How To Avoid Claims and Save Money With a Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

By completing a fall home maintenance checklist, you can also reduce the risk of damage caused by poor upkeep or neglect, which homeowners insurance generally does not cover. From lowering your home’s fire risk by maintaining your fireplace and cleaning gutters to prevent water damage to checking your home’s safety devices to catch gas leaks, there are various steps you should take to help protect your property this fall.

A fall home maintenance checklist includes measures to make your home safer and reduce the risk of a home insurance claim or costly out-of-pocket expenses.

Homeowners looking to reduce the risk of claims should read on for several fall home maintenance tips that can help them prepare their houses for fall and winter weather.

On This Page

• 

  Why Fall Home Maintenance Matters

• 

  Complete Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

• 

  Fall Home Maintenance Tasks That Help Prevent Insurance Claims

• 

  Common Fall Maintenance Mistakes

• 

  DIY vs. Professional Fall Home Maintenance

• 

  Fall Home Maintenance at a Glance

• 

  How Fall Home Maintenance Can Save You Money

• 

  Frequently Asked Questions

Why Fall Home Maintenance Matters

Fall often serves as a transitional period between the harsh weather of summer and winter, giving you time to prepare your home for colder temperatures. Snow and freezing rain can damage your roof and trees, and freezing temperatures can cause pipes to burst. Additionally, your heating and safety systems may also need critical maintenance before heavy winter use, and putting this off could lead to a malfunction that results in a fire or injury down the road.

By getting ahead of difficult winter conditions with fall home maintenance, you can help reduce the risk of accidents and damage to your home. This can give you peace of mind and help you avoid an unexpected insurance claim that might result in a premium increase.^[1] Many issues caused by a lack of maintenance are often denied by insurance companies, so putting off your fall checklist could lead to high out-of-pocket costs due to winter damage.

Complete Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

Below, we’ll cover some recommendations on what to include in your fall home maintenance checklist.

Roof and Gutters

You should ideally inspect your roof every three to four years, but more frequent inspections may be worth it if you live in an area with rough weather, such as frequent hail.^[2] In 2022, 38% of homeowners faced unexpected roof damage, which can lead to issues like water leaks that result in mold and structural damage if left unrepaired.^[3] Taking time to check your roof in the fall, before winter weather makes repairs harder or melting snow makes a problem worse, could help you save significantly on repair costs and insurance claims.

Check your roof flashing around any skylights, exposed pipes and chimneys for damage, as this could lead to water leaks after melting snow or rainfall.^[4] If granules, the material that shields and protects your shingles, have accumulated in your gutters, it could signal a deteriorating roof.^[5]

On average, a roof’s gutter system helps thousands of gallons of water safely flow away from your home, so ensuring they remain unclogged and free from damage is essential to your home’s health. Dirty gutters can clog, causing water to overflow into the surrounding terrain that can damage your home’s exterior surfaces and flood your basement.^[5]

Inspect your gutters and downspouts monthly, and clean them at least twice a year — likely in late spring and late fall.^[6] Cleaning your gutters can also reduce the risk of rust and corrosion, meaning you’ll be less likely to have to replace them as often. While gutter systems usually last about 20 to 50 years, depending on their materials, you may need to replace your gutters sooner if they show signs of wear and tear or leaks.^[7]

Trees and Landscaping

Take care of your lawn and landscaping by raking up fallen leaves, which can help prevent suffocation of your grass and garden beds. You can often make this easier by using your mower to mulch dead leaves, which you can then use as fertilizer to help nourish your lawn and encourage grass growth in the spring.^[5]

Ensure your trees get plenty to drink before winter by using a sprinkler or hose to slowly water them from the trunk to their longest branches, as they may struggle and become damaged in dry winter soil. If your trees have thinner bark, you can protect them from cold weather by applying a blanket of two to four inches of mulch around their roots.^[8][9] In addition, it’s important to trim excessively large or dead tree branches, which may pose a threat to your property and other people.

You may be held liable if a tree or branch falls on and injures a guest on your property, and you could even have to cover your neighbor’s losses if your tree falls onto their property due to poor maintenance or negligence on your part. Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover progressive losses caused by poor upkeep, so you need to properly care for your trees to promote safety and avoid significant out-of-pocket expenses.

Windows and Doors

If you can feel cold air blowing through your home while all the windows and doors are closed, your home is likely experiencing air leakage. Drafty seals around windows and doors make your home’s cooling and heating systems work harder, but sealing these gaps could save 11% on energy costs.^[10]

A qualified technician can use a blower door test to depressurize your home and identify the leak locations. Alternatively, you can locate leaks yourself by inspecting your doors and windows for cracks or gaps, using a candle flame near any potential gaps and looking for flickering as a sign of air leaks.^[5]

You can reduce drafts from air leaks you discover by sealing gaps in your doors or windows with cost-effective caulk or weatherstripping, but you’ll want to inspect your DIY work regularly for deterioration and reseal as needed.^[5] Another option is to upgrade to doors and windows designed to improve your home’s energy efficiency. Steps like these can help you keep cold air from blowing into your home and save money during the fall heating season.

HVAC System

Schedule an HVAC checkup to ensure your furnace and heating system are working properly. Replace your air filter before you need your furnace, and change it at least once a month, or every three months during heavy use, to help prevent breakdowns. If your HVAC system is older, it may be more cost-effective to replace it than have it serviced, since an older system can be up to 50% less powerful than newer models and lead to higher energy costs for the same amount of heating.^[11][12]

Chimney and Fireplace

Strive to clean your fireplace at least once every year. While the end of winter may be the best time to remove the ashes from your fireplace, you will definitely need to clean it before fall if you did not do so earlier in the year. Your exposure to a chimney fire increases if it has built up one-eighth of an inch of soot and creosote.^[13]

Additionally, it can help to schedule an annual inspection of your fireplace and chimney to check for structural integrity issues, soot buildup and signs of damage or wear and tear that could affect performance. Consider calling a professional inspection and cleaning service if you notice any of the following:^[14]

• Poor fire performance indicating a clogged flue
• Animal entry or nests that can obstruct airflow
• Campfire-like smell indicating creosote buildup
• Oil spots on your walls

Remember to keep all flammable materials — including curtains and furniture — at least three feet away from your fireplace. You also need a fire screen to contain sparks and embers, which can reduce your odds of a house fire and the need to file a subsequent homeowners insurance claim.^[15]

Plumbing

Winter weather can freeze exterior pipes if you leave water inside, which could cause one to burst. Drain water from any outdoor faucets, disconnect garden hoses and turn off all shut-off valves before the cold weather sets in to help prevent freezing. Covering exterior faucets with an insulated cover can also help prevent freezing.^[16]

To help prevent in-ground irrigation systems from freezing, ensure you follow the manufacturer’s procedures to properly drain the system of water.^[5]

Exterior Inspection

Check the sides of your home’s exterior for any paint issues, as the weather will still be warm enough to apply any necessary touch-ups.^[5] While your house’s paint job may not feel like a priority, winter weather can cause paint to peel and chip away, while trapped water vapor from the inside of your house can soak into your home’s siding and exterior paint and worsen an existing problem.^[17] Your paint is more than just an aesthetic choice — it helps protect your home from moisture, UV rays and extreme temperatures that can damage the siding and foundation material underneath, so ensuring it’s in good condition before winter hits is vital.^[18]

Damage to your home’s siding should also be reviewed at the same time, and repairs or replacements should be made while weather conditions don’t make the job difficult.

Attic and Insulation

If your home has an attic, verify that insulation is installed properly and doesn’t cover or hide vents. Check that vents are clear of any debris that could block ventilation. Inspect any screening inside your attic for holes or tears, and ensure it's patched or replaced.

Poor insulation installation can lead to mold growth from trapped moisture. Verify that the insulation is facing the right direction by checking that the vapor barrier faces toward the rest of your home, although you may be able to slice through backward-installed insulation with a box cutter to prevent moisture from building up inside.

Safety Devices

Your home’s safety devices are essential for protecting your family from fire, smoke and other perils, as three out of five home fire deaths occur due to malfunctioning or absent smoke alarms.^[19] Test smoke detectors once a month and replace their batteries at least once a year. If your smoke detector is older than 10 years, you should replace it.^[16]

Carbon monoxide detectors should be tested at least once a month — ideally before the heating season starts, as increased use of HVAC systems, fireplaces and gas heaters could lead to a malfunction and gas leak.^[20][21] Similarly, fire extinguishers should get a quick visual inspection monthly, with more professional inspections once a year.^[22]

Fall Home Maintenance Tasks That Help Prevent Insurance Claims

Below is a list of a few fall home maintenance tasks to help prevent insurance claims:

Common Fall Maintenance Mistakes

You don’t want to put off fall maintenance, as procrastinating may lead to further damage down the road that could have been avoided. Don’t make these common fall maintenance mistakes:

• Waiting until freezing winter temperatures
• Not inspecting your roof or ignoring “small” roof damage
• Forgetting to clean your gutters
• Leaving up dead and rotting trees and not trimming dead branches
• Failing to inspect your doors and windows for gaps
• Not inspecting your HVAC system or replacing the air filter
• Not cleaning your chimney and fireplace
• Failing to turn off your outdoor faucet system
• Not cleaning up dead leaves from your lawn
• Not protecting your trees from the cold
• Not checking your house’s siding or paint for cracks or chipping
• Not verifying your attic’s insulation is installed properly or covering ventilation
• Not replacing dead smoke detector batteries

DIY vs. Professional Fall Home Maintenance

Some aspects of fall home maintenance you can do yourself, but others may require a professional's skills and experience to do safely and properly. Below is a list of a few recommendations, although your own experience will factor into what you’re capable of doing yourself:

Fall Home Maintenance at a Glance

Below is the essential information you should know about fall home maintenance:

• Fall home maintenance includes various tasks to help keep your home safe and reduce costs going into the winter season.
• While what maintenance you should focus on will depend on your home, you should generally ensure you perform a roof inspection, turn off outdoor faucets, check for gaps in your doors and windows and replace your HVAC’s air filter during the fall.
• Some aspects of fall maintenance you can do yourself, while others should be handled with the help of a professional, depending on your experience.
• Homeowners insurance won’t cover damage due to a lack of maintenance, such as mold, so regular inspections are essential.

How Fall Home Maintenance Can Save You Money

Ensuring you complete fall home maintenance isn’t without its benefits, as it can often help you save money in the long run:

• Reduces the risk of house damage that could result in repair bills
• Lowers the risk of an insurance claim that could increase your premium
• Helps keep down energy bills
• Allows small issues to often be fixed at a lower cost with DIY repairs if you catch them early
• Makes maintenance and repairs potentially easier and less expensive than if you wait and have to perform them in poor winter weather conditions