Outdoor Checklist

• Check your gutters. While there are now products out on the market now that can filter solid material before it finds its way into your gutter, the fall is a very important time to make sure your gutters are in clean working order. With a backed up gutter, freezing temperatures and expanding ice could leave your gutters vulnerable to damage. It might make sense to wait until the leaves fall in your neighborhood for this one!
• Inspect your roof. Depending on the material, your roof can last anywhere from 15 to 200 years. While the most common roofing surface in the United States is asphalt shingles with a projected lifespan of 15-30 years, a severe wind or hail storm could change that forecast. You'll want to make sure your roof is in good working order before the first snowfall of the season. The weight of a snowfall may be too much for a damaged roof, and patching the roof towards the end of it's life cycle may be more trouble than replacing it. If you're having a hard time determining whether your roof is getting out of shape, you can always snap a couple photos and send them into your agent here at the agency to see what they have to say.
• Audit your trees and landscaping. Dying trees can get especially perilous during the winter months, when a heavy snowfall or a strong windstorm could send brittle branches or more through your roof or onto a passerby. Beyond just being an eye-sore, keeping dead and dying trees on your property can prove costly.
• Prepare for snow removal. The last thing you want before you head into work is to grab your ice scraper, give it a few goes on your windshield, and then having it break in half in your hand, leaving you to defrost your car for much longer you had anticipated. This same problem could come up with a flash snowstorm over the night covering your driveway and sidewalks. Avoid this by checking on your snow removal tools like shovels, ice scrapers, and snow blowers. Make sure you're stocked up on road salt or sand too, you don't want to pull into your driveway with black ice on it. Incidents of people running into their garages, perhaps unsurprisingly, increase in the winter months.

Indoor Checklist

• Make your doors and windows draft-proof. It may be easier to see (or feel) where you might be getting some drafts in the fall. Wood door frames and window frames tend to expand in the Summer months with humidity and temperature, and can shrink in the fall and winter, leaving air gaps you'll want to take care of. Give the edges of your doors and windows a feel, and replace cault and weather stripping as needed.
• Service the fireplace. You'll want to check that ash and soot are not building up in the flue to make sure the fireplace has the correct ventilation. It might be worth contracting work out to a chimney sweep if you're unfamiliar or don't have the tools.
• Change your filters. Dirty and worn out furnace filters can not only lower the energy efficiency of your home, but they can also cause health problems and fire hazards.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Especially if you have a gas furnace, it is incredibly important to make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are functioning. While newer models of detectors last years, it's never a bad idea to give your detectors a quick test. Bonus tip if you have to swap out a battery or detector - write the date of installation and the time rating for the battery on the side of the detector that faces your ceiling.

These are your priority points before the winter, and may not need serious service every year. We hope these maintenance and winterizing tips will help you and your family have a more comfortable winter! Please check out our other blog posts to see if there is anything of interest for you!