6 Quick Tips for Preparing Your Home for the Fall
What does fall mean to you? Pumpkin spice? Halloween? The leaf show? Football season? No matter who you are or what you love—or hate—about autumn, one thing holds true: fall is the time you need to start preparing your house for winter. Right now is the perfect time to get a head start on it because the weather is warm enough yet that it’s still pleasant to spend time outside during the day, and you'll be beating the rush when you go to get a hold of professionals for seasonal repairs and maintenance.
Dealing with Exterior Issues
1. Fixing the roof: Before you get on the roof to start putting up the Halloween or Christmas decorations, pop up there to make sure that there aren't any signs of wear or damage.
2. Preparing the deck: Move your outdoor furniture inside (or to the shed or garage) for the winter. Cover the barbecue and move it to a place that’s somewhat protected. Bring in plants, and move pots and other furnishings to the basement or other storage space. Once the deck is clean, inspect it for broken boards, cracks, missing or popped nails, and do some repairs as necessary.
Tackling Interior Maintenance
3. Reversing the ceiling fans: In summer, ceiling fans should rotate in a counterclockwise direction to cool. In winter, fans should be switched to turn clockwise, and that way they’ll push warm air down and help keep the warm air circulating.
4. Rating your home safety: The ideal here is an A+, which means you’ve:
- Tested all your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
- Changed the batteries on said devices
- Inspected or replaced expired fire extinguishers
- Gone over your emergency house plan with your family
5. Drain Cleaning: Get your drains cleaned before the holiday season so that you don't experience clogged drains at an inconvenient time.
6. Sealing cracks: Go around the house, paying particular attention to the windows, doors, and entry points (plumbing and wiring, for instance), and seal up cracks with caulk and install weather stripping to keep out the cold.
There are lots to do around the house before fall and winter arrive, but the preparations you take now will be well worth the effort when you're warm and cozy inside when cooler temperatures finally do come. So when you're ready to get started on your fall plumbing and heating chores, call (954) 758-8169 in Fort Lauderdale, FL to schedule an appointment with the experts at C&D Plumbing Inc.