Pennsylvania is one of the best states to enjoy fall. Watching the leaves change and enjoying comfortable weather are great, but fall is also a good time for necessary home maintenance. Many homeowners love to decorate their houses based on the seasons and holidays. At the same time as you change your indoor decorations, we recommend performing some basic maintenance to get ready for the changing of the seasons.

Pennsylvania autumns can be enjoyable, but the winter typically brings extremely cold temperatures and lots of snow and ice. Follow these simple tips to ensure your home is in shape for the end of fall and all of winter.

Clean the Gutters

We all know what happens in the fall—your yard becomes filled with leaves. While that’s one of the first things most homeowners will clean up, you can’t forget about cleaning your gutters. Before winter comes, you must clean out your gutters and inspect them to ensure they’re draining properly and away from walkways and driveways.

Inspect Your Roof

There’s nothing worse than finding damaged shingles or a leaky roof in the winter. During the fall, you should check your roof to ensure there are no problems. If you find cracks or damage, you should call a professional as soon as possible to get it fixed.

Drain All Outdoor Faucets and Hoses

Before the first freeze happens, you should make sure you have no water in any of your faucets or hoses. While you’re at it, you should bring your hoses inside from the cold to help extend their life.

Cover Your Outdoor Furniture

If you have any outdoor furniture, you have two choices—cover it or bring it inside. Most homeowners may not have the extra space to store their furniture, so covering it is likely the most viable option.

Check Your Chimney

If you have a fireplace and chimney that you use regularly in the winter, you’ll need to do a thorough check. Call a chimney sweep to clean any ash and soot to ensure your chimney doesn’t build dangerous creosote.

Inspect Your Driveway and Walkways

Review the condition of your driveway and any walkways. If you notice cracks, you should seal them to prevent more damage from winter snow and ice. If you are so inclined you can hire someone to do it for you. That way, you can save yourself a potentially costly repair down the line!

Change Your Filters

Before you need your furnace, you should make sure it’s running efficiently. Each fall, you should change your furnace’s air filter. To be extra safe, call an HVAC specialist to test your heating system.

Check for Drafts

While you check the heating system, you should also check around the house for any drafts. If you need, you can caulk windows, replace weather stripping around doors, and do all you can to improve your heating efficiency to keep those costs down throughout the winter. Because winters here in Pennsylvania can often be harsh, even new construction homes should be checked for drafts in the fall for the upcoming months of colder weather.

Change the Batteries in Detectors

Before the winter comes, it’s best to change the batteries on all your detectors to be safe. Once you’ve changed the batteries, check them all with the test button to ensure they’re working properly. 

The Bottom Line on Fall Home Maintenance Tips

Bentley Homes knows all about building homes that are energy efficient and weatherized to handle even the most brutal winters. If you are interested in learning more about our home building process or looking for more information on our excellent offering of new construction homes on the Main Line in PA, feel free to reach out to us online.