How To Prepare Your Home For Autumn
At Higos, we understand exactly what your home means to you. We also understand the importance of maintaining your home all year round. So as the darker nights draw in and we head into autumn with colder and wetter weather, what home maintenance should you undertake to avoid the issues that often arise for homeowners? Our seasonal to do list – covering everything from assessing for damage to reviewing your home and contents insurance – will keep you on top of the most common problems for your home before winter.
Autumn Home Maintenance Tips
We’ve put together an autumn home maintenance checklist so you can keep on top of things over the season. Whether for your main home, a second home, or a holiday home, you should undertake this protective measures. These can include:
- Prep gardens: Preparing your garden by cutting the grass and raking leaves helps to prevent pests and diseases. It also ensures your garden is neat and ready for the colder months.
- Bleed radiators: Bleeding your radiators can improve the efficiency of your heating system by removing trapped air, ensuring they heat up properly.
- Chimney swept: Having your chimney swept is essential for ensuring efficient airflow, especially before using your fireplace in the colder months.
- Test smoke alarms: Regularly testing smoke alarms is vital for safety, ensuring they’re operational and can alert you early in case of a fire.
- Check insulation: Checking and upgrading insulation can help in maintaining a consistent indoor temperature and reducing heating costs.
- Check security lights: Checking your security lights are functioning properly is important for safety and security during the longer, darker nights.
- Service boiler: Regular boiler servicing can prevent breakdowns, ensuring your heating system is reliable and efficient.
- Check boiler pressure: Monitoring boiler pressure is equally important for the system’s efficiency.
- Check for any water leaks: Identifying and fixing water leaks early can prevent water damage and save on any costly claims on your home and contents insurance.
- Check pipes for blockages: Clearing blockages in pipes prevents water backup and potential damage, ensuring smooth water flow.
- Seal window and wall cracks: Sealing cracks prevents drafts and potential heat loss.
- Clean mould prone areas: Regularly cleaning areas prone to mould helps in maintaining healthy air quality and prevents long-term damage.
- Check roof for missing or loose tiles: Inspecting the roof for damage and repairing it promptly can prevent water leaks and further structural damage.
- Check driveways for cracks: Repairing any cracks in driveways helps protect them from worsening over winter due to freezing and thawing in colder weather.
- Check exterior pipes are securely fastened in place to the wall: Ensuring pipes are securely attached will limit damage from heavy winds or storms.
- Clean drains and clear gutters from any debris and leaf build ups: This prevents water overflow and damage, ensuring proper drainage.
- Repair leaking gutters and down pipes so the water drains properly: This can otherwise cause damage to walkways and property foundations, leading to expensive repairs or claims on home insurance.
Security Home Maintenance Tips
As with our autumn home maintenance checklist above, there are also a number of steps you should take to ensure the security of your property. These include:
- Lock ladders away: Ensuring ladders are locked away prevents potential burglars using them to access higher floors, improving the security of your home.
- Use timed lighting: These give the appearance of someone being home, which can deter burgulars whilst you are away.
- Check all door and window locks: Regularly checking and maintaining locks is essential for stopping anyone from breaking in.
- Hide keys: Keeping keys hidden and out of reach prevents potential burglars from easily accessing them.
- Lock side and back gates: Bolting or padlocking gates adds an additional layer of security, limiting access to your property from less visible areas.
- Fit a good quality lock on any outbuildings: Installing robust locks on any sheds, garages, or other outbuildings protects any valuable items stored inside.
Review Your Home and Contents Insurance: While preparing your home for autumn its important that you also review your home insurance policy. This will ensure you can ensure you’re covered for the most common autumn claims, such as storm, flood, and other weather-related damages. This also helps in understanding any limitations or exclusions, allowing you to adjust coverage as necessary for comprehensive protection.
Similarly, you should also take this opportunity to update your policy to reflect any recent home improvements or changes in property value. If your home is above a certain value, you may be better off with high value home insurance.
Bespoke Higos Home & Contents Insurance
At Higos, there’s nothing we love more than finding you the right home and contents insurance so you can be confident you're thoroughly protected. That’s why we’ve built an expert home and contents insurance team, providing specialist insurance cover that's tailored specifically to you.
And if the unexpected should happen, we have an in-house claims team ready to provide a prompt and personal service.
If you’re interested in speaking to a chartered insurance broker for advice or you would like a quotation for contents insurance get in contact . Alternatively fill out our online request a call-back form and a member from our specialist home insurance team will call you back.