Ultimate Fall Home Maintenance Checklist
Picked up some new hobbies since the pandemic shut down the world? Maybe you’re tackling home maintenance more than ever this year. And maybe you should leave some of those projects to the professionals.
We put together the ultimate fall home maintenance checklist to help you Fix More, Save More.
Ultimate Fall Home Maintenance Checklist
No matter how you’ve managed, entertained yourself, or even just survived throughout the pandemic, some things are still better left to professionals. Inspecting the roof, HVAC system, sewer? These are just a few of the potentially dangerous tasks that need to be done regularly and by a trained technician.
Your neighbors at Just Fix It are just a simple call away. A routine home check-up will ensure your family’s safety and the longevity of your roof, equipment, shrubs, HVAC system… And of your whole house.
Being a homeowner places a lot of responsibility on you! To help, add these 9 tasks to your fall home maintenance checklist:
1. Conduct a Heating Tune-Up Before Turning On Your Heater
One day soon, a cold front is going to stick around for longer than one day, and heaters will be flipping on across the city.
When you feel that first chill in the air, it’s time to book your annual heating tune-up!
Proper ventilation for carbon monoxide and toxic gases is just one of many safety features in your furnace that an HVAC technician will check for correct functioning.
Plus, you can get ahead of possible breakdowns during the winter season.
Schedule a Just Fix It It technician to conduct a heating tune-up before the heater comes on this year. Also, ask about how an IAQ system can help eliminate that “first heater of the season” smell by keeping your internal HVAC system clean year-round.
2. Get an Air Quality Inspection
As much as we want it in the history books, we are all very much still living through a pandemic and diving straight into flu season. Your family’s health and safety is our top priority.
Prevent viruses from hitching a ride through your home with an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) system. IAQ systems are the latest technology in cleaning the air you breathe inside your home. Mimicking the sun, UV lights are installed in the HVAC system to scrub out tiny particles, allergens, pollutants, and even airborne viruses.
Extend the service life of your HVAC system while killing viruses during the most flu-ridden time of the year. That’s a win-win-win for your health, equipment, and wallet.
Ask your valued Just Fix It It technician about how an IAQ system can increase the efficiency of your HVAC system while keeping your home even safer and cleaner.
3. Check Your Circuit Breaker Before Hanging Holiday Lights
Stringing up lights earmarks the holiday season. Watching the lights illuminate for the first time is a magical sight.
If you haven’t had your GFCI outlets and breakers checked this year, you may be replacing your whimsical moment with an overloaded circuit or an untimely power outage. Watch this quick refresher on how you can minimize power outages and keep your family safe.
Houston’s year round humidity, rain storms, and even sprinklers can interfere with outdoor electrical sockets. Keep your family safe and your decorations bright by having an electrician ensure your outlets are safe and protected from the elements.
Prepare your home for the creepy inflatable goblin, rows of twinkling lights, and an elf hologram with a ready-check from a licensed electrician. We recommend this $49 lighting check-up from Mister Sparky.
4. Replace Your Smoke Detector Batteries
As the holidays approach, so does the Texas version of winter. Although the wait for winter coats seems long, those cold nights will come. We’ll be turning on the heater for the first time since February, and carbon monoxide will be a threat.
As a best practice, we recommend changing your smoke detector and carbon monoxide batteries at least once a year in either the Spring or Fall season, when we “spring forward” or ”fall back” for daylight savings.
5. Change Your Filters
If you’re not changing your filters as instructed, pollutants and allergens are building up in your home.
Our recommended Aprilaire media filters remove 90% of particles, allergens, and Asthma triggers from your indoor air. These high performing filters only need to be changed 1-2 times a year, increase the service life of your HVAC system, and protect your health.
Give Just Fix It a call to discover how Aprilaire media filters and an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) system can enhance the efficiency and cleanliness of your home while keeping you and your family safe.
6. Mow the Lawn, Trim the Hedges, Prune the Roses
Freshen up your home with a lawn service. Routine lawn maintenance will keep your palace looking pearly and prevent overgrowth of invasive plant species.
Landscaping takes a lot of time and money. Do yourself and your flowers a favor, and nurture the investment. You want your home to be noticed for the decorations, not the spooky overgrown yard.
7. Schedule Your Annual Roof Inspection
If your home has ever been impacted by a natural disaster, you’re probably familiar with the investigative powers of home insurance companies.
What’s worse? Rain leaking through your ceiling or the insurance company assuming you were waiting for a big storm to have a pre-existing damaged roof replaced?
An annual roof inspection:
- Gives you peace of mind that your roof is protected against rain and other elements.
- Provides documentation. You are more likely to get your roof replaced after a hail storm if your home insurance has a record of your annual inspections.
- Is free! So why not take this protective and proactive measure?
Save your pots and pans for proving that you are the best at recreating Great, Great Grandma’s secret recipe. Contact us at Just Fix It for a quality roofer contact, and schedule your annual roof inspection.
8. Sweep the Chimney
Lighting a fire on a chilly night feels right. Be prepared for the cool winter night, because… come on, it’s Texas. It could be 90 degrees the next day; we have to take advantage of these precious days!
For as infrequently as it’s used, when was the last time you had your chimney swept?
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends chimneys be inspected annually and cleaned as-needed. Having your chimney inspected by a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep before lighting your first fire of the season is the number one way to prevent potential damage to your home or even the loss of life that may result from a damaged or blocked chimney.
9. Clean Your Kitchen Exhaust Filter
It’s not just tinged from heat. That is grease and dirt. It may be stinky and dirty, but it also decreases the effectiveness of your exhaust and can create a hazard!
Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for kitchen fires. Avoid your home becoming a holiday statistic, and prevent your signature gravy from being a literal igniting factor.
We know you’ve got a lot on your plate to prepare for the holidays. So why not put your elbow grease into menus and decorations? Have a Just Fix It technician at your house today to handle the grimy stuff.
Take Care Of Your Home; It Will Take Care Of You
You’ve got a list of gifts to buy and wrap, menus to plan, decorations to hang. Do you really want to add grease traps, shingle inspection, and learning to be an electrician to the list?
Want the whole home inspected? Maybe just the electrical outlets? Or the roof?
Keep your head in the game, and have Just Fix It handle the dirty work. Scheduling is easy, and we’ll do just what you ask.
Our promise to you is to never recommend an unnecessary repair.