Gene's Chicagoland Mortgage Blog: Be Prepared & Safe this Fall and Winter: Perform these Chicagoland Preventative Home Maintenance Measures

Be Prepared & Safe this Fall and Winter:

Perform these Chicagoland Preventative

Home Maintenance Measures

It's hard to believe that Fall ... cold weather ... is right around the corner. But it's true. The Summer's going fast ...

Any weather is perfect for contacting Gene Mundt, Mortgage Lender

But Fall means it's time to get a few Fall Maintenance chores completed in and outside your house/property (and investment properties too). Chores that will ensure that your home's ready to face the coming harsher, colder weather without suffering breakdowns, damage, or discomfort.

Below is a Maintenance Checklist of items to maintenance and prepare in and around your home prior to the weather changing. Be prepared and safe this Fall and Winter. Perform these preventative home maintenance measures.

Print the checklist up! And then address the items on the list now, and you'll have peace of mind throughout the coming cold winter months.

Gene's FALL Maintenance Checklist

Inside your Home:

Change your summer screens to cold weather storm windows & doors
Inspect/Repair loose or damaged door and window frames
Install new weather stripping or caulking
Replace your furnace filter
Have a heating check/tune-up performed on your furnace/heating system by a heating professional
Inspect (and clean, if need be) your heating ducts and vents
Have your fireplace cleaned & checked by a licensed chimney sweep
Check/Add fire extinguisher(s) in your home
Check the batteries/connections for your home's smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Check your attic insulation. Add insulation, if needed. Make sure insulation is NOT covering vents
Check the attic for signs of "critters". Place screens on attic vents to prevent their entrance
Make sure pipes are insulated, especially those towards outside walls
Clean and vacuum dust from all vents, baseboard heaters, cold-air returns
Drain/Clean your hot water tank
Check for dampness in your basement/basement floor
Clean your kitchen range hood filter
Check your crawlspace for water, mold, "critters", more.
Reverse ceiling fans

Outside your Home:

Drain/Turn-off water sprinkler systems & outside faucets
Check the condition of your roof
Check the condition/status of your outdoor lights
Clean gutters & downspouts
Check and fix siding panels, seal gaps/cracks in stucco, Dry-vit, brick, stone walls, tuckpointing
Place screens on chimney caps to prevent "critters" from entering your home
Check/Clean your sump pump discharge pipe
Check soffit, fascia, house trim for moisture damage. Scrape loose paint, caulk, and apply new coat of paint, if needed
Clean your dryer vent and hose, inside and outside
Repair cracked driveways & sidewalks
Divert water from your home. Add extension hose/pipe from downspouts so water runs at least 3 to 4 feet from foundation
Stock some winter-weather essentials such as salt and ice melt
Put away any summer equipment or lawn care tools
Fertilize your lawn
Trim low-lying tree/bush limbs from around power lines and roof of your home
Store outdoor patio furniture
Maintenance lawn mower/empty gas from tank
If you have a snow blower, maintenance/check-up for coming winter use

Be Prepared & Safe this Fall and Winter: Perform these Preventative Home Maintenance measures.

Do all of the above, and you'll have the warmth, protection, and safety of your home, its occupants, and visitors provided throughout the coldest winter days ...

* Looking for a new home (or Refinance) in the Lincoln-Way Area or elsewhere in the Chicagoland area? Contact me today! I'll put my 40 years of mortgage experience and expertise to work on your behalf.

I can be easily found at:

Gene Mundt

Mortgage Originator - NMLS #216987 - IL Lic. #031.0006220 - WI Licensed

American Portfolio Mortgage Corp.