20 Fall Maintenance Tips for Your Southeastern Michigan Home

Southeast Michigan Real Estate Podcast with Derek Bauer

Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report

Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale

Today I have 20 different home maintenance tips for you as we head into the fall of 2015. I've divided them into 5 different categories, and these should make it easier for you to maintain your property.
Preventative maintenance:
- Check for peeling paint or cracked caulking and seal any breaks to protect surfaces.
- Check your weather stripping and replace or repair it on entry or garage doors.
- Seal driveway cracks.
- Seal gaps between your house and any solid surface like a driveway or patio.
- Caulk or seal any gaps where pipes or wires enter the house through the foundation, siding, windows, etc.
- Clean out your gutters to prevent ice damming as we head into the winter.

Furnace and Central AC tips:
- Have your furnace checked and cleaned by a reputable HVAC contractor.
- Turn your humidifier on for the winter
- Reverse the dampers on your ductwork to get the most efficient airflow. Ideally you want to heat the lower levels of your home more than the upper levels.
- Change the filters on your furnace and humidifier.
- Change the direction of your ceiling fans so they spin clockwise in the winter and counter clockwise in the summer.
- Put a board on your AC unit to prevent snow and ice from getting inside and damaging anything.
General safety tips:
- Make sure your fireplace is in safe working order. Hire a reputable company to check it for deficiencies.
- Test and change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
Lawn maintenance:
- Winterize your sprinkler system by the end of October. I recommend hiring a professional to do this for you.
- Drain your hoses and exterior spigots by shutting them off from inside.
- Make sure your snow blower is functioning properly.
- Assure a proper, positive grade around your home so that melting snow is drawn away from your home.
- Late fall is a great time to prune plants and trees. Ideally, any branches or stems should be 3 feet away from your home.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about any of this, please don't hesitate to contact me!
I look forward to hearing from you!