PAGE 10 ■ FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT
THE HERALD ■ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019
Annual maintenance checklist for healthy home By NICOLA BRIDGES Creators.com As with your health, prevention is better than a cure when it comes to the fall and winter health of your home and avoiding costly catastrophes. Nobody wants the expense, inconvenience or aggravation of a heating system that decides to stop working right when you need it most, on the coldest day of the year. Or, having to deal with a flooded basement because your gutters are clogged — especially since these issues are preventable with some advanced preparation. The checklist can feel like a chore after you’ve just enjoyed your summertime, but preparing your home now for fall and winter weather is time and money well spent. It will save you hassle and potentially large repair bills. Here’s what you need to pay attention to and prep for your home to stay healthy through the fall and winter months ahead. Inside ■■ Check your heating system or HVAC: Check that curtains, furniture and carpet aren’t blocking your home’s heating and A/C vents. Clean filters; vacuum all vents and ducts of dust and fluff. Many prefer to have professionals do this and perform an annual system checkup, also. They will inspect your furnace, change filters, check for leaks and can also check air safety for carbon monoxide. ■■ Set your thermostat: To save money on heating while you’re not home or don’t need the temperature set high, adjust your thermostat to automatically lower during the nighttime and the hours of the day you’re away from home. Just a few degrees’ difference can lower your utility bill. ■■ Prep your water heater: Experts advise that you drain your water heater and remove any gunk and settled debris from the tank. ■■ Clean humidifiers: It’s also a good idea to replace filters so
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Make sure to check for leaks in both the inside and outside of your home before the onset of the fall and winter seasons. they’re new and fresh for dryheat season. ■■ Reverse ceiling fans: Once you start using your heat, set the ceiling fan blades in a clockwise direction. “Energy Star says the fan will produce an updraft and push down into the room heated air from the ceiling,” according to the Kiplinger website. ■■ Check safety devices: Put new batteries in your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Test them to ensure they’re in working order.
Outside ■■ Inspect the roof and siding: Make sure leaves and debris are not gathering in roof gullies or between siding strips; repair any loose, missing or damaged siding, tiles or shingles. ■■ Prevent ice dams: In harsh winter areas, icicles hanging from your roof can indicate issues with attic or roofing insulation. Also, if snow melts quickly off your roof, it can mean your home is losing heat. A contractor who specializes in weatherization can help iden-
Check trees after transplanting By JEFF RUGG Creators.com I recently got the following question from a reader of my syndicated column, “A Greener View”: “We transplanted some 3.5inch caliper trees six years ago. They seem to be generally healthy, but the leaves have never been full or bright or strong. The fruit trees and spruce trees we have seem fine, but the trees with this problem are red oaks, sunset maples, crimson king Norway maples and white birches. I had them professionally fertilized twice during their second and third years, and I gave them all some fertilizer spikes this year. They did seem a little better this year, but they still kind of look droopy.” Here’s my answer: All of the trees you list as being wilted are ones that need a bit more moisture than many other landscape trees. They all are naturally found in lowlands or wetlands that have more water in the soil. Are the trees planted lower or higher than the surrounding areas? How good is the soil surrounding the transplanted root balls? The trees may grow well for a year or two, but if they can’t get their roots out into a much larger area, they will not do well long term. To see how well the trees have
done since they were planted, check the branches. The leaves on deciduous trees only grow on the current year’s new branch. This year’s new growth will not have any side branches, and it will be a different color than last year’s growth. Last year’s growth will also have a slightly different texture and side branches. You should be able to tell the difference between each year’s growth for several years back. Look to see whether the branches have been getting longer and stronger. On a long branch, you can count all the way back to the year the tree was dug up for transplant, and you will see
that the growth that year is much shorter than that of recent years. If the new growth is staying short, then the trees are not recovering from the transplant. The recovery time for the transplant should only be about a year for each inch of trunk diameter. Your trees should have been fully recovered a couple of years ago, and the length of new growth this year should have been at least a foot long. If the trees have been watered and fertilized, the problem is probably in the soil, but I think you should have a licensed arborist come out and look at your trees to give you a diagnosis.
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tify air leaks that can cause ice dams to pool on the roof, which, when they melt, can cause significant damage. ■■ Clean the gutters: If gutters are clogged, water can pour down the outside of your house and flood your basement or, at the very least, cause foundation damage. Many people prefer to have a professional gutter cleaning service remove leaves and debris, but with a ladder and leaf blower attachment, you can achieve the same result. Also check rainwater downspouts for obstructions, making sure they drain away from the house. ■■ Winterize your A/C: If you have window air-conditioning units, remove, vacuum, cover and store them in a dry place. If they’re not removable, secure a weatherproof cover on them to prevent drafts and air leaks. If you have central air, do the same to your outdoor unit. ■■ Winterize your windows: This is an opportunity to remove and clean screens, store them for spring, and install storm windows. Remember to check seals, also. ■■ Have your chimney swept: It’s recommended that a professional chimney sweep service removes any debris from your chimney, checks that your damper closes properly to avoid
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drafts, and cleans all vents to prevent any presence of potentially deadly carbon monoxide. Find a local, certified sweep through the Chimney Safety Institute of America. If you have oil, gas, coal or other wood-burning appliances, inspect those closely to be sure they’re clean and fully functioning. Similarly, if you have an emergency generator, now’s the time to test it. And stock up on some extra gasoline for your snowblower, too, storing away from children and fire sources. ■■ Check irrigation systems, sprinklers and faucets: Drain your irrigation system for the season and check for repairs. If you’re in a snowy climate, mark your sprinkler heads. Turn off outdoor faucets, and remove and store hoses. Hoses and pipes full of frozen water can burst. If you have a pool in a cold climate, close that up for the winter, too. ■■ Store summer furniture: If you clean, wash and store any cushions now, they’ll be fresh for next season and last much longer. Get your leaf blower and snowblowers ready: Check they’re in good working order now, because who wants to stand in a blowing gale or a frigid winter storm and have them stop working?! Pay attention up front before weather hits. You — and your home — will be happy you did.
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