It’s still warm and cold weather is a few months away, but this is the best time prepare your home for winter.   First, it’s warm enough to enjoy being outdoors.  Second, busy service professionals may need to be scheduled weeks in advance.

Have your heating system checked.
Have your heating system cleaned and tuned by a qualified furnace service.  A pre-season tune-up is a good investment. It reduces the chances of breakdowns in the middle of winter, improves safety, and pays for itself through more energy efficient operation.

Check your furnace filter.
If it’s old and dusty, you should replace it. Furnace filters must be changed regularly to maintain the efficiency of your furnace and to prevent dust from spreading through your house.

Protect against carbon monoxide.
Any fuel burning appliance — gas, propane or oil furnace, gas water heater, gas range and oven, gas dryer, gas or kerosene space heater, fireplace, or wood stove — can put dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide into the air if they are not working properly.

You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, but at a high level in can kill a person in minutes. Because the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to food poisoning, viral infections or the flu, you may not realize that CO poisoning could be the cause. Even at moderate levels, carbon monoxide can cause headaches, tiredness, nausea, mental confusion, and shortness of breath.

A carbon monoxide detector can be purchased at any hardware store and should be placed in a hallway or sleeping area. If carbon monoxide is present in your home an alarm will sound.

Clean the gutters.
This not anyone’s favorite job, so it’s best to do when the weather is nice. Remove leaves, sticks, and other debris from gutters, so melting snow and ice can flow freely. This will prevent ice damming, a condition where water is unable to properly drain through the gutters and instead seeps into the house, causing water to drip from the ceiling and walls.

You may also consider installing “gutter guards.” Available in most hardware stores. Gutter guards are screens that prevent debris from entering the gutter and direct the flow of water away from the house and into the ground.

Trim trees and remove dead branches.
Ice, snow and wind could cause weak trees or branches to break and damage your home,  car, or pull down your electrical and internet wires.

Cover your air conditioning unit.
This appliance is often neglected when the “Cool” is switched to “Heat”.  Winter’s freezing and thawing can damage the unit’s fragile cooling fins, reducing its efficiency and life. Covers are sold in all hardware stores (Home Depot, Lowes, ACE, etc.) and easy to install.

Garden hoses and irrigation systems.
These are easily forgotten once they’re no loner being used. Remove hoses from the faucets and store for the winter.  Underground sprinkler system should be “blown out” so that no water remains in the system. There are services that can do this for you.