When cold weather arrives, you dust off your own warm shoes and coats and turn the heat up in your house. But have you ever thought about getting your home ready for the chilly season? Here’s a fall and winter home maintenance checklist every homeowner should follow: 

• Get Your Heating System Serviced — Before cranking up the heat, employ a technician to inspect your furnace and heat pump. This ensures your heating system works at the suggested efficacy and that carbon dioxide leaks are prevented.
• Reverse Ceiling Fans — Since heat rises, turning your ceiling fans in reverse could help heat your rooms. This might enable you to turn down your thermostat by a couple of levels and save energy.
• Clean the Gutters — Doing this job frequently prevents water from draining on your home, causing harm. When temperatures drop below freezing point, having clean gutters also helps prevent ice dams. Make sure that gutters and downspouts are not damaged or worn.
• Divert Water Away from Your Home’s Foundation — While you are checking the downspouts, be sure they divert water at least three to four feet away from the foundation. When they don’t, add extensions to downspouts.
• Prevent Ice Dams — Ice dams on your roof are an indication that your attic isn’t properly insulated. Your loft must be trendy to prevent snow on the roof from melting, which causes ice dams. Ensure that your attic has sufficient ventilation and there aren’t air escapes that heat your attic.
• Inspect Your Roof — Constantly look for missing, damaged, or loose shingles. Better do it now before it starts snowing to avoid leaks and water damage when the snow thaws. Have a look at more roof maintenance suggestions for the fall.
• Seal Windows and Doors — Moisture and cold air can get inside your walls through openings around windows, door frames, and where pipes enter your residence. Caulk up the gaps that are larger than the diameter of a nickel.
• Switch off Exterior Faucets and Sprinklers — The water from outside pipes may freeze and cause the pipes to burst as the ice in them expands. To prevent that, disconnect garden drains and drain all of the water in exterior pipes. Alternatively, replace exterior taps with freeze-proof faucets.
• Drain Your Sprinkler System — Buried irrigation lines may also freeze, leading to burst pipes and damage to sprinkler heads. To best drain, the sprinkler system, hire an irrigation tech to blow out the systems pipes using compressed air.
• Mulch Leaves — Instead of raking the leaves on your lawn, mulch them. The resulting compost provides nourishment to your yard. Additionally, when stowing your tank for the winter, add a stabilizer to the gas tank to protect the engine if the tank still comprises a gas.
• Scrub Your Fireplace — To make sure your fireplace is in good repair during the cold season, ensure the damper opens and closes correctly. Look up into the flue to make sure it’s free of obstacles. Also, assess your firebox for missing or damaged bricks or mortar, or hire a chimney sweep to do the job.

During the cold months, it’s also important to be conscious of heating security concerns. Have a peek at our home heating safety tips and electric heater safety rules. For professional smoke remediation or fire damage, contact your regional PuroClean office.

For more information about PuroClean restoration services, check them out here.