With the cool days of fall nearly here it’s time to begin planning ahead to make sure your Dayton area home is running as efficiently as possible. To get you started on your autumn home maintenance, we’ve compiled some tasks to add to your to-do list before the season arrives:
- Check your roof – Look at the roof for any shingles that are missing or askew. You want to avoid a leaky roof at all costs, since it can lead to water damage and costly repairs.
- Clean your gutters – Once trees in your yard begin to shed their leaves, many of them wind up in your home’s rain gutters. If the down spouts get clogged, torrential rains can result in water rushing over the gutters and into your foundation. It also sets up possible ice dams during the winter. Use a leaf blower to clear out the gutters and check for any damage that needs to be repaired. If your yard is full of trees, you’ll want to clear out the gutters several times during the fall.
- Inspect your heating equipment – Fall is prime time for a seasonal tuneup for your home’s heating system. A professional service checkup will keep it running efficiently throughout the winter.
- Inspect your smoke and CO detectors – Before each season, you should check to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functioning properly, and have operating batteries.
- Search for air leakage – Leaks in your home’s exterior can greatly increase your energy costs. You can probably find and seal many of them yourself. Make sure weatherstripping on doors and window sashes is fresh as well. If you’re not confident about finding and sealing air leaks yourself, hire an HVAC professional.
- Check attic insulation – Make sure you have sufficient insulation in the attic to keep the warm air in the house this heating season.
- Organize garage – Since you’ll soon be storing equipment such as summer tools and lawn mower, now is a great time to organize your garage in preparation.
If you need more help with your autumn home maintenance, or have any questions about home comfort issues, please contact the experts at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc. We’ve been serving Dayton and surrounding area since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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