The Essential Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

Autumn is the season of multi-coloured trees, peaceful walks on leaf-strewn trails, and fun-filled trips to apple orchards and pumpkin patches. It's also an ideal time to make sure your home and heating system are ready to keep you comfortable during the coming winter.

Read on to discover eight tasks to include on your fall home maintenance checklist.

1. Seal Gaps and Cracks Around Your Home

During the cooler months, gaps or cracks around the windows, doors or other parts of your home can invite in drafts and force your heating system to work harder to keep the inside air at your preferred temperature. Sealing those gaps and cracks ahead of autumn will help keep you comfortable in your home as temperatures drop and prevent your heating system from wasting energy.

Start by walking around your home and scanning for any openings to the outside. You can also wet the back of your hand and hold it near a potential opening to see if you can feel air coming through. Look for missing or damaged weather stripping, caulking or sealant around doors, windows and entry points for utility lines, and replace as required. To check if weather stripping is still doing its job, close a door or window on a slip of paper and see if the paper slides easily; if it does, it's time to replace your weather stripping.

Key areas our experts recommend checking for air leaks are attic doors, exhaust vents, electrical outlets, electrical panels and floor drains.

2. Change Furnace Filter

It's easy to forget to change your furnace filter, but it's a small task that can make a big difference. A fresh furnace filter is better at keeping out dust, hair and debris that can lower the efficiency of your heating and cooling system or even cause damage over time. It also improves air quality by preventing dust, allergens and other particles from reaching the blower fan and flowing through the vents in your room. Plus, a clean filter promotes smoother airflow and makes it so your system won't have to work as hard to keep your home at your preferred temperature, leading to more efficient fuel consumption.

There are many different kinds of furnace filters, including disposable and washable varieties. Disposable furnace air filters, like fibreglass and activated carbon filters, should be replaced every three months. To clean a metal or electrostatic filter, remove the filter and wash with water and soap.

3. Check Your Furnace

You might be able to make do without heating during the fall, but come winter, you'll want to be sure your furnace can see you through the coldest days. That's why it's wise to call a licensed professional to assess and tune up your furnace well before the snow starts falling. It helps ensure your furnace is operating correctly, while making your equipment last longer and work more efficiently.

An Enercare heating maintenance plan includes one annual inspection, where our licensed professionals examine the system to identify any issues or worn-out and faulty materials. . Come fall, all you need to do is call your home services provider and book an appointment.

See our blog on furnace maintenance tips for other steps you can take in the fall and all year round to help keep your heating system in good shape.

4. Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Smoke detectors are essential in your home to prevent damage and protect your family's safety. If you have appliances that burn natural gas or propane, you also need carbon monoxide detectors to minimize the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. It's always important to test these devices regularly to ensure they're still working - but it's especially critical during the colder months, when the risks of house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning are higher, since most Canadians heat their homes with appliances that run on burning fuels.

As part of your fall maintenance checklist, check your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms (you should have at least one on each floor of your home). Test each alarm and replace its batteries, which experts advise doing twice per year. Manufacturers also print expiry dates on each alarm. Check the dates on your alarms and replace any that are near expiry.

5. Clean and Inspect the Fireplace and Chimney

If your home has a fireplace, you should clean out your chimney (or hire a professional to do so) at least once a year. You can inspect your chimney yourself as well as any vents for blockages such as nests, twigs or old mortar.

6. Inspect and Clean Gutters and Downspouts

Clogged gutters can cause water to back up and overflow. It can then leak through your roof, cause damage to your home's foundation and create the right conditions for mold to grow. Inspect your gutters and clear any leaves, debris, or other obstructions to keep rainwater and snowmelt flowing away from your home and its foundation. To minimize the risk of needing costly repairs, do this twice annually : once in the fall and again in the spring.

7. Drain and Store Garden Hoses and Shut Off Outdoor Faucets

During freezing temperatures, water in outdoor faucets or pipes can freeze, expand and cause cracks. Before the first cold snap, disconnect garden hoses from any outdoor faucets, as these can cause water backup to the faucet and pipes past your exterior wall. Drain any water in those exterior faucets, then use the shutoff valves to prevent any more water from entering.

8. Rake Leaves Away from Key Areas

Rake leaves away from downspouts, vent pipes, gas meters and walking areas to prevent blockages and keep these areas clear. Otherwise, leaves can stay on your lawn. Fallen leaves provide a natural habitat for many pollinators and other insects, and release nutrients into soil that nourish your perennials and other plants.

Contact Enercare to Ensure Your Heating System is Ready for Winter

The right home services partner can help you complete your fall maintenance checklist by making sure your heating system is in working order heading into winter. At Enercare, we use an initial eight-point inspection, followed by a more comprehensive inspection of up to 22 points to identify problems related to energy efficiency, carbon monoxide leaks, air quality or components in your furnace or boiler. Combined with our energy saving tips, a visit from an Enercare technician is a great way to help lower your energy usage this upcoming season.

To help prevent breakdowns and extend your equipment's lifespan, we recommend a maintenance plan for equipment that's under seven years old, and a maintenance and protection plan for equipment over seven years old. In some cases, regular maintenance may be a condition of the manufacturer's warranty. Visit our heating maintenance plan page to learn more.

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