How to get your house ready for fall!

Is your house ready for fall? You might have it decorated for the spooky season, but fully preparing your home for the upcoming season involves a little more work than hanging garlands of leaves and lights. There are some key tasks you should add to your to-do list this fall to ensure you and your home are fully ready. Here are some of our top suggestions of items you should tackle this season!

Prepare your lawn and yard

After a long and hot summer, our lawns might be looking a little dry or patchy. As we approach the colder months, this puts the health of our lawns into even more jeopardy. A common method of tackling this issue is taking action in the fall to keep your grass healthy. For example, many people aerate their lawns. Aerators are a type of lawn treatment that poke very small holes into the ground in order to allow water, air, and other important nutrients to reach the soil. This helps your grass grow and maintain its health. You can also overseed areas of your lawn that are super damaged to promote growth.

Similarly, it’s time for any outdoor furniture to be moved indoors. If you have patio tables, chairs, couches, or decor outside, you should relocate them to a place where they will be sheltered from the elements. A lot of outdoor furniture isn’t meant to withstand Canadian cold weather!

Make sure you have enough warmth 

A big part of getting your house ready for fall is ensuring you have sufficient heating. Autumn is just one step away from winter, and you don’t want to face these seasons without proper heating indoors. This is a good time to turn on your furnace, if you haven’t already, to see if it’s working well. If not, it’s best to contact a professional early to get it serviced so you can avoid feeling freezing later. You can also make sure you don’t have any drafts throughout the home, perhaps through windows or cracks. A lot of heat escapes through these areas, so a good inspection is handy to ensure your home is prepared. Finally, make sure you keep some spare blankets on hand in the event of a power outage! Losing heat in the fall and winter can be very uncomfortable, so it’s important to plan ahead.

Clean out your eavestroughs 

Your home’s gutters will likely collect a lot of debris in the fall. Falling leaves in particular are one of the biggest culprits this time of year. In the autumn, this can result in blockages that make it difficult for water to escape. However, if you leave your eavestroughs backed up into the winter, this can pose a big problem. Water that can’t drain properly will freeze, resulting in a lot of extra weight and strain on your gutters. You are risking the collapse of your eavestroughs by not keeping them clear. This time of year is the best time to clear out your gutters, so any stray leaves are out of the way before the cold weather hits hard.

Turn off outdoor faucets 

During the summer, it’s helpful to have an outdoor water source so we can wash our cars or water our lawn. However, you don’t want to leave these faucets connected to water once the cold weather arrives. If the temperatures get cold enough, pipes can freeze and burst, potentially spilling tons of water with them. You should turn off any outdoor faucets to eliminate the possibility of a major, and expensive, repair. Be sure to also drain those faucets, so any remaining water inside can escape. It’s easy to forget this task, but it’s certainly necessary to protect your home!

Ensure your alarms are working

Finally, we want to point out a safety note. During the fall and winter months, we spend more time indoors with the heating on and the fireplace burning. As a result, the most house fires occur during these seasons. To keep your home, and yourself, safe, make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in good working order. You might want to replace the batteries so you can have full confidence in their operations. This can save a life in the event of a fire or gas leak. 

Getting your house ready for fall is often a combination of fun decorating and seasonal home maintenance. Make sure you spend some time going over these items carefully to ensure you are fully prepared for autumn. If you’re looking to purchase a property this season, now is the perfect time to reach out to a mortgage broker. We can help you determine your goals and your buying power so you can jump into the fall market! 

If you have any questions about your mortgage, get in touch with us at Clinton Wilkins Mortgage Team! You can call us at (902) 482-2770 or contact us here.