Maintaining a home has its challenges, and these challenges can be greater for a vacation home where you’re frequently not there as often. Maintenance is one area in particular that can easily get away from you.
Having a quick checklist of things that need to be done can help make this easier.
Here is a checklist of ten important autumn maintenance tasks for your vacation home.
1:
Chimneys – Clean and inspect your chimney and check for loose joints in pipes or cracks in the chimney. The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends that you do this at least once a year. This becomes even more important if you have a wood stove and are burning pine or wood that is punky or is not fully seasoned. This is also very important if you rent out your home since renters generally pay less attention to the wood that they burn.
2:
A/C – If you have air conditioning, remove inspect, clean, and store window units. If you have central air conditioning, inspect and clean your system, switch your system over to heat and turn off the air conditioning breakers if that is an option. Cover outside units, including window or wall air conditioners than cannot be removed.
3:
Floors – Clean your floors and carpets. Vacuum and mop your hardwood floors. The vacuuming will help pick up pests and contaminants that may be in cracks and between floor boards. For carpets, vacuum thoroughly in multiple directions, preferably with a good vacuum equipped with a floor brush. Keep in mind that even if you do not have or allow pets, a single mouse can drop fleas which can lay hundreds of eggs, each of which can survive for months. A good vacuum is the best first line of defense.
4:
Gutters – Clean gutters – clogged gutters can lead to roof damage from snow and ice in the winter.
5:
Exterior – Inspect the exterior of your home for wear and tear, and touch up your exterior paint. As they say, a small spot can lead to a large rot.
6:
Grounds – Clean up your lawn before the snow flies. Rake leaves and prep your lawn for winter. Turn off the water supply to your outside water spigots and open the spigots to allow any residual water to drain.
7:
Air Leaks – Fall is a good time to seal up air leaks where there are gaps by windows and doors. A quick and easy way to identify leaks is to use a stick of incense and see where the smoke blows.
8:
Heating – Clean and inspect your furnace and other heating systems and filters. Most experts recommend that you c lean and inspect your furnace and filters at least once a year, and perhaps more often if your furnace is older. Early fall before you need to rely on your heating is a great time to inspect, clean, and test everything.
9:
Snow – Confirm your snow removal plans. If you are planning to do the snow removal yourself, check your equipment. If not, then verify your contractors – check with them to make sure you’re on their list and confirm how they work, such as how much snow needs to fall before they come, whether they have a day job which prevents them from coming by during the day on weekdays, and so forth.
10:
Winterize – If you close up the house for the winter you will need to winterize the house, drain the toilets and pipes, install anti-freeze, and set pest traps.
Bonus Task for Rentals:
Inventory – If you rent out your home, here is a bonus item to do: perform an inspection of all items in your home and do an inventory to determine if anything is missing or damaged. A similar inspection and inventory should be done in the spring before renting, and ideally, after each rental. Aside from helping you know the real cost of renting, this may also help you when submitting everything to your accountant for taxes.
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Thanks so much and have a fantastic day!
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