Fall
- Have your furnace or heating systems serviced by a qualified service company every two years for a gas furnace and every year for an oil furnace.
- Check and clean or replace air filters each month during the heating season.
- Check the sump pump and line to ensure proper operation and to ensure that there are no line obstructions or visible leaks.
- Remove screens from inside casement windows to allow for the heating system to keep condensation off window glass.
- Ensure all doors to the outside shut tightly and check other doors for ease of use.
- Replace door weather stripping if required.
- Ensure windows and skylights close tightly.
- Cover outside air conditioning window units.
- Ensure that the ground around your home slopes away from the foundation wall so that water does not drain into your basement.
- Clean leaves from roofs and downspouts and test the downspouts to ensure proper drainage from the roof.
- Check chimneys for obstructions such as bird nests.
- Drain and store outdoor hoses. Close the valve to outdoor hose connections and drain the hose bib, unless your house has a frost-proof hose bib.
- If you have a septic tank, measure the sludge and scum to determine if the tank needs to be emptied before the spring. Tanks should be pumped at least once every three years.
