Fall is the perfect time to tackle all those home maintenance tasks that will ensure that everything is running smoothly throughout your home. But fall home maintenance goes far beyond raking leaves and stowing away the lawnmower and garden hose.
If you live in a location with actual seasons, fall home maintenance will ensure that you’re prepared for winter and everything that comes with it — freezing temperatures, increased darkness, and all the other potential problems that come along with the changing seasons.
Even if where you live is always warm, fall home maintenance can be beneficial — especially when it comes to home security.
Here’s why.
Maintain Your Fireplace
You should have your fireplace cleaned regularly to help prevent fires, blockages, and other serious problems throughout the winter months. Make cleaning out your fireplace a basic part of your fall home maintenance to ensure that the fireplace is ready to keep your family warm and cozy during those winter months. This might include:
- Having your fireplace professionally cleaned.
- Letting a professional check to make sure that everything is in working order with your fireplace.
- Installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors near the fireplace to ensure that if there is a problem, your family will know about it quickly.
- Having a complete home security system.
- Checking to make sure there’s nothing combustible near your fireplace. During the spring and summer, when it’s not in use, these items can creep closer to your fireplace.
- Clean out ash regularly. A little bit of ash makes it easier to maintain a fire; a lot of ash can cause problems with airflow.
Inspect Your Furnace
An annual inspection will help prolong the life of your furnace. It also helps ensure that your furnace won’t start having problems when you need it most: usually on the coldest day of winter when your family is shivering inside. A professional inspection will include looking for all those little problems and taking care of them before they become serious issues. If your furnace fails when you are away from home, your security system can alert you. Temperature sensors can send you notifications if the temperature in your home falls below a certain threshold – and allow you to take action before damage, like frozen and burst pipes occur.
Clean Out the Garage
It’s not uncommon to keep cleaning chemicals in your garage. If you took care of some big cleaning tasks during the spring, you didn’t want to simply get rid of those items and have to buy them again later! As winter approaches, however, it’s time to make sure you clean out any dangerous chemicals. Fall home maintenance should include disposing of any dangerous chemicals so that they don’t have the chance to freeze over the cold winter months — and autumn is a great time of year to do it since many cities hold chemical collection events.
Fall is also the perfect time of year to clean out your garage anyway. As the seasons change, you’ve got a good idea of what your family actually used through the spring and summer and what you can get rid of because it won’t be used again. Take the time to get rid of items that you won’t use in the coming year, make space in your garage, and enjoy the cleanliness!
Change Your Batteries
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors need to have their batteries changed regularly to keep them working smoothly. Test your smoke detectors monthly and if they’re battery-operated, you need to change those batteries at least once a year. Many people change their smoke detector batteries on New Year’s Day or some other holiday to help them remember. Carbon monoxide detector batteries need to be replaced every six months (a great time to do this is during daylight saving time when you’re turning your clocks back or forward). When replacing the batteries, vacuum the inside of the detectors to remove dirt, dust, and debris, which can interfere with the working components.
Do a Fall Home Maintenance Security Check
Fall and winter may make it more difficult to keep your home safe. There are more hours of darkness, leaving you feeling more vulnerable after the sun goes down. Whether you’ve already made changes as your kids went back to school, or you know that you need to make some serious changes to your existing security system, take the time to look over your existing system and ensure that your family is well protected.
Ask yourself:
- Does my existing security system trigger a number of false alarms that could cause problems?
- Do I have a simple security system that is leaving me vulnerable?
- Does my control of my security system make me feel as though I can access it from anywhere, no matter what is going on?
If you discover that an upgrade to your home security system is well overdue, consider it the most important part of your fall home maintenance. Make the upgrade as soon as possible to ensure that your home and your family are protected from any potential threats.
Your fall home maintenance efforts will be sure to keep your home in top condition and your family members safe and secure all through the long winter months. Preparing for the change of seasons will ensure that your family stays warm, happy, and ready for the challenges that winter brings.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 30 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
