5 Super Simple Tips To Maintaining Your Home For Fall

1. Clean the gutters – Remove any debris from the gutters and then hose the gutter system out with water to make sure it can flows with ease. A clogged gutter can cause water to end up where you don’t want it! This can allow the water to drain away from your home properly.

2. Divert or extend your downspouts away from your house foundation – With the approaching rainy season coming, it is always best to make sure water does not flow directly towards your homes foundation. It is recommended that rain gutters be extended an additional 6 feet away from your walls.

3. Re-caulk around the homes windows and doors – Stop by the hardware store and buy a couple tubes of caulking. This can be used to seal off cracked or dried casings for your exterior doors and windows. It will only cost you a few dollars per tube. This inexpensive remedy will can be the best preventative maintenance to prevent a wet and/or damp interior. Silicone tends to be the best to resist moisture. You can get silicone in white or clear color. This preparation is also another way to reduce your heating and cooling bills.

4. Replace your batteries and change filters – Fire departments recommend that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detector batteries be replaced yearly. “NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code, requires smoke alarms to be replaced at least every 10 years, but because the public is generally unaware of this requirement, many homes have smoke alarms past their expiration date. ” As we have been spending more time indoors, it is best to replace furnace filters, air purifier filters, and clean the dryer vent.

5. Flush the hot water heater tank – It is a manufactures recommendation to at least once a year flush your hot water heater. This recommendation in the areas that have hard water, can improve the efficiency of your water heater and its life expectancy by flushing the sediment and debris from the tank.