FAll & WINTER MAINTENANCE TIPS

Fall Maintenance Tips

• Check smoke detectors & carbon monoxide detectors by pressing the test button. Be sure to change the batteries at the same time. Both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are available at your local home store. Contact your local fire department for recommendations.
• Prepare your furnace for the upcoming heating season. Consider calling a reputable local heating and cooling company to check your furnace, clean it, and prepare it for the upcoming winter. Keeping the furnace in good working condition will help reduce your heating bills and help avoid serious problems.
• Replace or clean your furnace filter. This will keep the air in your house cleaner, make your furnace more efficient, and help lower your heating bills.
• Clean out gutters and downspouts. Inspecting gutters and downspouts for debris and fallen leaves can reduce the chances of an ice dam forming. An ice dam can cause leaks that will result in interior damage to your ceilings and walls. After you've cleared as many leaves as you can from your gutters, you can spray water down the downspouts to wash away any other debris. Gutter screens can help reduce the number of leaves that collect in your gutters. Exercise extreme caution when working on a ladder or on the roof.
• Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tank is empty. Gasoline left in the tank loses its volatile components over the winter, making your mower hard to start in the spring. By draining the tank, you are also removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. Make sure you aren't storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.

Winter Maintenance Tips

• Make sure all electrical holiday decorations have tight connections. If possible, use 3-prong plugs and cords. The use of 2-prong adapters, which permit 3-prong plugs to be used in 2-prong outlets, doesn't always provide grounding to protect against shock. Unplug decorations when not in use. The use of extension cords should be temporary. To help reduce the chances of overheating, electric cords, including extension cords, should never be bundled together or run under rugs and carpet.
• Replace or clean your furnace filter. This will keep the air in your house cleaner, make your furnace more efficient, and help lower your heating bills.
• If your home has a programmable thermostat, set it for reasonable times and temperatures, i.e. reduce the heat slightly for night time hours, about 4 to 5 degrees cooler than your daytime temperature. If you don't own a programmable thermostat, consider having one installed; they do help reduce heating costs.
• In the event of snow, be sure to keep the area around your airconditioning unit clear of snow. Even though you aren't using your A/C, you don't want the lines to freeze or be damaged. If you are using a shovel, BE CAREFUL when clearing the area around the unit. You don't want to make things worse.
• When warming up your car in cold weather, please be sure the area is well ventilated.