Since you are a new homeowner, you have probably been moving in, making the place your own, replacing furniture, and perhaps, working on some things that needed repairs. But, besides all that work, you might have also been thinking about what you should do with your backyard when fall comes.
Now, if this is something you are thinking about frequently, you might find this article to be quite helpful. Especially since it will make your life easier by featuring a list of the 9 property clean-up things that you should do when fall arrives. Let’s take a closer look at the list:
1. Maintain Your Drains And Spouts
First things first, you’ll want – and need – to wash are your gutters and spouts. Now, you may be wondering – why do I have to do this? Well, think about it, the leaves will fall down and they can easily cause your drains to be clogged. In return, it can cause water to pool, which can destroy your sidings and roof.
So, once most of the leaves drop, grab your ladder, a bucket & spade, and your gardening hose. Firstly, you’ll be required to grab the leaves and debris, which you can do by utilizing your spade and bucket. Once you are done taking everything out, you can use the gardening hose for clearing it and ensuring that it is not clogged already.
2. Repair Any Exterior Part
Next, you’ll want to examine your home. This means that you should walk around and look at different areas of your home, including the roof (that you can check while cleaning the drains), the sidings, walls, shutters, doorways, and foundation. If you see any damage, ensure that you repair it before the cooler temperatures hit.
3. Examine The Railings & Stairs, Walkways, And Driveway
When these areas are covered in snow and most likely, ice, just walking from your house to your car can be extremely challenging, not to mention, dangerous. Hence, if you are living in a cold area, ensure that you check whether or not the stairs, railings, walkways, and driveways need repair. Doing this will make clearing the snow from the surface.
4. Take Care of The Bushes And Trees
If your property features a few trees and/or shrubs, you should consider hiring a professional to take care of them. These professionals can help spot trees in a bad condition, which means that they can prevent you from losing the tree. Additionally, they will be able to prune them properly, hence, lowering the chances of branches falling down due to storms and blizzards.
Now, pruning a tree and examining their roots and trunks often requires heights and if this is an idea that does not sound appealing to you, you can always opt to hire a professional service. If you want to see what services you can opt for, check out this website for additional information.
5. Your Safety Devices Need Testing
Cold weather can do a lot of things to your home. Hence, you’ll definitely want to examine whether or not a few safety devices are working properly. Hence, test your smoke alarms and carbon dioxide detectors – if needed replace the batteries. Also, check the expiration date on the fire extinguisher, if needed, replace it.
6. Your Chimney Needs Cleaning Too!
Before you choose to turn on the heat, one of the most crucial things you can do is get your chimney inspected and cleaned. Ensuring that these things are working properly can prevent a fire and it can also be efficient in keeping the heat inside your house. If you do not have a cap for the chimney, ensure you get one since it will prevent pests from entering your home.
7. Store Your Outdoor Furniture
One of the things that you should definitely do is store your backyard furniture. As you already know, the materials this furniture is made from can easily get damaged from snow, rain, and cold, which is why leaving it outside is a bad idea. Depending on your home, you can place it in your shed or garage, but, if you do not have them, you can always put a large plastic sheet on top of it and tie it together with rope.
8. Get Ready For Cleaning Snow
Before it starts snowing, you should get your property – and yourself – ready for snow. This means that you should remove any large rocks, cords, cables, and hoses from your lawn and paths. Also, you should get a snowblower or shovel that you’ll use for cleaning the snow, and do not forget to purchase working boots that will allow you to stay work and sturdy while shoveling.
9. Weather Proof The Doors And Windows
If you apply weatherstripping around your doors and windows, you’ll be able to keep the heat inside your home. This means that you can actually keep the electricity bills low since you won’t constantly be turning up the heat. You can also add door sweeps to the bases that will keep cold air from coming in.
Bonus Tip – Shut Off The Outdoor Faucets And Store The Hoses
Once you are done with our outdoor faucets and hoses, your last property maintenance task is to shut down your faucets, as well as drain and store your hoses. Additionally, if there are any pipes, you should protect them from freezing. Keep in mind that avoid these things might lead to a lot of damage, which can lead to expensive repairs.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a wide range of things that you’ll need to do during the fall. Of course, some of these things might depend on your property type, as well as whether or not you have trees in your yard, but, the rest is definitely worth doing. So, now that you know what you should do, do not waste any more time. Instead, write down all of the things mentioned in the article above, and once fall comes, you’ll know exactly what you should do!
