Fall Home Maintenance in Michigan: What to Take Care of Before Winter
Fall in Michigan is one of those seasons that never seems to last long enough. One week you're opening the windows because it's 70 degrees, and a few weeks later you're scraping frost off the windshield.
It's also a good reminder that there are a handful of fall home maintenance jobs worth getting done before a Michigan winter sets in.
This isn't a "get your house ready to sell" checklist. It's just regular homeownership. A little work now can save you from a much bigger headache when it's 25 degrees outside.
Start Outside While the Weather Is Still Decent
Walk around the house and actually look at it. You'd be surprised how many little things you stop noticing when you see them every day.
Check the roof for anything that looks loose or damaged. Look at the siding and trim. Check around windows and doors for gaps. If you have exterior faucets, hoses or irrigation, now is the time to start thinking about winterizing them.
And clean the gutters.
Nobody likes doing it, but clogged gutters full of wet leaves become a much bigger problem once everything starts freezing. While you're at it, make sure the downspouts are actually carrying water away from the foundation instead of dumping it right next to the house.
Give the Furnace Some Attention Before You Actually Need It
Don't wait for the first freezing night to find out the furnace has an issue.
Change the filter if it needs it. Turn the heat on and let it run for a while. Listen for anything that sounds different than it did last year.
If your furnace hasn't been serviced in a while, fall is a pretty good time to have somebody look at it. It's a lot easier to schedule that call now than when everybody else's furnace decides to quit on the same cold weekend.
Check Your Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
This takes a few minutes and is easy to forget.
Test them. Replace batteries where needed. Check the dates on the units themselves, too.
Once furnaces, fireplaces and other fuel-burning appliances start getting used again, it's worth knowing your carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.
Take a Look at the Fireplace and Chimney
If you use a wood-burning fireplace, don't just assume it's ready because it worked last winter.
Creosote buildup, debris and even animals can create problems inside a chimney. If it's been a while since it was inspected or cleaned, get it checked before you start using it regularly.
Gas fireplaces deserve a look too. Make sure everything is operating correctly before the fireplace becomes part of the nightly routine again.
Find the Drafts Now
On a windy fall day, walk around the house and feel around your windows and exterior doors.
If you can feel cold air coming through now, you'll definitely feel it in January.
Sometimes the fix is nothing more than weatherstripping or caulk. It's relatively inexpensive, doesn't take much time and can make a noticeable difference in how comfortable the house feels.
Don't Forget the Garage
Michigan winters are hard on anything involving water.
Drain and disconnect garden hoses. Shut off exterior water supplies where applicable. Winterize sprinklers. Get your lawn equipment squared away before putting it up for the season.
And find the snow shovel.
Same goes for the ice melt and snowblower. It's better to know where everything is now than to discover where you buried it when six inches of snow is sitting in the driveway.
Look Around the Yard Before the Leaves Cover Everything
Fall leaves have a way of hiding problems until spring.
Look for dead limbs hanging over the house, garage or driveway. Trim back anything rubbing against the roof or siding. Clean up debris around the foundation and make sure water has somewhere to go when we get heavy fall rain or melting snow.
If you've got a lot of mature trees, paying attention now can prevent a pretty ugly surprise during a winter storm.
Shut Down the A/C the Right Way
You don't necessarily need to wrap your outdoor condenser in a giant tarp.
Clean leaves, grass and debris away from the unit and keep the area around it reasonably clear. Check the manufacturer's recommendations for your particular system before covering or winterizing it. Completely wrapping some units can trap moisture where you don't want it.
Once it's cleaned up, leave it alone until spring.
Take Five Minutes and Look for Water
Basement. Crawlspace. Under sinks. Around the water heater. Near the sump pump.
You're not necessarily looking for a disaster. You're looking for the little stain, slow drip or damp spot that could eventually turn into one.
If you have a sump pump, test it. If you've got a battery backup or secondary system, make sure that's working too.
Water has a funny way of finding the one place you really don't want it to go.
Know Where Your Shutoffs Are
Every homeowner should know where the main water shutoff is.
If a pipe ever freezes and breaks, that's not the moment you want to start searching the basement trying to figure out how to turn the water off.
The same goes for your electrical panel and gas shutoff.
It takes a few minutes to figure these things out now. When something goes wrong, those few minutes matter.
Michigan Homes Take a Beating
If you've lived in Michigan long enough, you know how quickly the weather can change. Freeze-thaw cycles, snow, ice, wind and moisture are hard on houses.
That's especially true with older homes and properties with wells, septic systems, mature trees, longer driveways or acreage—things we see plenty of throughout Livingston and Oakland counties.
You don't need to obsess over every little thing. Just pay attention to your house. Most of the time, it'll give you some warning before a small problem becomes an expensive one.
Fall Maintenance Doesn't Have to Become a Weekend-Long Project
Pick a decent afternoon, walk around the house and knock out what you can.
Some things you'll handle yourself. Some things might need a contractor. And some things you'll look at and realize they're completely fine.
That's really the point.
Owning a home comes with maintenance. Staying a little ahead of it is usually cheaper—and a lot less frustrating—than dealing with something after it breaks.
Enjoy the fall while we've got it. Winter will be here soon enough.
Michigan Fall Home Maintenance FAQ
When should I start preparing my Michigan home for winter?
Early fall is a good time to start. You don't have to do everything at once. The goal is to get exterior maintenance, plumbing and heating-system checks handled before we're consistently dealing with freezing temperatures.
Should I cover my outdoor air conditioner during a Michigan winter?
Check the manufacturer's recommendations for your specific unit. Keeping leaves and debris away from the condenser is important, but completely wrapping some units can trap moisture. Follow the instructions for your particular system rather than assuming it needs to be completely covered.
What should Michigan homeowners winterize outside?
Garden hoses, exterior faucets, irrigation systems and anything else that could hold water and be damaged when it freezes deserve attention. It's also a good time to put away or prepare seasonal lawn equipment.
How often should I have my furnace checked?
There isn't one maintenance schedule that applies to every heating system, so follow the manufacturer's recommendations for your equipment. If something sounds, smells or operates differently than normal, don't wait until the middle of winter to have it looked at.
What are some commonly forgotten fall maintenance items?
Testing the sump pump, checking carbon monoxide detectors, finding the main water shutoff, checking downspouts and looking for small leaks are easy ones to forget. None take very long, but they can matter when something goes wrong.
About Tom Spisz
I'm Tom Spisz, a Michigan REALTOR® with Full Circle Real Estate Group, serving buyers and homeowners throughout Southeast Michigan, including Livingston County, Brighton, South Lyon and the surrounding communities.
Real estate is obviously a big part of what I do, but homeownership doesn't start or stop at a closing table. I try to use this blog to share useful information about owning a home, our local communities and the things I've picked up working with properties throughout Michigan.
Backed by Purpose. Driven to Serve.