Maintenance Tips to Get Your Home Ready for the Winter
While you’re planning trips to soak in the fall foliage, be sure you carve out some time to tend to maintenance projects around the house. If you don’t, you could find yourself saddled with avoidable and unnecessary repair costs. Just as Next Day Blinds can help you find the perfect blinds for your home, maintaining your windows and other home maintenance tasks can help you feel as if you live in the perfect house.
Tend to Your Trees and Shrubs
Speaking of foliage, be sure to tend to the trees and shrubs on your own property to maintain their health and overall longevity. Know that healthy trees can help keep your home cool just as well-maintained shrubs can boost your property’s overall curb appeal. Additionally, tending to tree limbs can better ensure that they don’t fall on your roof or cause other damage to your property. Remember to clear off leaves from your roof and out of your gutters to better prevent ice dams this winter.
Turn Off Your Outdoor Water and Sprinkler System
You don’t need to water your lawn during the colder months of the year, so you might as well shut off your sprinkler system and outdoor water. You also have to think about the fact that water can become frozen in your sprinkler system and your hose, which can lead to spending money on a replacement system or hose. Save yourself, headache and money by making sure you turn everything off.
Tend to Exterior Repairs
Contact a professional home maintenance company and have them inspect your exterior. Minor issues have a way of becoming major issues the longer they’re left unattended, meaning that you should handle them ASAP. What’s more is any smaller issues you have with your property’s exterior could be made worse with the cold, and repair services could be harder to come by or perform during the winter.
Seal Up Gaps
Just as you like to keep warm and cozy during the winter, the same is true of critters like mice, raccoons, and squirrels. To keep your home from becoming a haven for a few extra housemates who won’t be chipping in to help pay the bills, you’ll need to make sure you seal up all potential openings, something that a professional pest control company can help you with. Pay especially close attention to common points of entry, like your attic and basement.
Service Your Furnace
You don’t want to be without heat during a cold snap. Lessen your chances of that happening by having a professional company inspect and maintain your furnace. Just as you’re better off letting the professionals at Next Day Blinds bring out the best in your home’s interior, you’re also better off letting HVAC professionals bring out the best in your furnace. There are a lot of DIY resources out there, and it’s true that there are some HVAC maintenance tasks you can handle on your own, but servicing your furnace is certainly best left to experienced professionals.
Check Your Walkways, Railings, and Stairs
Slips and falls and their resulting injuries are common when the ground is slick with ice. To protect yourself, everyone in your household and anyone who happens to visit your property, check to make sure your stairs, walkways, railings and the like are in good shape. Go ahead and buy a quality snow shovel if you don’t already have one, and be sure to buy sand, kitty litter or something similar so you can spread it across surfaces for improved traction.
Remain proactive this fall to better ensure that your home is ready for the winter season. These tips are sure to make your life easier and your winter all the more enjoyable around your house.