Different seasons require different types of home maintenance. When the leaves start changing and the temperatures cool down, it’s time to complete some fall home maintenance tasks. It’s best to tackle autumn maintenance sooner rather than later because daytime hours get shorter, giving you less time to get things done.
Prevent Damage With Fall Home Maintenance
Winter storms are cold, icy, and can cause trees and limbs to fall. Before the weather turns, take note of trees and limbs around your home that might be at risk of falling. Prune trees around your home, or hire an arborist if the job is too high up and dangerous.
Fall Home Maintenance Includes Raking Leaves
Some people rake every leaf off of their yard before winter, and others let them pile up. If you rake your leaves in the fall, you’ll have a healthier lawn in the spring. Layers of dead leaves in your yard cause damage to the grass and inhibit growth come springtime.
Clean Gutters and Downspouts
Another fall maintenance task that should never be skipped is cleaning the gutters and downspouts of your home. This task usually requires climbing on a ladder and scooping out the debris from the length of the gutters. Flush them out with a garden hose and make sure that water flows freely through the downspouts. If you don’t feel confident about completing this task, you can hire a professional to take care of it for you.
Inspect Your Driveway, Stairs, and Walkway
Ice and snow can make winter dangerous, so it’s crucial to inspect your driveway, stairs, and walkway as part of your fall home maintenance. When doing this, make sure your stairs are sturdy and that rainwater won’t collect on your walkways. Once water freezes on the pavement, it becomes slippery.
Fall Home Maintenance for Protecting Plumbing
Access to water outside is a must during warm summer months, but it could cause problems in the winter if you don’t take the proper measures. As part of your fall maintenance checklist, insulate exposed pipes and faucets. Drain garden hoses and store them in your garage or shed.
Replace Your Batteries
When you’re completing fall maintenance, it’s a good time to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Use daylight savings as a reminder to replace batteries in both of these detectors.
Alpharetta Property Inspections offers home inspection services to North Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Cobb, Dekalb, and Cherokee counties. Contact us to request an appointment.