Maintaining your home requires adding a few items to your "To-do list" for the Fall to get your home ready for the colder months. Take the time now so you can enjoy an energy-efficient and safe home for upcoming seasons!

Check your safety systems. Check your smoke detectors, carbon monoxide monitors, and any other systems to keep your home safe in emergencies. Make sure units are operating properly, changing batteries, or replacing units as necessary.

Deep clean your kitchen. This is a good time to deep clean your oven.  Degrease your range hood and its filter. Vacuum refrigerator coils to keep this important appliance working well. 

Schedule a maintenance check of your home’s heating system. If you have a wood-burning fireplace, have a chimney inspection or cleaning if necessary. 

Clean your clothes dryer exhaust vent. Cool dry air in the fall can create more static electricity. A buildup of dryer lint along with this static electricity can be a dangerous combination. Hire a professional or find a reputable source for a do-it-yourself. 

Check your HVAC air filters and replace them - if you are not already doing that on a monthly basis. Keeping filters changed regularly, helps heat and cool your home more efficiently and allows your overall system to operate much better. Vacuum heating grates and change air filters in your heating and air conditioning system.

Change the direction of your ceiling fans.During the winter, your fan should run at a low speed in a clockwise direction.  (as you look up at it). This will gently draw the room air upward and push warm air down and out toward the walls.

Check the weather stripping around windows and doors. Replace as is necessary. This will help keep warm air inside your home for YOU and not escaping through small gaps in your doors and windows. 

Disconnect and drain outdoor faucets You don't want to get caught by surprise if freezing temperatures persist and you left your outside hose connected! Frozen pipes are no fun for anyone. Now is the time, before temps fall below zero, to disconnect outdoor garden hoses, drain those pipes and turn off outside water sources. These turnoffs valves are typically found in your home's crawl space.  

Trim dead limbs on large treesto keep them from causing damage to your home in case of a storm. Contact an arborist or tree service to help with this. Once most all leaves have fallen, clean the gutters on your home. Gutters help to direct water away from your home and if they are not cleaned, water could collect in places that could cause damage to your landscaping or foundation areas around your home

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CraftMaster Homes is one of Richmond’s leading homebuilders, voted Builder of the Year five times in a row. We build new homes in Chesterfield, Midlothian, Mechanicsville and Hanover. Contact us today to get your design started.