Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

Before the first freeze

These are the ones with a deadline.

• Shut off and drain outdoor taps (20 min)
  Close the interior shutoff, open the outside tap, let it drain. A split pipe behind a wall is the classic winter bill.
• Disconnect and store hoses (15 min)
  A hose left attached traps water in the tap and freezes it, whatever else you did.
• Blow out irrigation lines (book it)
  Worth paying someone. A cracked manifold is not a spring job you want.
• Clear gutters after the leaves are down (1–2 hrs)
  Doing it too early means doing it twice. Ice dams start in a blocked gutter.

Heating and safety

• Service the furnace or boiler (book ahead)
  If you did not book it in summer, book it now before the first cold snap.
• Sweep the chimney if you burn wood (book it)
  Creosote buildup is the reason chimney fires happen, and it accumulates faster than people expect.
• Replace smoke and CO alarm batteries (15 min)
  Heating season is when CO risk is real. Pick a date you will remember.
• Reverse ceiling fans to clockwise (10 min)
  Pushes warm air down off the ceiling. Costs nothing and you will feel it.

Sealing up

• Seal gaps around windows and doors (2 hrs)
  A caulk gun and an afternoon is the best return on money in this entire list.
• Check attic insulation depth (20 min)
  Settled insulation loses much of its value. You are looking for even coverage, not compressed patches.
• Seal gaps where pipes enter the house (30 min)
  This is how mice get in. They need less space than you think.

Every month

Ten minutes that prevent most of the expensive surprises.

• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms (5 min)
  Press and hold the test button until it sounds. Replace batteries yearly whether or not they chirp.
• Clean the range hood filter (15 min)
  Soak in hot water and degreaser. A clogged filter makes the fan useless and is a genuine fire risk.
• Run water in unused sinks and tubs (2 min)
  Keeps the trap full so sewer gas cannot come back up. Guest bathrooms are the usual culprit.
• Check under sinks for damp (5 min)
  Run a hand along the back of the cabinet. Slow leaks are cheap now and catastrophic in a year.
• Clean garbage disposal (5 min)
  Ice cubes and a cut lemon. Grinds off buildup and clears the smell.

Every three months

The jobs that quietly cost you money when skipped.

• Replace or clean HVAC filters (10 min)
  A blocked filter makes the system work harder and shortens its life. Monthly if you have pets.
• Test the water heater pressure relief valve (10 min)
  Lift the lever and let it snap back. If it does not reseat or does not release, call someone.
• Check the fire extinguisher gauge (2 min)
  Needle in the green. Also check nobody has moved it out of the kitchen.
• Inspect caulking around tubs and showers (10 min)
  Gaps let water behind the tile, which is the most expensive way to discover a small problem.
• Run a garage door safety check (5 min)
  Put an object in the path and confirm it reverses. Also check the auto-reverse on downward pressure.