Feel that nip in the air? Fall has arrived! Here’s how to get your home and yard ready for winter before it’s too late.
1. Clean Gutter and Spouts
Those falling autumn leaves can cause big problems for you this winter if you don’t get them out of your gutters now. Clogged gutters can cause roof and wall leaks, peeling paint, wood rot, and damage to the gutters themselves that can be difficult to repair. Your plumber’s snake is a great tool for pulling clumps of wet leaves out of clogged downspouts. An old plastic spatula makes a great tool for cleaning debris from gutters! It doesn’t scratch up the gutter, and you can cut it to fit gutter contours with snips. Whether you do the job yourself or hire help, don’t procrastinate this important task.
2. Clean Your Chimney
How often do you need to have your chimney cleaned? It depends on the moisture content of the wood you burn. If you see moisture bubbling out the ends of the logs when they’re burning, the wood is wet. This green wood doesn’t burn cleanly and sends a lot of unburned particles (smoke) up the chimney, where they build up as creosote and soot. Dry hardwoods, such as oak and birch, burn hotter and cleaner.
Creosote and soot buildup in the chimney flue is dangerous because it can ignite and cause an uncontrollable chimney fire. A quick way to tell if your chimney needs cleaning is to run the point of your fireplace poker along the inside of your chimney liner. If you find a 1/8-in. or more layer of buildup (the thickness of a nickel), call a chimney sweep
If it’s been a few years since your last chimney cleaning, now’s a good time to schedule one. The cleaning includes an inspection for soot buildup, obstructions, cracks in the chimney liner and signs of water damage. Older chimneys often have gaps between clay liner sections where the mortar has fallen out.
3. Check Your Detectors
With furnaces turned on, the windows closed and portable heaters humming along, fall is a great time to make sure your smoke and CO detectors are working. This chore only takes a minute and can save lives. Inspect your smoke detector alarms to make sure they are operating. If your smoke detector has a power indicator light, make sure that is on. Then, press the test button to see if the alarm sounds. Go ahead and put in fresh batteries while you’re up there. Check batteries and expiration dates – smoke detectors are typically good for 10 years, and CO detectors last for about six years. If you don’t already have them, consider installing carbon monoxide detectors in your home, too.
4. Have your heating equipment checked
In addition to making sure your heating system is ready to perform in cold weather, having it inspected by a qualified contractor can keep it operating efficiently, which can save money on energy bills. Be sure to change your system’s air filters monthly, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Bleed Hot Water Radiators and Clear Steam Radiator Vents
When trapped air clogs a hot water radiator, some or all the ‘fins’ will stay cold. At the top of the radiator, look for a small valve like the one shown. Take a radiator key, 1/4-in. 12-point socket, or a flat screwdriver (depending on the valve type) and slowly turn the valve counter-clockwise until water starts dripping out. This releases the trapped air and lets hot water into the cold fins. While you’re at it, you might as well repeat the process on all your radiators. Have a cup or dish handy to catch the water.
Steam radiators have an air vent. Unfortunately, many of these vents get painted over, plugging the air hole. Clear the air hole in the top of the vent with a small wire or sewing needle. If you’re still worried about the air vents working properly, consult a hot water/steam heat specialist who can replace the vents.
6. Change Your Furnace Filter
Changing your furnace filter is one of the easiest things you can do to keep your furnace in good shape. If you haven’t changed it in a while, make sure you have a fresh one before you turn your furnace on for the first time.
7. Water in the Fall
Your lawn still needs water in autumn, even though the leaves are changing, the growing season is winding down and your grass isn’t growing as fast. Fall watering helps your lawn recover from summer stress and gain strength for the winter ahead. Also, if you fertilize in the fall, watering is necessary for fertilizer to dissolve and soak into the ground where it’s needed. So don’t put your hoses or sprinklers away until the ground starts to freeze, your fall grass still needs the water.
8. Aerate the Soil
‘Aerating’ simply means making holes in the ground by removing plugs of soil. And it’s the single most important task you can perform to maintain a healthy, good-looking lawn. It relieves compaction caused by foot traffic and creates extra pore space in the soil, allowing air, nutrients, and water to enter. All that helps roots to thrive. Aerate your lawn at least once a year, preferably in the fall. You can rent a lawn aerator at any home and garden equipment rental store. Be sure to get one that removes plugs of soil rather than one that just pokes holes in the ground.
9. Fertilize in the Fall
If you want the best lawn in town, fertilize four times a year. But if you can only fertilize once a year, you can still have a great lawn if you fertilize in the fall. Choose a fertilizer that’s labeled 4-1-2. (The numbers refer to the % of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the fertilizer.) Better yet, ask an expert at a garden center for advice about the best fertilizer blend for your fall grass type and local soil conditions. Apply the fertilizer about three weeks before the last mowing of the season. Fertilizing in the fall provides energy and nutrients for the grass roots as they multiply in cooler weather before the grass goes dormant. The roots store food for the winter as well, which gives the grass an initial growth spurt when it emerges from dormancy in the spring.
10. Cut Grass Short
First, rake and remove all those dead leaves. Otherwise, they’ll be sodden mats in the spring and smother the sprouting grass below. (Plus, it’s lots easier to rake dry leaves!) Then, just this one time of the year, set your mower to cut your grass short, at 1-1/2 or 2-inches. And tall grass blades won’t lie down and smother the new grass next spring.
11. Trim the trees
Cut back any dead branches, particularly those that are hanging over your house. In stormy, windy, or icy weather, these could fall and potentially cause damage and injury.
12. Winterize Your Sprinkler System
You don’t have to pay someone to blow out your sprinkler system. You can do it with your own compressor but be aware that even the largest home compressor isn’t powerful enough to blow out the entire system at once. According to the Family Handyman, if you like number crunching and you have the original irrigation layout showing the gallons per minute (gpm) of each sprinkler head, divide the gpm of each zone by 7.5. That’ll give you the cubic feet per minute (cfm) you need to blow it out. Otherwise, rent a 10-cfm compressor and hose from a tool rental center. Set the compressor air pressure regulator to a maximum of 80 psi for rigid PVC pipe systems, or 50 psi for flexible black polyethylene pipe. Then turn off the water supply and set the system timer to open just one zone. Next, open the manual drain valve at the end of that zone (if equipped). Then, connect the airline to the blow-out port, as shown. Close off both valves on the backflow preventer. Then remove the plug on the blow-out port and screw in a quick-connect hose adapter. Snap on the air hose and connect the other end to the compressor. Now blow out the line. The heads should pop up and spit out water. Disconnect the hose as soon as it runs dry. Don’t overdo the blow-out—without water cooling the plastic gears, they can melt in less than a minute. Move on to the next zone and allow the heads to cool. Then go back and blow out each zone a second time.
13. Drain Garden Hoses or Waste Money on Replacements
I sometimes neglect to drain garden hoses before putting them away for the winter. Usually, it’s not a problem. But occasionally, freezing water splits a hose open. I’ve lost a few cheap hoses this way and a super-expensive one (ouch!). That’s just a waste of money because draining hoses is so quick and easy: Blast out the water with an air compressor or stretch them out on a sloped yard or driveway. If you need to buy a new garden hose, learn how to do a simple test, right in the store, to see if the hose will be kink-free!
14. Extreme Temperatures
Paint doesn’t handle extreme temperatures very well. Bring latex/acrylic paint into the house. And while you’re at it, don’t forget the latex caulk. Freezing ruins both latex paint and caulk. Another temperature-related painting mistake is painting when it’s going to freeze. Paint can’t dry properly in freezing temps. It will only dry partway and will easily come off when touched. At the other end of the thermometer, painting a hot surface is also a bad idea. The paint starts to dry before you can spread it evenly and bubble and slough off. Plan your painting to avoid direct sun if possible. Or at least try to paint south-facing walls in the morning or evening when the sun is less intense.
15. Winterize Your Gas Grill
If you’re not a winter griller, now’s the time to pack away your grill. In addition to giving your grill a thorough cleaning to remove grease and food scraps, take these steps to help prevent any unpleasant surprises when you fire up your grill again next spring.
Shut off the gas at the LP tank, unfasten the burner, slip the gas tubes off the gas lines and lift out the unit. Coat the burners and other metal parts with cooking oil to repel moisture that can build up over the winter and to prevent rust. Then wrap the burner unit in a plastic bag to keep spiders and insects from nesting in the gas tubes during the winter. This is a common problem that can make for balky starts, uneven flames or even a one-alarm fire the next time you light your grill.
If you’re storing your grill outside during the winter, just keep the propane tank connected (but shut off) and put a protective cover over the entire grill when you’re done cleaning it. If you’re storing the grill indoors, don’t bring the tank inside, even into the garage or a storage shed. A small gas leak can cause a huge explosion if the tank is stored in an enclosed space. Instead, disconnect the tank and store it outside in an upright position away from dryer and furnace vents and children’s play areas. Tape a plastic bag over the grill’s gas line opening to prevent insects from nesting.
16. Store Lawn Chairs
Here’s how to store your lawn and folding chairs so they’re out of your way. Take two pieces of 1×4 lumber (any scrap lumber will do) and create some simple, cheap, and useful brackets on the wall. Cut each board 7-3/4 in. long with a 30-degree angle on both ends. Fasten pairs of these brackets with three 2-in. screws to the side of the exposed wall studs, directly across from each other, and you’ve got a perfect place to hang your chairs. Get more ideas for garage storage.
17. Make a Winter Driving Kit
This kit is overkill for year-round driving, but it could be very useful during winter. It only takes a few minutes to put together and you probably already have most of the stuff!
18. Get Your Property Ready for Ice
Take a few minutes to inspect your property. Remove rocks, dog tie-out cable, extension cords, holiday light cords and garden hoses.
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