Most home maintenance runs on an interval: change the filter every three months, flush the water heater every year. Winterizing does not. It runs on a date that you do not choose, which is the first night the temperature drops below freezing.
The good news is that the list is short. Five jobs cover most of what goes wrong. None of them is difficult. All of them are easier in a dry afternoon in October than in a cold snap in January.
The winterizing list
Tick them off as you go. This list lives on the page for this visit only.
5 things to do
Ticks are for this visit only. Nothing here is saved anywhere.
Date jobs and interval jobs
- Replace the furnace filter every three months
- Test the smoke alarm every month
- Flush the water heater every year
- Fine to do a few days late
- Drain the outdoor faucet before the first freeze
- Blow out the irrigation lines before the freeze
- Store the window air conditioner for winter
- Not fine to do a few days late
Interval jobs
- Replace the furnace filter every three months
- Test the smoke alarm every month
- Flush the water heater every year
- Fine to do a few days late
Date jobs
- Drain the outdoor faucet before the first freeze
- Blow out the irrigation lines before the freeze
- Store the window air conditioner for winter
- Not fine to do a few days late
Outside water first
The outdoor faucet is the single most common freeze failure. Water left in the pipe between the shutoff and the tap freezes, expands and can split the pipe inside the wall, where you will not see it until the thaw. Disconnect the hose, shut the water off to that line if there is a valve for it inside the house, and let the tap run until it stops.
If your faucet has no interior shutoff or you are not sure how it is plumbed, that is a good question to ask a plumber once. This guide gives general information and is not a substitute for looking at your own plumbing. If you want to know where your main shutoff is before you need it, read do you know where your main water shutoff is.
The quiet jobs that still matter
The humidifier pad and the mice are the two jobs people forget because nothing visibly breaks. A worn pad means the humidifier works harder for less. Small gaps around pipes and the garage door are how mice come in as soon as the weather turns.
Snow blowers and mowers belong on this list too if you own them. Service the blower before the first snow, and put winter fuel or a stabilizer in the mower.
Write down the date you did it
The cheapest thing you can do for next year is note the date. "Drained faucet, October 21" is enough. Next October you will know whether you were early or late, and you will know it is a job you have done before.
For the wider list of what falls due in the fall, see the fall checklist by month.