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Daylight Saving Time To-Do List
As you turn your clocks back, it’s also the perfect time to address some important home maintenance tasks.
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Autumn can be crazy, with back-to-school seeming to run right into the holiday season. It’s easy to neglect your home this time of year with so many activities cramming the calendar, but nevertheless, daylight saving time ends early November every year.
At a time when you set your clock back, let’s also check that your house is good to go for the seasons ahead with these timely reminders.
Seal windows
About 30 percent of a home's heating energy is lost through windows, so caulk windows or add weather-stripping and check for any drafts that can be sealed.* Closing up all those leaks and gaps will make the home warmer and your heating bill lower.
Open window curtains
Make sure you’ve got operable window coverings (shades, blinds, drapes, curtains or shutters) and open them up to let the sunlight in. One study found that 75 percent of residential window coverings remain in the same position all day, yet if you take the time to open them up and let the sunlight in, it can help naturally warm the house.** In cooler seasons, about 76 percent of that natural sunlight can turn into useful heat.*
Replace air filters
All those cozy nights by the wood-burning fireplace send smoke into the air along with fall’s other pollen and allergens. Swap in our Dual-Action Micro Allergen Plus 2X Dust Defense Filter to hold twice as much dust as other Filtrete filters.
Hire a chimney sweep
For those with a wood-burning fireplace, hire a pro to inspect and clean the entire fireplace to have more efficient fires and fresher air. This will give your HVAC air filters a break, too!
Change batteries
Before you get blasted by middle-of-the-night faulty alarms, take an hour to change out all the batteries in the smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and thermostat.
Adjust indoor air temperature
Ensure that your furnace is functioning properly with a professional inspection and set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature. Best bet is to program it for being lower during the hours you’re away or asleep, and then have it kick in to be warmer (around 68°F) the rest of the day. This can also lower heating bills by 10 percent.***
Sources:
* https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-efficient-window-attachments
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