Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

Fall is one of the most enjoyable times of year, bringing colourful leaves, cooler temperatures and endless seasonal views. It’s also an important time of year for homeowners to prepare their homes for winter, by doing seasonal outdoor maintenance. This checklist will guide you through a few important fall maintenance tasks to complete before the snow starts to fly.

Clean and Cover the Barbecue: Give your barbecue a thorough cleaning using a brush before covering it for the winter. Depending on how often your use your barbecue, you may also want to consider cleaning the burners. To protect your barbecue from wind and winter weather conditions, it’s also best to move it to a sheltered space.

Spruce Up the Lawn: Pull out the lawn mower and grab the rake! Stay on top of raking leaves throughout the fall to alleviate any last-minute stress. It’s also a good idea to mow the lawn one final time in the fall before the snow hits. Depending on the condition of your lawn, you may want to seed the lawn and remove weeds in the fall while the ground is soft.

Clear Out the Garden: Garden season is coming to an end for this year. Whether you have a vegetable garden, a flower garden or both, fall maintenance will need to be taken care of. Remove and dispose of annuals and cover perennials if needed. It’s also best to store any free-standing pots inside until next season to avoid any damage cause by the weather. If you’re thinking about fertilizing and planting bulbs for next summer, this is the perfect time to do so!

Bring in the Water Hose: When you’re done using your water hose for the year, turn off the outdoor water using the shutoff valve and let any remaining water run out of the hose. Once all the water has run out, unscrew the hose and bring it inside for the winter to keep it out of the winter weather conditions.

Pack Away Outdoor Furniture: Done outdoor entertaining until next summer? Time to clean and store the outdoor furniture! Bring in your patio chairs, table and any other furniture and accessories to keep them out of the harsh weather conditions that winter brings. If you have enough storage space, cover patio furniture and store in an area away from wind.

Bring out the Snowblower: Pull your snowblower out from storage and make sure it starts and runs properly. You may need to change the oil, inspect the belts and add fresh gas with a stabilizer. If you aren’t comfortable completing maintenance on your snowblower, we recommend taking it to a mechanic to have it looked at.

Give the Rain Gutters Some Love: With plenty of leaves falling from trees, it’s important to clean out your rain gutters. Whether you tackle the task yourself or call a handyman, removing leaves and debris will keep everything running smooth from now until next summer.

What’s better than fall maintenance? The stunning fall colours that naturally accent properties around our region all season long. See it for yourself! Click here to see new listings near you.