Maintaining your home in the Fall and Winter is very important. Home maintenance includes maintaining or repairing the roof, attic, gutters, fireplace, filters and many more parts of your house. These parts must be looked after, especially in the fall and winter. Here we will discuss about how to maintain them.

Homes are our place of shelter. So we have to take care of it before to prevent damage and expensive repairs. Following is a preventive maintenance checklist for your home during the Fall and Winter. The checklist is divided into three parts – Indoor Maintenance, Outdoor Maintenance and Lawn Maintenance.

Indoor Home Maintenance

• Clean the fireplace. Check the chimney for loose or missing mortar. The chimney and the fireplace must be professionally cleaned. Test the chimney for tight seal.
• Check furnace and replace filter for maximum efficiency. Filters must be replaced monthly or as required.
• Test the water heater for proper temperature and sufficient insulation. Remove sediments from the bottom of the tank. Have it checked if there are any issues.
• Clean the air ducts professionally. But if have changed your furnace filters and cleaned the air ducts recently then you can take off the register covers and vacuum inside to remove the dust.
• Clean the humidifiers for effective operation.
• Pile up the required materials for fireplace and furnace.
• Have your carpet cleaned professionally.
• Change your bedding to the warmer ones. Cotton covers can be replaced with flannels.
• Make sure that your fire extinguisher is working properly.
• Inspect all cold-water pipes in the basement. Wrap them with insulating material to prevent freezing in winter.
• Examine the batteries in the smoke detectors.
• Check the power connection of your house.

Outdoor Home Maintenance

• Look for cracks in the house siding or paint. If required apply a touch up or call a professional.
• Put fences around your house.
• Check your roof and vents for cracks. Repair these if required.
• Your home must be equipped with storm doors and windows.
• Summertime screen should be removed and stored for future use.
• Clean your doors and windows both inside and outside.
• Clean gutters and drain pipes to prevent waterlogged situation.

Lawn and Garden Maintenance

If you have a garden or lawn along with your home, then you should also consider:

• Clean the drainage system.
• Clean your garden hose-pipe.
• Trim the long grasses.
• Use fertilizer to your lawn.

Unlock the potential of your home and avoid expensive expenses that could result from improper maintenance. Make sure you look after your home frequently. We can help.

Resource: http://comfortablehome.ca/2010/06/22/fall-and-winter-home-maintenance-checklist/