4 Fall Home Maintenance Tips
Fall is Here! Is Your Home Ready?
It may not seem like it, but it’s officially fall in Castle Rock. This means the temperatures could drop, and we’ll be thrown into the new season anytime. Take advantage of the weather and prepare your home for winter now. To ensure I’m on top of everything, I did some research and found some fall home maintenance tips from professionals.
Furnace/AC Check:
Fall in Colorado is like a roller coaster. One day, you’ll have a dusting of snow on the ground, and the next, it will bounce back to the 70s. So it’s unsurprising if you’re toggling between your air conditioner and furnace. I try to hold off on the heat for as long as possible. But for the first fall home maintenance tip, experts suggest scheduling a furnace checkup before it gets too cold. The last thing you want is for your furnace to go out on the first freezing night of the year. I found myself and my family calling for after-hours service on the first below-zero night a few years ago—cha-ching and not fun.
Are your Windows and Doors Sealed?
Speaking of heat and efficiency, double-check your doors and windows to make sure that the weather stripping is in good shape. It’s easy for heat to escape when seals aren’t tight. That adds up to a lot of wasted money. Adding some caulking around the window seal is good to help keep the heat in.
One Last Deep Clean
Before you hunker down for winter, these warm days in September and some even in October (if we’re lucky) offer an excellent opportunity to open up the windows and get one last air out of the house before you close up for winter. I suggest one final deep clean of the house: dust the fans, tables, and shelves. Get everything out before you can’t open up the windows until spring. It’s also a great time to declutter, vacuum, wash, or mop your floors.
Fall Home Maintenance Makes for a Great Spring Yard
I try to hold off on shutting the sprinklers off for as long as possible. Fortunately, I haven’t had any significant breaks (knock on wood). Experts recommend draining or blowing out your sprinkler system before the first freeze. It’s always good to aerate your grass and throw down a layer of winter fertilizer just before it snows. With some research, you can find someone local that offers both services. You can even overseed your grass to help care for any bare spots. Doing this work now will lead to a healthy, green yard in the spring. Remember to detach and blow out any garden hoses. If there’s water in them, they can freeze and crack; if it’s still attached, it will cause your pipes to freeze and possibly break.
Fight The 2025 Grasshoppers Now
Unless you’ve moved to The Meadows within the last two weeks, you know how bad the grasshoppers were this last summer! That’s because of a very warm fall and winter last year. It was grasshopper mania here. Get ahead of next year’s invasion by tilling your garden beds after your last harvest this fall. Do some weeding in your rock beds and grass this fall to help minimize the damage next spring.
It’s hard to believe with temps still in the 80’s and 90’s, but fall is here. And soon wwe’llfeel the blast of winter and the rush of the holidays. Take advantage and get your home ready for the weather when the weather is nice. Check out this complete fall chore checklist for great fall home maintenance tips.