As summer starts to wind down and the wind begins to blow a little colder, you should start thinking about ways to prepare your house for the fall. As a homeowner, you want your house to be prepared for anything, right? Not only that, but you probably want to avoid any unnecessary costs. Follow these 7 things to do to prepare your house for the fall in order to stay ahead of the game!
Prepare Your House for The Fall - Interior
1. Winterize Your Air Conditioning
Well, you won’t be needing your AC for much longer!
Now’s the time for hoodies and not sweating like crazy in the heat!
Once the temperature starts falling below 60°F consistently, that means it’s time to put your AC away for the coming cold months.
2. Home Safety
Make sure your home is safe and prepared for any kind of disaster. Whether that’s a house fire, hurricane, or snowstorm, the fall is the perfect time to knock some things off of this simple checklist:
- Check the life of batteries in all of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors
- Create an escape plan and meeting spot for your family and pets
- Refill or create an emergency kit
3. Change the Direction of Your Ceiling Fan
Most people don’t know that the direction that your ceiling fan goes should depend on the time of year! In the fall and winter, the ceiling fan should rotate clockwise at a low speed to pull the cool air up and push down the warm air to the floor. Warm air naturally rises, and this reverse ceiling fan direction redistributes the warm air in the room. This makes the room warmer and the reduction in the use of your heating system results in at least a 15% reduction in your heating cost.
4. Inspect & Clean Your Chimney
This is definitely not a job to do it yourself, but it is extremely important to make sure your chimney is clean and working properly before lighting any fall fires. Don’t risk smoke damage filling your home!
5. Insulate Your Pipes
Before it gets too cold out to want to do anything or too late to insulate your pipes, hire a professional or do it yourself. Frozen, broken, or burst pipes are a huge issue for homeowners and can be a very costly insurance claim.
Prepare Your House for The Fall - Exterior
6. Clean Out Your Gutters
Even though the leaves haven’t started to fall yet, there could be things like bugs, nests, acorns, and other unwanted things in your gutters. Now is a good time to start cleaning out your gutters before the leaves start to fall!
7. Inspect the Exterior of Your Home
Walk around the outside your house and take a look for things like:
- Broken, missing, or loose shingles
- Broken or cracked siding
- Broken or cracked windows and screens
- Cracks in your foundation
- Broken or missing shutters
Bonus Tip!
Have a RI public adjuster on call. With fall coming soon, that means winter will be here before you know it! Winter is notorious for insurance claims from property damage like house fires, broken pipes, ice dams, vehicle strikes, vandalism, and more. Before that property damage hits, keep in mind that your public adjuster should be your first call after you notice damage unless you require a restoration company or 911. Don’t let your insurance company take advantage of you, have a public adjuster on your side to get the most money for your claim and take the stress of the claims process off of your hands!
Get The Most Money For Your Insurance Claim
By doing these tedious but simple tasks not only will you prevent any costly repairs or maintenance from popping up, but your house will be clean and prepared for almost anything! When you’re done, sit back and relax with a good book and a hot cup of tea knowing you will be all set to enjoy New England’s incredible Autumn season!
