Fall & Winter Home Maintenance Tips

November 24, 2016


Follow these simple tips to keep your house in excellent shape this fall & winter.

When the seasons start to get cooler, we all go through our own little routines. We pull our heavier sweaters out of the closet, maybe even go shopping for a new winter coat. However you like to prepare for the fall and winter seasons, we hope that you’ll take the time to perform some key home maintenance tasks. It’s an essential part of maintaining the value and quality of your home for many years to come. Make sure you follow all the tips outlined here to prevent unnecessary home damage, improve energy efficiency to ensure that you can save money and keep your home in exceptional condition for many years to come.

  1. CLEAN OUT YOUR EAVESTROUGHS & DOWNSPOUTS
    Late fall is an excellent time to check your eavestroughs and downspouts to ensure they are clean and working properly. A clean trough and downspout will promote rapid removal of surface water from the rooftop and away from your home. Trough maintenance is extra important because damages resulting from a poorly maintained eavestrough and downspout system may not be covered by your Tarion Warranty. 
  2. CLOSE YOUR EXTERIOR HOSE BIBS FOR THE WINTER
    To avoid possible pipe damages, your exterior hose connections (bibs) should be properly winterized before the onset of the winter months. To do so, you should disconnect your current hoses, sprinklers, etc. from the bibs, then turn off the supply lines from inside your home and drain the supply lines outside your home. 
  3. CLEAN FURNACE & AIR HANDLER FILTERS
    It is a good idea to clean or change your furnace filter every three months to ensure your furnace/air conditioner does not have to work too hard. Your furnace filter is found between the large return air duct and furnace. If you replace the filter, ensure your replacement is the correct size and is oriented correctly. Filters come in many sizes, so refer to your existing filter when purchasing a new one. 
  4. AVOID USING DE-ICERS IF POSSIBLE
    It is not recommended that you use any de-icing products such as salt or calcium to melt ice or snow on concrete surfaces (such as your front porch, steps and patio slabs) as they can cause surface damage. If you choose to use these products, be sure to brush them off your steps and porch as soon as the ice has melted to minimize damage.