Fall is when a house asks for the most in the least time. The heating comes on for the first time in months, the outdoor water has to be dealt with before the first hard frost, and the gutters fill up right when you would like to be doing something else.
Most fall lists are a wall of forty items. This one is short on purpose: the jobs that prevent damage, in the month they belong to. For the other seasons and the other months, see the by-month checklist.
The fall list, month by month
Do these in order. Each one is easier if the one before it is finished.
September
Book the professional heating tune-up before everyone else does. Seal the gaps mice use to get in before the cold sends them looking.
October
Shut off and drain the outdoor faucet. Blow out the irrigation lines if you have them. Replace the humidifier pad. Take the window air conditioner out and store it. Service the snow blower and the mower's winter fuel before you need them.
November
Clear the gutters once the leaves are down, not before.
What each job protects against
Heating tune-up
- When
- September
- What it prevents
- A breakdown in the first cold week, when every technician is booked
Seal entry points
- When
- September
- What it prevents
- Mice moving in for the winter
Drain the outdoor faucet
- When
- October
- What it prevents
- A frozen line that splits and floods a wall later
Blow out irrigation lines
- When
- October
- What it prevents
- Cracked pipes and sprinkler heads
Replace the humidifier pad
- When
- October
- What it prevents
- A humidifier working harder for less
Store the window air conditioner
- When
- October
- What it prevents
- Drafts and a damaged unit
Clear the gutters
- When
- November
- What it prevents
- Water overflowing at the fascia and the foundation
| Job | When | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Heating tune-up | September | A breakdown in the first cold week, when every technician is booked |
| Seal entry points | September | Mice moving in for the winter |
| Drain the outdoor faucet | October | A frozen line that splits and floods a wall later |
| Blow out irrigation lines | October | Cracked pipes and sprinkler heads |
| Replace the humidifier pad | October | A humidifier working harder for less |
| Store the window air conditioner | October | Drafts and a damaged unit |
| Clear the gutters | November | Water overflowing at the fascia and the foundation |
Why fall reminders fail
A reminder that repeats every 365 days is the wrong shape for a freeze job. The deadline is not a date, it is the weather. If you drained the faucet on the twenty-eighth of October last year and the first frost arrives on the fifteenth this year, an interval reminder is late.
That is why these jobs belong to a month, not a timer. Put them where you will see them in September, and treat the first forecast of freezing temperatures as the real deadline. There is more on this in winterize your house: the jobs to finish before the first freeze.
A quick check before you start
4 things to do
Ticks are for this visit only. Nothing here is saved anywhere.