With the changing season comes lower temperatures, new weather patterns, and new things to consider when it comes to your home. We’ve got your ultimate fall home maintenance checklist, so you don’t miss a thing.
Chances are you do most of these things already. If it seems overwhelming (it is!), start with the things that will protect your home the most and prioritize from there.
Fall home maintenance checklist
- Have your gutters cleaned and inspected — this is a must-do
- Trim trees — especially ones that hang over your roof
- Inspect and clean your chimney
- Remove leaves (or better yet, have them mulched) frequently
- Inspect and clean your chimney
Fall home maintenance checklist
- Pressure wash walkways, decks, patios, and your home
- Cover up any exposed wood with paint
- Add new weather stripping around doors and windows — keep the cold air out of your home this fall
- Have your HVAC serviced
- Change HVAC/Furnace filters
- Change smoke detector batteries
- Have your carpets cleaned
- Clean out your garage
- Winterize your sprinkler system — another must-do fall home maintenance
- Drain all of your garden hoses
- Clean outdoor furniture and properly store it
- Deep clean your oven and kitchen before Thanksgiving
- Paint interior rooms while you can still open the windows
- Set traps and check for any spots critters can get in your home
- Winterize your plumbing (insulate pipes where needed)
- Inspect your roof for loose shingles
- Clear brush and branches
- Create a fire safety plan and practice it
Fall home maintenance checklist
- Have your basement waterproofed and sealed — this is one people often forget when doing their fall home maintenance
- Protect floors and rugs with runners and throw rugs
- Pick up a bag of salt and a snow shovel before the first ice/snow
- Aerate your lawn
- Consider a programmable thermostat
- Clean your windows (outside and inside)
- Dust and clean baseboards
- Declutter! Pack away all of your summer things
- Sweet porches/decks and clear away corners from cobwebs
Fall home maintenance checklist
- Clean inside window tracks
- Check for any cracked/broken glass
- Vacuum/Clean refrigerator coils
- Schedule your pre-holiday (family coming over!) cleaning as soon as possible
- Do a run-through in your kitchen and toss expired items/spices
- Clean inside kitchen cabinets/drawers/pantry
- Deep clean kitchen and appliances before Thanksgiving
- Have landscaping properly sloped around your foundation
- Schedule any big projects ASAP (so you aren’t stuck with an unfinished home project for the holidays)
- Order a PSL, sit back, relax — obviously the most important part of your fall home maintenance!
