Fall Maintenance Tips for Your Home

Instructions:

1. Check all window and door locks for proper operation. Windows that can be opened by breaking the glass and unlocking them, are less effective deterrents to criminals. Check with the hardware department for window lock alternatives.
2. Check your home for water leaks: Check all faucets in your home for any type of leak. Check around the bottom of your dishwasher by leaving paper towels around the outside of the machine while it is in use.
3. Check your home for water leaks: Take some time to inspect the pipes underneath your sinks and tubs. Check your toilet by getting dropping food coloring in the tank of your toilet. Watch the bowl of your toilet for a few minutes to see if any of the food coloring appears. If coloring appears this means you have a slow leak.
4. You can also use your water meter to check for any hidden leaks. Check the reading on your meter wile all faucets and appliances are off and do so again in an hour. If your meter has moved you have a hidden water leak somewhere in your house.
5. Protect your home from frozen pipes. Insulate pipes in your home's crawl spaces and attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing. Heat tape or heat cables can be used to wrap pipes. Seal leaks that allow cold air inside near where pipes are located. Look for additional leaks near electrical wireing, dryer vents, and pipes.
6. Look for air leaks around your windows and doors and insulate with window kits and stripping. Even gaps as small as 1/8-inch can create major air loss. On a windy day, carefully hold a lit incense stick or smoke pen next to your windows, doors, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, etc. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking or weatherstripping.
7. Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce an added heat loss mid-winter. Check glazing for loose or missing putty or glazing compound. This will also help reduce water damage to the windows and door frames.
8. Have a heating professional check your heating system every year. Woodburning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.
9. Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures. Bird nests on top of light fixtures are a fire hazard. Bird nests in chimney flues can prevent proper venting of combustion gases and can catch fire. Exercise great caution when working on your roof or consider hiring a professional to take care of this work.
10. Replace your furnace filter. Furnace filters need to be replaced frequently to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate properly.
11. Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Add new batteries as well.
12. Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tank is empty. By doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. At the same time, make sure you aren't storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.
13. Make sure there are working nightlights at the top and bottom of all stairs. Tile and painted wood or concrete stairs can be slippery when wet or when a person's shoes are wet. Resurface the treads with slip-resistant strips near the stair nosing. All stairs of at least three risers should have a handrail.