November 9, 2011 Vol. 90 No. 45
Now is the time to survey your home and prepare it for winter.
Easier Home Maintenance this Fall Six tips for preventing winter damage and saving money By Amy Levner, Manager, Housing and Mobility Options, AARP Education & Outreach
IN this Issue
Want to be sure your home will be able to withstand winter's bluster? Using these simple, labor-saving maintenance tips, you can spend more time enjoying fall's splendor and less time on chores. 1. Stop air leaks cold. The federal government's Energy Star program cites air leaks as a primary cause of heat loss, which can cost you up to 10 percent of your annual heating bill. Top-quality, exterior-grade caulk should solve the problem for years to come! Choose an acrylic latex caulk (approximately $5 for a 10-ounce tube.) It's formulated for windows and doors and has a 30-year guarantee. To ensure good adhesion, seal cracks and gaps on a warm day. 2. Guard your gutters. In the fall, cleaning gutters is a must to prevent clogs, backups, and winter ice dams. But keeping gutters free of debris is a tricky proposition: just when you've removed the last of the gunk, winds inevitably deposit a new batch of leaves in your freshly cleaned gutters. You can avoid this task by installing gutter guards, which screens out leaves, twigs, and seeds, while letting water flow into the gutter and out the downspout. The price can be a drawback, however, as professionally installed guards can cost up to $30 per running foot. Fortunately, some of the most effective types of gutter guards are relatively inexpensive. Do-it-yourself versions are readily available at home improvement centers for $1 to $5 per foot. You can install them in half a day, saving yourself hours of ladder time down the road. You could even buy the guards yourself and have a pro install them for $300 to $500, which are still thousands of dolAround Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5 School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
lars cheaper than purchasing the brands provided by dealer-installers. 3. Paint outside surfaces. Extend the time between major exterior repainting projects by touching up any painted surfaces that have cracks, chips, or blisters. Clean the area thoroughly and sand lightly. Apply top-quality exterior paint to keep your siding and trim looking new. When repainting your house, spend a little extra on high-quality paints, which last years longer than bargain-priced paints, saving you time and money in the long run. 4. Repair the trim. Replace cracked and rotted wood trim with synthetic trim that's virtually impervious to moisture and insects. Made from plastics and wood fibers, today's synthetics come in an array of sizes, shapes and textures, and they are readily available at many home improvement centers. They come either primed or pre-painted, and they are easy to work with and install. 5. Let in the light. Sparkling clean windows let in lots of light and help chase away winter's doldrums. Zip through this essential fall Learn & Play/Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Joe Morice/Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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cleaning task using a homemade cleaner made from two parts environmentally friendly ammonia and one-part warm water. 6. Do an ounce of prevention. Disconnect hoses before the first frost
to prevent outdoor spigots from freezing and cracking, which can cause major leaks and require hours of time to repair. While you're at it, be sure to drain your garden irrigation system to avoid leaks and busted sprinkler heads in the spring.
Movie Talk
See Movie page 9
Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in Universal Pictures' Tower Heist - 2011
Shelly Schnieder/Recipe . . . . . . . . . 11 What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13
P: 636-379-1775 • FX: 636-379-1632
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