Your Fall Checklist to Maintain Your Utah Home
Being a homeowner in Utah can be a lot of work! In the midst of managing work, family and social life, you also have to keep track of what home maintenance tasks need to be done. We know that you want to take great care of your home, so we are here to help.
If you live in Salt Lake City or along the Wasatch front (or anywhere in Utah for that matter!), fall weather is here! This means that the dry weather of the summer will continue for at least a few more months, while the temperatures will drop to more moderate degrees… or will it? This is Utah after all! This is quite possibly the best weather to do any home maintenance chores in and around the house!
So, without further ado, here’s the Fall House Maintenance Checklist. If you follow these quarterly checklists, your house will be in great shape for every season!
Here are some of the main areas of your house that you’ll want to focus on this Fall:
Rake Leaves and Empty Gutters
The trees slowly turn to fiery colors before they begin to let their leaves go. These leaves are likely collecting throughout your yard and clogging up your gutters. Raking the leaves before they become soaking wet from rain and snow will make your life a lot easier - and your lawn a lot greener once winter passes. And although we understand that cleaning out gutters is not the most fun activity, it will help prevent any major issues once the autumn rainfall starts.
Test and Inspect Safety Devices
This is the season of candles, baking, turkeys in the oven and crock pots left on overnight. Go to sleep with the peace of mind that you will be alerted if anything doesn’t go according to plan. Inspect, test and replace any safety devices in your home to ensure they are all working properly!
Test your smoke detectors and replace the batteries that haven’t been replaced in the past 6 months. Don’t wait for that annoying low battery beep, because you can never be too careful!
Pro tip: Make a note on the smoke detector what date you replaced the batteries, so it’s easy to keep track of.
Test your carbon dioxide detectors
Inspect your fire extinguishers, check the expiration date (yes, that’s a thing) and make sure that everyone in your family knows where they are located
Test your sump pump to avoid flooding, or consider getting an automatic leak detector.
Test for radon, an odorless radioactive gas that could get trapped in your home and cause serious health issues to you and your loved ones over time.
Deep Clean the Kitchen
It’s time for turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies and chai lattes! Is your mouth watering yet? Then roll up your sleeves and get your kitchen ready for all the culinary festivities that will be occupying your kitchen in the next few months.
Deep clean your freezer and your fridge. Challenge yourself and your family to come up with creative ways to use any leftovers, sauces and other items in your fridge and freezer that haven’t been used in a while. Empty out everything and clean out your freezer when it’s defrosted. Also unplug and empty out your fridge. This is also a great time to purchase any containers or other items that will help you organize your fridge! You want to clean the refrigerator coils too, using a vacuum cleaner. This article will show you how: How To Clean Your Refrigerator Coils. Clean coils might also increase the effectiveness of your fridge, and save on your utility bill!
Clean the oven, wash out the garbage cans and recycling bins, inspect the garbage disposal and degrease the range hood and furnace filter. If there are any cabinets that haven’t been used in a while, take everything out to wipe off any dust or dirt, and rinse off the dishes that were stored in them.
Check for Air Leaks and Prepare Your Heating System
If you have used a window air conditioning unit this Summer, remove them now. If it’s not possible to take them out and close the windows, cover the entire exterior of the unit with an insulating wrap to keep the cold air out.
Speaking of cold air, this is also the perfect time of the year to check for any air leaks. Your heating system is going to be working hard to keep your family and guests warm, so make sure that none of that energy is wasted. In one of our previous blog, 5 Ways to Lower Your Air Conditioning Cost This Summer, we explain how to check for and fix air leaks in your home, the same principles apply when you’re preparing your home for colder weather!
If you have a fireplace, get your chimney cleaned and have your fireplace inspected to avoid any dangerous situation.
It’s also time to replace your air filters again!
If you haven’t had your central air system and air ducts checked this past summer, it’s now time to take action. You will be spending even more time inside your house over the next several months, so indoor air pollution could be affecting you more intensely during this time of year. We are happy to give you a free estimate and see if your home needs an air duct cleaning. Fill out an inquiry form to schedule your air vent cleaning now.
Check for Any Exterior Repairs
Slowly walk around your house and take note of any damages to your roof, siding or foundation. It may require you to crawl under your house or get up on your roof, but do whatever it takes to take a thorough inventory of any exterior repairs. This is your last chance to call a professional to fix things before the winter weather will complicate this significantly.
Annual Home Maintenance Tasks
There’s always so much to do in and around the house, it’s no wonder you might feel overwhelmed! This checklist will help you keep track of all the small home maintenance tasks. You can find our checklist for the Summer season below, and we’ll have our winter checklist published soon!
Related: Your Summer Checklist to Maintain Your Utah Home
If you work through a preventative checklist instead of waiting for things in your home to break, you’re more likely to catch any necessary repairs early and save a lot of money, or prevent the need to spend money altogether!.
Every season, we’ll give you some specific tasks that need to happen at least once a year. Here are a few to cross off your list this fall:
Clean your dryer vents (and prevent a house fire!)
Check your toilet cistern for leaks (throw food coloring in the cistern. If your toilet bowl has colored water in it after 15 minutes, you have a leak!)
Drain your outdoor faucets and disconnect garden hoses from outside spigots (ain’t nobody got time for burst pipes once the first frost hits!)
Put your outdoor furniture in the garage (it will last much longer if it does not have to face storms and harsh winter temperatures for months at a time!)
Fix any cracks in your driveway with concrete crack sealer (what’s a small crack now might become a pothole after water gets trapped in there and freezes)
Fertilize your lawn (and make your neighbors jealous come Spring)
If you follow this Home Maintenance schedule and take great care of your Utah home, your house will take care of you for many more years to come.
Your house will be a warm welcome to you and your family after a long day and the destination for many a Holiday party, so it’s worth the time invested!