5 tips to prepare your home for cooler temps

5 tips to prepare your home for cooler temps


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SALT LAKE CITY — Finally, the sweltering summer temperatures here in Utah are cooling. The kids are back in school and soon the leaves will start to change. And, as homeowners, we have to remember that with each new season comes a new set of elements that can wear and tear on the exterior of our homes and yards. So, it is time to start planning our fall and winter preparations.

Leaves

To take care of your fallen leaves this year, try mowing them instead of racking them. Also, do not worry about bagging it; when mulched leaves fall between the blades of grass, they provide nutrients to the soil during the winter as they decompose. So, ditch the rake this fall.

5 tips to prepare your home for cooler temps

Heat

Before you actually have to use it, make sure your furnace is working properly by having a technician come to give it a tune-up. This is one of those situations when an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure. Furnace repairs are oftentimes more expensive than an annual tune-up and will help save on energy usage. To maximize energy savings, grab the Nest Learning Thermostat from the Apple store. This device allows you to set your temperature from your iPhone or iPad, as well as, remembers what temperatures you like and turns itself down when you're away.

Also, check the vents to make sure they are clear and ensure you have a clean furnace filter. The same should be done with a fireplace. Have a professional chimney sweep clean your fireplace and chimney before your first fire. This will reduce the risk of starting a chimney fire.

Rain gutters

It can be surprising just how much debris our rain gutters collect over time. To make sure the snow properly drains from your roof, clean out your home's rain gutters after the majority of leaves have fallen from surrounding trees. Dirty gutters can clog water that can damage your ceiling, roof and walls.

5 tips to prepare your home for cooler temps

Additionally, it's a good time to ensure that proper heat tape is installed for homes at higher elevations to prevent ice dams in gutter systems.

Pipes

External pipes and sprinklers can be seriously damaged if they are not drained before the first freeze. If pipes are full of water, they can burst as water turns to ice and expands. So, make sure to thoroughly drain all exterior pipes, disconnect hoses and drain your sprinklers.

Exterior audit

Before everything is covered in the first snow, give the exterior of your house a good once-over. Check the roof to make sure there are no rotting shingles that should be replaced or that no windows and doors allow drafts. Not only will this keep you warm, but it will also keep your energy bills down.

This is also a good time to make sure no tree limbs have grown to extend over your home. With the heavy snows we sometimes get, those bows can break and damage your roof.

It does not take much to get our homes ready for the change of seasons, but these simple preparations can oftentimes save us the headache and expense of unexpected repairs. After all, our homes are our biggest investments; it pays to take good care of them.

For tips and information on home-buying and home ownership, check out some of my other contributed pieces on KSL.com.

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Dave Zitting

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