Adventures in Home Owning: 5 End of Summer Home Maintenance Tips
Dear Homeowner,
It’s that time of year again: the days are getting shorter, school lists are arriving in the mail, and the air has just an edge of crispness to it. You and your home have made it through another summer, and now it’s time to prepare for one of the toughest seasons to weather as a homeowner. However, with some foresight and proper planning you can use the remaining warm weather to prevent future headaches.
Remember how important it was to regularly change your air conditioning filters during the summer? The same goes for the winter months, and now is a great time to make sure all filters in your home are fresh and ready to perform their best. Air conditioning units can be fitted with new filters so that they will be ready to go come spring, while heating systems can be dusted off and outfitted with clean filters for the fall and winter. If you use a water filtration system this is also a great time to swap it out, keeping your water fresh and clean.
Just as cracks in windows and moulding allowed heat to leak into your house during the summer, they will also let in cold air during the winter. If you opted not to fix them this summer there is no time like now to seal up gaps and cracks to ensure your home keeps as much warmth inside as possible. Using our handy candle trick, blow the candle out near a problem area to see whether the smoke travels anywhere other than towards the ceiling. If so, seal it up—it will be icy cold air coming in just a few months time!
In no time your gardens and landscaping will be buried under feet of snow, however, that’s no reason not to get them looking shipshape for the spring thaw. Discard any old plants that have died or will not bloom again, and take this time to plant bulbs for the coming year while the ground is still soft. You’ll thank yourself in the spring if you take a little time now to organize your gardening tools and seeds, and now is also a wonderful time to get discounted gardening materials.
Just as your gardens will soon be covered in a blanket of white, so will your lawn. Before they’re covered in snow and ice, take time to dry off and put away pool and yard toys and close up any seasonal areas such as pools and sandboxes. Not only do these systems need to be properly closed up before winter, toys are in danger of being lost, damaged by plows and snow blowers, or broken in the cold.
Finally, as the air cools and leaves begin to fall make sure you are cleaning your gutters in preparation for spring rains. Make sure you wear long sleeves and gloves while doing so, and use a solid extendable ladder, preferably with safety horns, to keep you safe. If you’d rather not make a mess of things, you can purchase a small scoop from a hardware store to remove debris from the gutter, and lay out a tarp below you that will gather up the mess for easy disposal. To top it all off, use a garden hose to give your gutters one last rinse and make sure there are no leaks or holes that will need to be repaired.
By taking the time to arm your house against the coming months now, you will spare yourself from having to complete these tasks in considerably colder, darker weather, and you will start the spring clean, organized, and ready to welcome the nice weather once again. Until next time, homeowner!