Now that cold weather is just about here, it's time for a reminder of specific fall and winter maintenance items. The average date of the first freeze is Oct 7, while the average date of the first snowfall is Oct 15; this year we're ahead of schedule on both counts. Some of these items may not pertain to your home, but many will. Remember that repairs necessitated by the negligence or willful acts of a resident or their visitors will be the lease holder's responsibility.
If you are responsible for yard maintenance, you'll likely be completing your final lawn mowing sometime in October or November. Leaves should not be left on lawns as they generate fungus and disease. If you have a lot of trees and if leaves or other debris are clogging your gutters, please give our office a call to schedule a gutter cleaning at your owners expense. This is also the perfect time to fertilize your lawn and put grass seed on any bare spots.
If we experience a heavy, wet snowfall, go out and shake off branches of trees and shrubs that you can reach from the ground so they don't split or break off. A broom, large stick, or any tool with a large handle will be useful to shake taller branches.
Turn off outdoor faucets and disconnect hoses. Failure to do so will cause the spigot to freeze, when it thaws, plumbing somewhere within the house will leak or burst. Anytime the temperature is expected to reach freezing, make sure nothing is connected to your outside faucets.
If you have a swamp cooler, now is the time to have it winterized. Please call our office to have this service done at your owner's expense.
Now is also the time to check your furnace if you've not already done so. If you have gas heat, lighting the pilot light is considered routine maintenance. If after lighting the pilot, it will not stay lit, call us and we'll arrange for service. If you have not had your furnace cleaned and tuned during your tenancy, please give us a call so we can schedule that for you at your owner's expense. Furnace filters should be routinely changed every 3 months. Most problems associated with a/c units and gas forced air units are a clogged filter. Please check your furnace filter first before you call.
If your heat goes out in the middle of the night, call us in the morning. We cannot get heating contractors out in the middle of the night.
Never turn heat off or set thermostats below 60 degrees, especially if you won't be home for a few days.
Fireplaces and wood burning stoves are great on cool afternoons and nights, please make sure you observe all wood burning ban days as noted on the news. Before starting a fire, be sure the flue is open and you don't have an overabundance of ash in the fireplace or wood burning stove. You can clean out your fireplace however often you want, but never sooner than one week after a fire to insure embers are cold. Never empty ashes into your trash can, always dispose of them outdoors away from anything combustible. Never burn anything other than logs and kindling, and be sure to only use matches and paper to start your fire. If your chimney has not been cleaned during your tenancy and you frequently use your fireplace or wood burning stove, please call us to have this service completed.
