to developing problems. Don't have the time? We can help! Nothnagle's Home Services offers many home-related maintenance services. Let our Home Service Coordinator do all of the work for you, just let us know what you need and we will match your budget with a qualified, pre-screened professional.