Fall Home Heating Tips

Photo: Business Insider

There's something to love about every season. Whether it’s summer’s longer days and leisurely pace, the beauty of winter’s first snowfall, spring’s renewal and warmer temperatures, or fall’s incredible foliage and cooler temps (not to mention pumpkin spice everything!), if you’re fortunate enough to live in an area with four seasons, you’re luckier than you probably realize!

But along with the changes in weather come the changes in how you take care of your home and property. Sure, there’s a lot to love about fall, but one thing many homeowners don’t love is the thought of rising heating costs as colder temps approach. Heating your home is certainly a necessity, but it can  =eat up a big piece of your household budget every month. It’s important to take care of your heating units so you’re not wasting money or any of that cozy warm air.

Below are a few ways to keep your home heating system’s efficiency high and costs low:

Furnace or oil burner inspection. Scheduling a furnace or oil burner cleaning should be one of those routine appointments you put on your calendar every year, like going to the dentist or taking your dog for their annual checkup at the vet. It’s that essential for keeping your home nice and toasty all winter long. A professional HVAC technician can give your heating system a thorough check-up to make sure it’s running properly and identify small problems before they turn into big ones.

Fireplace and chimney cleaning and inspection. Along with your home’s central heating system, many homeowners like to stoke their fireplace on exceptionally cold nights. If this sounds like you, make an appointment with a chimney sweep, who can clean and inspect both the fireplace and chimney before peak season.

Find and seal leaks. Check your windows and doors for any openings or cracks and seal them accordingly with caulking or weather stripping.  Air often escapes through windows in older homes, and drafty conditions are both uncomfortable and expensive (if the cold air is coming in, then the warm air is escaping from inside!)

Watch your thermostat. For some households, winter means a regular tussle over a comfortable temperature—it seems as if someone is always too hot or too cold! Heating professionals recommend turning your thermostat down at night (and piling on the blankets) and any time you and the family are away from home. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it to an agreed-upon temperature that keeps everyone happy!

Clean your air filter. A dirty or clogged air filter can make your heating unit work twice as hard. Changing the air filter regularly (at least monthly) will keep your heating system running well, and improve the air quality in your home.  Family members with allergies or asthma will certainly appreciate having less pollen or other allergens circulating through the air in your home.

A few quick routine maintenance tasks can help you save money and stay warm all winter long. Would you add any other tips?

How to Keep Your Home Pest-Free This Fall

Photo: Pennington

As the seasons change and the temperatures drop, everyone will be spending more time indoors, and that includes furry little pests. Unfortunately, critters might be cute (who doesn’t like watching a little squirrel or chipmunk in the wild?), but once they invade your property, they can be downright annoying, if not destructive. Besides the obvious areas like garbage cans, sheds, and garages, critters can invade your actual home and cause quite a bit of damage.

Below are a few tips for securing your home against these unwanted visitors. Get more tips and advice from the National Pest Management Association's website.

·        Try to locate the animals’ point of entry and seal it. Holes or cracks in a building’s foundation, a door that’s not quite closed, unsecured attic windows, and a whole host of other neglected spots in your home’s physical frame can invite little vermin.  Do a close inspection of your home’s exterior and look for any spots where small creatures could fit through, and seal them with expanding foam, caulking, or other sealant (ask your local hardware or pest control professional for the best products to use).
        
 Check your doors and windows.  Seal any loose weather stripping, repair ripped or missing screens, and check the door hinges (to make sure the door is hung and can close properly) and window closures to make sure the window closes tightly. Animals like mice or even bats can fit through very small openings, so keep everything shut to deter their entry into your house.

  Don’t store pet food in the original bag. Your dog or cat aren’t the only ones who like dried kibble—wildlife will eat it, too.  Rather than keep the food in its original paper bag, store it in a metal garbage can (mice can’t climb up the slippery sides—although they’d also have some real trouble removing the lid!) or a plastic bin with a snap-top lid.

  Clean up yard debris. Maintaining our yards is a lot of work, but if you have a stacked woodpile, excessive piles of leaves, or grass clippings strewn about, these are all perfect materials for critters to use for building nests either on your property or elsewhere and generally creating a bigger mess for you to clean up.  Raking and bagging leaves is a big job, but it’s necessary to keep pests out of your yard. Another tip: keep your tree and shrub branches trimmed. Pests can easily use long branches to enter your attic or basement.

Set traps. If you’re seeing a lot of mouse droppings or other signs of infestation (chewed boxes or other possessions) in your basement or attic, set traps in different locations around the area. If you can’t seem to catch the critter but they’re still leaving their mark, call a pest control company if your DIY methods aren’t working.

Pests can chew through wiring, nest in your attic’s insulation, or simply spread disease through the germs they carry (yes, even those cute little squirrels and chipmunks can make you sick!)  Protect your family and property by doing a few simple maintenance tips and keep unwanted critters out of your home.

How to Get Your Home Cooling Units Ready for Summer

Summer is just around the corner, and most of us are cleaning off the outdoor furniture, planting our gardens, and generally getting ready for warmer temps. There’s a lot to love about summer, but many of us find the extreme heat and humidity a bit…well, extreme…and we rely on our cooling units—whether fans or air conditioners—to keep us comfortable when the temperatures rise.

Like everything else in the home, both fans and air conditioners require regular attention to run at peak efficiency. These quick cleaning and maintenance tips can help you extend the life of your cooling unit, which can save you both time and money in the long run.

Window air conditioners

Unplug the unit so you can clean it safely, then give the front cover a thorough cleaning.

Taking care of the filter is one of the easiest ways to keep your AC unit running well. Dust, mold, and mildew can collect in the filter, clogging the unit and slowing down the cool air flow.  If you have a disposable filter, change it regularly.  If it’s a reusable filter, clean it when you put the unit in your window.  For most AC models with reusable filters, you simply pop off the front cover, remove the filter, wipe it with a damp cloth or rinse it in warm, soapy water, let it dry, and reinsert the filter.

Straighten any bent fins on the unit, and vacuum the inside—the brush attachment for the vacuum cleaner works well for this task.

Outside air conditioners

Turn the the unit’s power off at the electrical disconnect (this is usually a metal box near the unit).

Spray off any dirt, grass, leaves, and other debris with a hose.

Use coil cleaner to give the unit’s coils a thorough cleaning.

Ceiling fans

Ceiling fan blades are the prime collection site for all the dust and debris that floats through the air in your house, so they probably need a good cleaning (unless you’ve been diligent about dusting them all winter).  A dry mop or duster works best for cleaning the blades. Of course, you can always remove the blades and give them a deep cleaning in warm soapy water.

“Box” / window or oscillating fans

These units are also prone to collecting dust and debris, and they're a bit harder to clean than ceiling fans. You usually have to remove the grille first, then clean that with spray cleaner or soak it in warm, soapy water. If you can remove the blades, do so and give them a thorough cleaning. If you cannot remove the blades, simply use spray cleaner to do the job, or use the brush attachment from your vacuum cleaner to get into those hard-to-reach areas.

Maybe your window cooling units aren’t enough and you’re considering an upgrade—even a full-scale central AC system. Some home remodeling or improvement projects can impact your homeowners’ insurance premiums, so check your policy or contact your agent before you get started.

Do you use fans or AC units to keep cool all summer? Are there any cleaning or maintenance tips you’d add to our list? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!