Summer is over and autumn is quickly approaching, but is your home ready for the cooler temperatures? At our Oliver, we’ve put together nine ways to get your home ready for the fall (including calling our experts!):
Check for Drafts
Check your windows and doors for drafts so that your home doesn’t take on cold air when you don’t want it to. You can check them by lighting a candle and holding it near the area. If it flickers, there’s a draft. You’ll want to replace the weather stripping and/or caulking to get a nice, strong seal before the cold sets in.
Prep Your Washer & Dryer
All of those loads of summer laundry mean your washing machine and dryer have gotten a lot of use. Be sure to check your washing machine hose – one that’s too worn can burst and spill gallons of water very quickly. Also make sure that lint hasn’t built up in your dryer – too much lint can catch fire from the dryer’s heat.
Replace Your HVAC Filter
Summer comes with a lot of dirt, dust, pollen, grass, and other airborne contaminants. Start fall with a fresh, clean HVAC filter and you’ll be breathing easy as the temperatures get cooler.
Seal Your Walkway/Patio
If you have a paver walkway or a paver patio, take some time to seal it before the ice, snow, and cold temperatures hit. You’ll protect it all winter long and will love the way it looks come springtime.
Schedule a Furnace Check-Up
Make an appointment with one of our heating service experts to do a thorough check of your heater. We’ll make sure it’s working properly and ready to use once the temperature drops so you don’t experience any unwanted and inconvenient problems.
Fertilize Your Lawn
Grass roots will continue to grow until the ground temperature gets down to 40 degrees, so feed your grass a fresh helping of fertilizer to keep it growing strong through the fall and ready for winter.
Install Outdoor Lights
As it gets cooler, the days get shorter and there are fewer hours of sunlight, so why not install a few outdoor lights on your garage or ones that lead to your front door? You’ll light the way not only for yourself, but for your guests, too.
Test Your Detectors
Put fresh batteries in your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector and test them to make sure that they are working properly. This is a good thing to do every few months.
Insulate Your Pipes
When colder temperatures hit, your plumbing pipes could freeze and burst, causing big plumbing problems. Our plumbing experts can make sure your pipes are prepared for the fall and winter – just give us a call.