1. Check your home for water leaks: Check all faucets in your home for any type of leak. Check around the bottom of your dishwasher by leaving paper towels around the outside of the machine while it is in use.
2. Check your home for water leaks: Take some time to inspect the pipes underneath your sinks and tubs. Check your toilet by getting dropping food coloring in the tank of your toilet. Watch the bowl of your toilet for a few minutes to see if any of the food coloring appears. If coloring appears this means you have a slow leak.
3. You can also use your water meter to check for any hidden leaks. Check the reading on your meter while all faucets and appliances are off and do so again in an hour. If your meter has moved you have a hidden water leak somewhere in your house.
4. Have a heating professional check your heating system every year. Wood burning stove pipes and your chimney should be inspected by a certified chimney company once a year.
5. Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures. Bird nests on top of light fixtures are a fire hazard. Bird nests in chimney flues can prevent proper venting of combustion gases and can catch fire. Exercise great caution when working on your roof or consider hiring a professional to take care of this work.
6. Replace your furnace filter. Furnace filters need to be replaced frequently to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate properly.
7. Inspect, test and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Add new batteries as well.
8. Check gas powered equipment and run until the fuel tank is empty. By doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. At the same time, make sure you aren’t storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.
9. Your home insulation should be checked for any escaping heat. When performing fall home maintenance, the attic insulation and temperature should be checked. The air in an attic should be about 10 degrees warmer than the air outside to prevent heat escaping.
Too much escaping heat from an attic can cause frozen water on the roof to melt and then refreeze, which can collapse a roof. Crawl spaces or basements should also be checked for insulation and temperature in order to protect your pipes from freezing. Pipes should also be wrapped with heating tape for extra protection.
10. Protect your home from frozen pipes. Insulate pipes in your home’s crawl spaces and attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing. Heat tape or heat cables can be used to wrap pipes. Seal leaks that allow cold air inside near where pipes are located. Look for additional leaks near electrical wiring, dryer vents, and pipes.