Fall Home Maintenance Checklist: Get Ahead of Winter

Fall is the most important maintenance season of the year. Everything you do now prevents an expensive, cold, inconvenient problem in the dead of winter. Work through this in priority order — and for a version tuned to your climate, see the cold-climate checklist or build your free Owner Tools.

Critical: do these before the first freeze

• Winterize irrigation and outdoor faucets. Drain sprinkler systems and disconnect hoses so trapped water can't freeze, expand, and burst a pipe. See lawn & irrigation.
• Get the furnace tuned. A pro tune-up now catches problems before the first cold night, when emergency rates apply. See HVAC maintenance.
• Test the sump pump. Winter storms and snowmelt are coming. See sump pump.

High value: protect the building

• Clean the gutters after the leaves finish dropping. Clogged gutters cause ice dams and water damage. See roof & gutters.
• Inspect the roof for loose or damaged shingles before winter weather tests them.
• Reseal exterior gaps. Fresh caulk around windows, doors, and penetrations keeps cold air and water out. See exterior.
• Flush the water heater so it runs efficiently through the heavy-use season. See water heater.

Indoor prep

• Test smoke and CO alarms — you'll be running heating and closing up the house. See smoke & CO.
• Replace the HVAC filter so the heating system breathes freely.
• Reverse ceiling fans to clockwise to push warm air down.

Once the list is done, you can enjoy winter instead of bracing for it. For a personalized fall plan based on your home and region, build your Owner Tools — it's free and takes two minutes.