The fall house checklist for people who don't have a free Saturday
Every fall there's a list. Gutters, the hose, the furnace, the smoke detectors. And every fall the list loses to work, practice, homework and the one free weekend that somehow fills up anyway.
Here's the short version: the eight jobs that matter most before the first hard freeze in Fairfield County, in the order we'd do them.
1. Shut off and drain the outside spigots
This is the one that costs real money if you skip it. Outdoor hose bibs are among the pipes most likely to freeze. Disconnect every hose, close the shutoff valve inside the house that feeds each spigot, then open the outside faucet so the leftover water can drain.
If you don't know where those inside valves are, that's worth finding out this week, not in January.
2. Find your main water shutoff
If a pipe ever bursts, the first move is to shut the water off at the main valve and then call a plumber. That only works if someone in the house knows where the valve is and can turn it. Find it, make sure it moves, and show everyone who lives there.
3. Clean the gutters after the leaves drop
In Fairfield, most of the trees finish dropping in November. Gutters cleaned in October usually need it again. Clogged gutters overflow against the house and can feed ice dams once it gets cold. Time this one for after the leaves are down.
4. Change the furnace filter
It takes two minutes once you know the size, which is printed on the edge of the filter you have now. Take a photo of it so you can reorder without climbing into the basement.
5. Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Push the test button on every one. Fire safety groups recommend testing smoke alarms monthly and replacing the whole unit 10 years from the date of manufacture on the back, not the date you installed it. If a detector chirps after you've changed its battery, replace it.
The weekend the clocks change is an easy reminder.
6. Keep the heat steady when it gets very cold
On the coldest nights, don't drop the thermostat way down overnight. A higher heating bill beats a burst pipe. Open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so warm air can reach those pipes.
7. Look at the pipes in the cold spots
Basements, crawl spaces, garages and any pipe running along an outside wall freeze first. Foam pipe sleeves from the hardware store are cheap and quick to put on.
8. Walk around the outside once
Ten minutes, with a coffee. Look for loose shingles, gaps where wires and pipes enter the house, and branches hanging over the roof. You're not fixing anything yet. You're making a list for a dry day.
If the list isn't going to happen
That's normal. Most of the busy homeowners we talk to aren't short on money or know-how. They're short on Saturdays.
My House Guardian is a house care service for Fairfield County. You get one person who knows your house: they handle the small jobs, schedule the outside pros, and keep track of what was done so you don't have to. Your house, our problems.