September may not feel much like fall in Southern California.
The afternoons can still be hot, the air conditioner may still be running, and nobody is pulling out the winter coats anytime soon.
But this little stretch between summer and fall is actually a pretty good time to give your home some attention.
After months of heat, we’re heading toward shorter days, Santa Ana winds, cooler nights and, eventually, our first real rain. A few simple checks now can help prevent one of those wonderful homeowner moments later when you discover something isn’t working exactly when you need it most.
So before fall officially gets underway, here are five places worth a look.
Give your HVAC a little attention.
Your air conditioner has probably earned a vacation after another Southern California summer. This is a good time to change the filter and take a look at the system.
And while you’re at it, turn on the heater.
Yes, even if it’s 85 degrees outside.
You don’t need to heat the house. You simply want to know it works before that first cold morning when everyone else in town discovers theirs doesn’t.
Look up before the rain comes down.
We can go months without thinking about our roof or gutters because, well, nothing is falling out of the sky.
Then it rains.
Take a look for cracked or slipped roof tiles, damaged flashing, clogged gutters and anything else that might allow water to go somewhere it doesn’t belong.
And don’t forget the ground. Make sure water has a clear path away from the house rather than toward it.
Take a look at your trees and landscaping.
Fall also means we’re heading into Santa Ana wind season.
Look for dead branches, limbs hanging over the roof, vegetation growing against the house and dry material that has accumulated around the property.
That beautiful tree may look perfectly harmless on a calm September morning. Fifty-mile-an-hour winds can introduce you to an entirely different side of its personality.
Check the little openings.
Walk around the doors and windows and look at weather stripping, caulking and exterior seals.
These aren’t particularly exciting home improvements. Nobody has ever invited the neighbors over to admire their new weather stripping.
But small gaps can let in drafts, dust and water, and they’re usually much easier to deal with before they become bigger problems.
Test the things you hope you never need.
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors tend to quietly hang around until one of them starts chirping at 2:00 in the morning.
September is a good time to test them, replace batteries when needed and check the age of the units themselves.
As cooler weather eventually arrives and furnaces, fireplaces and space heaters come back into use, you’ll know those little devices are ready to do their job too.
And here’s one more thing I’d suggest.
Walk around your house like you don’t live there.
We stop seeing our own homes.
That cracked piece of trim has been there so long we don’t notice it anymore. The sprinkler that sprays against the house has become part of the scenery. The tree branch resting against the roof barely registers.
So walk out to the street.
Turn around.
And pretend you’ve never seen your house before.
Walk around the outside slowly. Look up. Look down. Look along the roofline, around the windows, at the landscaping and along the foundation.
What would you notice if this weren’t your house?
You might be surprised.
Most homes don’t need a giant fall overhaul. They simply need someone to pay attention to the little things before the little things have an opportunity to become expensive things.
September gives us a nice window to do exactly that.
Besides, spending an hour checking on your house on a pleasant September morning sounds considerably better than discovering a roof leak during the first rainstorm.
Your house will probably appreciate the attention.
And your wallet just might too.
In A Nutshell:
A little attention now can save a lot of aggravation later. Take a fresh look at your home this fall, because the little things are much easier to handle before they become the big things.