18 Fall Cleaning Tasks to Help You Transition Seasons

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Updated on December 15th, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

fall cleaning tasks
Image vis David Goehring/Flickr

Summer is officially over (*tear), which means it’s time to get your house in proper order for the fall. Whether you’re getting settled into a new school year or gearing up for cooler weather and the holidays, these 18 cleaning and maintenance tasks will help you get your house fall-ready in no time:

Outside:

  1. Perform preventative yard maintenance — rake up the leaves and aerate, fertilize and mow the lawn.
  2. Drain your hoses and sprinklers to keep them from freezing and compromising your plumbing during the winter. You may need to hire a lawn care professional to blow out your sprinkler system.
  3. Check your walkway for any cracks or potentially hazardous damage and repair as needed.
  4. Touch up the paint on your siding, decks and porches.
  5. Check and add or replace the caulk around your windows and doors.
  6. Wash your exterior windows.
  7. Check your gutters and downspouts for any potential leaks or damages. Clear gutters of any debris so they’re clean for the winter moisture ahead. Repair or replace as needed.
  8. Have a contractor check your chimney and fireplace for any damages. Repair as needed.
  9. Check your roof for any leaks, missing shingles/tiles and other damages in need of repair. Repair as needed (note: failure to repair immediately will likely result in more extensive, and more expensive, damage down the road).

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Inside:

  1. Thoroughly clean your home’s interior.
  2. Use a vacuum extension or duster to clean window treatments, windowsills, baseboards, light fixtures and ceiling fans.
  3. To remove dirt and debris from deep within your carpet, hire a professional carpet cleaning service to steam clean or shampoo your floor.
  4. Mop and sweep all of the floors in your home — the vacuum cleaner isn’t ideal for all of your flooring types (hardwood, tile, vinyl, linoleum, etc.).
  5. Scrub all of the surfaces in the bathroom and kitchen — appliances, bathtub, toilet, sink, etc.
  6. Deep clean your countertops to refresh them for the season. Reseal countertop materials as necessary.
  7. Perform preventative maintenance on your heating system to prevent a winter breakdown. If you think your system needs more extensive repairs, hire a heating professional.
  8. Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace batteries as necessary.
  9. Check closets, cabinets and your garage — and take any infrequently used items to the secondhand store or the landfill.

About Andrea Davis
Andrea Davis works for HomeAdvisor, which helps homeowners find the right home improvement professionals and now makes the process simple from start to finish for everyone using Mhelpdesk. Homeowners can use HomeAdvisor Reviews to see what past customers have to say about each professional, and can calculate average local and national costs for a variety of home projects using Cost Guides. Access to all information and features is free for homeowners.

Note: This is a guest post; the views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Redfin.

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