October Home Maintenance

Part of being a home owner is maintaining your house so it will have a long life, and serve you for many years. While it can be overwhelming to think about all the things that need done in a year around the house, splitting them up throughout the year can make it easier to handle.

Have you made your home maintenance schedule yet? It’s never too late to start! To see what we recommended to do in September, check out our September Home Maintenance list. Now that we’re into October, let’s take a look at tasks to do this month, getting your home set up for the coming winter.

Here are our suggestions of what to do for your home this October!

Inspect your HVAC filters and replace them as necessary, just like September.

Check your GFCI outlets and test them to ensure they’re working. We just heard a story about someone who had no working exterior outlets. A simple reset put them back in working order!

Take a few moments to clean your range hood filter and garbage disposal to keep your kitchen fresh!

Every month, you should check your fire extinguishers, ensuring they’re ready for action.

When you’re granted a nice fall day, like we’ve had a few of this month, spend some time outside, preparing the exterior of your home is ready for the coming winter weather:

• Winterize your landscape, removing any fallen leaves and other debris. If you have any fragile trees and shrubs, be sure to protect them from the coming winter weather.
• While you’re out in your yard, review your driveway/walkways/patio areas for cracks and/or deterioration, repairing it as needed.
• Ensure your gas powered tools (lawnmower, weedeater, etc) are drained of the remaining gas and oil. Properly store all fuel cans for the winter.
• Clean all outdoor furniture and put in storage.
• Now is a good time to drain all your hoses and exterior faucets, and shut off the exterior water supply for the winter before the first freeze hits. Don’t forget your irrigation system too!

Take some time to inspect your basement or crawlspace for any water damage and/or wet surfaces. It’s best to deal with these things right away, so they don’t cause further problems in the future.

If you have an attic, you should inspect it about twice a year to make sure that all your insulation is properly in place, there are no mould spots, and no water leaks.

Clean all your windows, inside and out, checking the seals to ensure they’re not cracked. Remove all window screens and hose them down, checking them for tears.

Inspect your exterior doors and the weatherstripping around your home, ensuring that the weatherstripping is in good condition, replacing as needed.

If you haven’t done so already, reverse the direction of your ceiling fan so it rotates counter-clockwise. The fan will then force the air in the space down, recirculating the hot air though your home.  While you’re at it, give it a quick clean of any dust build up. Try the pillowcase trick to make it easy!

Since the weather is turning cooler, swap out your light-weight bedding for the warmer versions, and pull out the throws for the couch. When you change your bed sheets, flip or rotate the mattress to increase its lifespan.

With the holiday season just around the corner, now is a great time to prepare your holiday linens, laundering them if they’re dirty from last year, and pressing them. It’s also a good time to plan your gifts, preparing to make them if you go the home-made route, or making a shopping list and budget so you stay on track.

We’re fans of fall-cleaning, just like you would do in the spring. Summer tracks in a lot of dirt, and sometimes cleaning tasks get missed when we’re trying to take advantage of the summer weather. So if time permits, do some deep cleaning of your home and go into the indoor months with a nice clean home.