It’s a reality that not all of us are clean freaks. While there are people who cringe at a little bit of clutter, there are people who wouldn’t mind living in an entirely messy house. But hey! Once in a while, everyone should deep clean their house. Most of the deep cleaning should happen in spring but if you happen to read it during fall and if you’re in the right mood, you must know about the essential home maintenance and repair tasks for fall.
What are these must-do fall home maintenance and repair tasks?
Before you begin reading the post, you should take a look at my previous post on top fall home maintenance tasks. It’s a list of major home repair tasks that you might need to do. But today, I am going to cover those little things that we often miss. They’re equally important and hence they deserved a particular blog post for them.
1. Clean the refrigerator
Begin with the appliance that serves you 24/7. Your refrigerator is always there to serve you during those hunger pangs you get in the middle of the night or when you’re pre-prepare your meals for the week. It does need a bit of cleaning.
I also mentioned in one of my blog posts about appliance repair that homeowners that stuff their refrigerator full aren’t doing any good for themselves. You need to stock up on stuff but keep the size of your refrigerator in your mind. Piling things over one another isn’t good. I am done with the basic tips on how to use a refrigerator.
Here’s what you need to do: Take out all the items from the fridge and wipe it clean. Keep a bowl full of baking powder in the refrigerator for a few hours to make it smell good (or get rid of the bad odor that exists in your refrigerator). Once you finish that, turn the refrigerator and dust off the coils on the back. It’s crucial as dirty coils make your appliance work harder, thereby reducing its efficiency and increasing the wear and tear.
2. Work on your driveway
Fall is merely a preparation time for people who live in areas that receive proper winter. They know snowfall is going to happen, and they prepare themselves. If you reside in such an area, you need to get the tools out of the garage and start fixing the driveway. Make sure you have some fencing around the driveway so that you will know where to shovel when it’s covered with snow. It will also prevent you from running the shovel over your lawn.
3. Store the gardening tools
Now that we’re talking about the lawn and outdoor stuff let’s finish these outdoor fall maintenance and repair tasks first. You need to pack up your gardening tools and store them well. Be very careful about the mower. If you have an automatic mower, you’ll be careful naturally. It’s expensive, and it can easily get damaged. Make sure you follow all the proper methods to put away the equipment and keep it safe from rust all through the fall and winter season. Also, read more about the lawn care tasks you need to do in Fall.
4. Plant for the spring
Fall is a right time to plant the bulbs that’ll flower in the spring. Having a lawn with only grass is a very uneconomical decision. It not only costs you more to maintain such a yard but also wastes a lot of resources, especially water. It’s always good to have some plants and flowers around. Plant those spring bulbs.
Another thing you should do is clean all the flower pots you have inside or outside your house. They get dirty too, and while you do the re-planting, you should take care of that as well.
5. Caring for the outdoor plumbing
A slight fail to perform the step can result in frozen or burst pipes in the coming season. You need to shut off the water valves and ensure that the water hoses are fully drained. It’ll prevent them from freezing and save you from possible plumbing disasters. If you have a sprinkler system installed, don’t forget to take care of them as well.
6. Put your patio furniture away
Well, it’s entirely your choice. I suggest if you live in an area that receives excessive snowfall, you should store your furniture inside the garage or keep it in the basement. But if you want to keep it outside, think of what you can do for its protection. Can you cover it or maybe move it to a different location where it’ll be less hit with the weather?
7. Cover the AC unit
You won’t be using your air conditioner anymore, and once you stop using it, you should cover the outdoor unit. You can get the covers from the market, and it’s better to cover the unit as a cover will save it from excessive dirt and debris. If you don’t do that, you might face serious issues with your AC unit in the summer. Why take such a risk?
8. Seal the windows and doors
How about you go around your house and check every door and window? Look for any cracks or holes that may make your HVAC system work harder. You can also consider sealing these for the winter to trap the heat inside your home for a longer time.
Apart from these eight, you should go for gutter cleaning, carpet cleaning, furnace maintenance, and dryer vent cleaning. You may also go for plumbing maintenance, exterior painting, and roof repair if required. Oh! Don’t forget to close your pool.
I understand these are a lot of tasks, but if you start working on these right away and tackle each of this one by one, you will be able to finish them off quick. Take some help from your family members, divide these tasks and spend your weekends on doing whatever you can. Anything that’s left can be outsourced to on-demand pros. What do you think?
