Fall home maintenance: Four things to do to protect your home

This is a great time of year to do fall home maintenance: If you take steps now to protect your home, it can save you trouble down the line when the winter weather arrives.

So, what fall home maintenance can you do now to avoid headaches later? There are some simple things you can do, on a nice autumn weekend, to protect your home.

Here are four fall home maintenance items to put on your weekend chore checklist.

Check your roof

Having a roof in good repair is critical to avoiding home insurance claims, as it can protect against moisture in your home – which is never a good thing. So, take some time to walk around your home and look for missing or damaged shingles, moss, damage to your chimney or chimney flashing, or other signs of damage or age. If you aren’t sure, it never hurts to have an experienced roofer out for an inspection.

Winterize outdoor plumbing

It can be easy to overlook your outdoor plumbing, but if you winterize it now, you won’t forget – and end up with a broken pipe and a real mess. So, drain your hoses, winterize your sprinkler system and make sure your outside spigots are shut off. It also isn’t a bad idea to have any exterior pipes insulated to prevent freezing.

Check your tools

When winter hits, you won’t want to be caught without a good shovel or snowblower (and fuel!), some salt for icy walkways and scrapers for your cars. No one wants to be without power in a storm, and you also don’t want someone (or yourself) to slip and fall and get injured.

Yard work

Before the first snowfall, make sure you clean up your yard! This includes clearing your gutters and putting away grills, landscaping tools, furniture and more. The fact is, you won’t need them for a while and having them sit outdoors all winter isn’t good – and your home insurance likely won’t cover the loss if they are damaged.

Crumrine Financial Services

At Crumrine Financial Services, we can help you find the policy you need. Call us for a quote!