A realtor shares a maintenance checklist for fall.
The autumnal chill in the air probably makes you think of seasonally spiced coffee, trips to the pumpkin patch, and Thanksgiving menu prep. But if you own a home, you’ll want to add wrapping up your exposed pipes — and a whole lot more — to your fall to-do list. It’s a little less Instagram-worthy, but just as essential (sorry, Starbucks).
House maintenance is crucial to keeping your family safe (and your property value high), according to Christine Cooper, a realtor based in Madison, Wisconsin. She sees firsthand how regular upkeep makes a home much more attractive to potential buyers. But even if you aren’t planning on selling, this maintenance is essential to avoid costly and complicated surprises with the asset you’ve spent quite the pretty penny on.
“Your home is going to be one of your largest investments — if not the largest — and these expenses can creep up really quickly,” she tells us. For example, a new roof could run you $20,000, depending on the size. “But by regularly maintaining your house and solving problems one at a time, you’ll avoid expensive and inconvenient headaches.”
That “one at a time” approach is key. These chores can feel overwhelming in aggregate, so Cooper advises putting yourself on a set schedule. To that end, she shared 10 important but not-too-overwhelming tasks to knock out before the harsh winter weather.
1. Service heating and air conditioning
Considering these appliances are among the most costly to repair — not to mention the most frequently used — in your home, keeping them in tip-top shape is essential to extending their life. Cooper says a thorough check-up is something you’ll want to do regularly, and this is the perfect time of year to make it happen: “It’s one of those things you should do annually, so why not do it after summer, when you’ve been powering through your air conditioner and now you’re about to switch over to your furnace system?”
If you call up any licensed HVAC professional and ask for a tune-up, they’ll come out with a full maintenance list to make sure you’re in good shape. And if you need any more motivation to take care of this, Cooper adds that the quality of the heating and air conditioning is “one of the first things that comes up” when a prospective buyer tours a home, so keeping them working is great for your house’s value, too.
2. Inspect the chimney and fireplace
“You’ll soon be using the fireplace for the first time in months,” Cooper says. “To prevent fires, it’s so important to have it inspected, cleaned, and ready to go for the season.”
If it’s not something you’re up for doing yourself, this maintenance is routine for your go-to fireplace specialist — and if you’re a new homeowner who doesn’t have one yet, help from your realtor is a phone call away. “I have a list of recommended contractors for every aspect of the home. Your agent will absolutely have that available for you,” Cooper says.
3. Inspect and clean gutters
Cooper calls this “one of the most forgotten items” for many homeowners: “It’s usually out of sight, out of mind.” But it’s definitely not something you want to ignore.
“After fall, leaves tend to pile up, especially if your home is in an area that’s a little more wooded, and you might have moss buildup on the roof over time,” she explains. “When you’re going into a new season with more rainfall or snowfall, you want to make sure those gutters are working properly so you can get that melted snow off your roof and out of your house to prevent damage.”
4. Feed, seed, and aerate your lawn
If you’re planning on selling soon, lawn care is crucial. “One of the first things a buyer checks when they’re looking at homes is curb appeal,” Cooper says. “They’re looking at the yard, they’re looking at the garden beds, they’re looking at the exterior. You want to make a really good first impression.”
But even if you’re staying put for the foreseeable future, a beautiful lawn is something every homeowner dreams of, and now’s a great time to help it along. During the fall, the intensity of the summer sun has abated, but the ground is still warm, and there’s usually a healthy amount of moisture, too. Giving the grass a little TLC now will put it in a strong position to come roaring back when winter has passed, preparing it to look “green, luscious, and beautiful” come springtime, Cooper says.
5. Clean dryer vents
This is another task that you could do any time of the year, but making it part of a seasonal routine will ensure you don’t cause a hazard by forgetting to take care of it.
“Behind your dyer, all of the lint that falls through the lint trap gets blown out — hopefully to the exterior of your home. But one of the most common things I see on an inspection report is that the dryer vent is too long or it’s not properly venting,” Cooper tells us. “There can be a lot of lint buildup, and that’s one of the most common causes of house fires.”
This task is actually pretty simple, but if you’re not sure how to pull it off, here’s a helpful tutorial:
6. Caulk cracks and gaps around windows, siding, and exterior
“Before heavier rainfall or snow, make sure your windows are properly sealed and you don’t have any cracks,” Cooper says. “You always want to prevent moisture from going into your siding or wood fascia.”
For this task, you could call a siding contractor, but a general handyman can also help. Whomever you reach out to, Cooper adds a key reminder: Check their credentials.
“You want to make sure that anyone you hire is licensed, bonded, and insured, just to confirm you’re not letting someone into your home who doesn’t have the expertise to do these things,” she says. “It should be on their business card, and you can also look for ratings from organizations like the Better Business Bureau. I like to use someone who also has reviews on Google or Yelp so you can see that other clients of theirs are having positive experiences.”
7. Replace worn weather strips and thresholds
“This is another one that people don’t often think about, but you can lose so much money in the energy efficiency of your home when air is escaping and you have more cool air blowing in,” Cooper says.
Before the chill really cranks up, it’s important to seal up windows and doors, which will keep you warmer and lower your energy bills. Wondering how to tell if this is something you need to address? Cooper’s got a simple and effective tip.
“A rule of thumb is that if the lights are off inside and you see any light around the door, that means there’s not a proper weatherstrip there, and it needs to be replaced,” she says.
8. Snap a photo of your lawn for spring garden planning
After months of cold weather, you’ll probably be particularly excited to get your landscaping into gear when things warm up again. But you may find that when things start to thaw out, you don’t quite remember how they looked before.
“After the winter, everything is dead, and it’s hard to plan for spring when you forget what color those flowers were or how big that bush was last year because now it’s just a bunch of sticks,” Cooper says. “You may not want to add a red rose bush next to another red rose bush — maybe you want a pink rose instead. This is a good way to jog your memory about colors, heights, and key visual components.”
9. Insulate exposed pipes and order insulated hose bib covers
“Frozen pipes are super common around the country, whether you’re up north or have a cold winter vortex come through the south, so you want to double check that any exposed pipes that have access to your home — or are in close proximity — are covered,” Cooper says. “And you can easily pick up a couple of specialized covers for the hose bibs, too.”
It may be tempting to put this off until a particularly cold forecast pops up for your area, but making the task part of your fall checklist is the most effective way to avoid a nasty surprise if you’re caught off guard. “You might be out of town when a freeze happens, and then it could be too late to do it,” Cooper says.
10. Disconnect and drain garden hoses
This last one protects you from the same concerns that could pop up with the exposed pipes we just discussed. “If you have water left in your hose and you leave it attached to the hose bib to your home, you’re now allowing water to expand in your pipes,” Cooper says. “That’s a big risk — and it’s a big hazard if you create frozen pipes that could potentially burst.”
