Home Maintenance Must-Dos for November

November is fondly known as the "transitional month", the time of year when people get ready for the coming winter, and last-minute touch-ups at home are taken care of before the snow comes. So, before the all-white season comes in, here's a list of to-dos for this month that can help you prepare for the cold winter months!

1. Weatherproofing Work - you have to locate and seal cracks and spaces that would let the heat out and the cold air in. Taking care of this task will minimize your energy expenses, translating almost to 5-30% in savings (according to the U.S. Department of Energy). You can do this yourself by turning off all lights at night, and have someone observe each door and window as you illuminate its borders from the inside. This works well for large cracks. Professional work, on the other hand, is more efficient at taking care of both large and small cracks. Painters and handymen can both do the job.

2. Preventive Maintenance on Fire Alarms - at a time when fireplaces are most active, you would want to have your fire alarms ready. Dead batteries in fire alarms cause almost 24% of all alarm failures. Have your batteries replaced and your fire alarm systems tested at least twice a year.

3. HVAC System Servicing - the best time to have your air conditioning checked and fixed is BEFORE winter comes, so now's a good time to do the dirty work. HVAC grilles need cleaning (you can easily run them through the dishwasher, minus your dinner plates). You can also dust heating returns and change your filters every three months. Got no time (and energy)? An HVA expert can do the job for you at $60-85/hour.

4. Prep up the Yard - dead leaves will cause problems on your lawn, especially when they freeze under all the ice. The best way to handle them is to mulch them in place with your lawn mower and let them decompose and nourish your lawn all winer. Professional maintenance services can charge around $50 to remove the foliage; to get your money's worth in services, ask them to aerate and reseed your lawn so the greenery will come back faster in spring.

5. Clean Your Patio Furniture - it's sorely tempting to just throw in the patio furniture indoors and worry about cleaning them next spring, but waiting that long would make the dirt and grime stick to your furniture, making it difficult to clean. Clean the furniture BEFORE storing them for winter. A power washer can easily do the trick.

Winter is coming (forgive us, GoT fans)... do you need more advice on how to prep up for the cold season? You may access the original article from which this post was based here.