The fall season offers homeowners a chance to prepare for upcoming cold weather. It's also a great opportunity to increase your home's energy efficiency... Saving you money on your bills.
Angie Hicks of Angie's List explains, "Taking care of your furnace is the most important thing you can do in the wintertime. What we hear from heating and cooling contractors is that the most common reason for emergency calls is because the furnace wasn't properly maintained. Investing in a checkup this fall costs anywhere from $60 to $100 and is money well spent."
Weather-stripping your windows and doors can help keep you warm and save you some green. Hicks adds, "On the inside of your house, walk around and check windows and doors. An easy way to do that is to take a candle. If the flame flickers near the window, you'll need to provide some extra sealant on those windows."
Then do some fall-cleaning in your gutters.
Jim Keffer is a roofing contractor. He says, "The primary problem if you don't clean out your gutters is that the down spouts will clog; leaves and debris will get into the gutters. They will work their way over to the down-spouts and keep that from draining out of the gutters, which will cause the gutters themselves to overflow causing excess moisture around the perimeter of the house."
The fourth step is to get a roof inspection before the bad weather hits.
