Summer is waning and fall is almost here. In Colorado, you have to be prepared for any weather situation once the leaves start to change colors. For both the interior and exterior of your home, that means making adjustments to prepare for the weather and the cooling temperatures accompanying autumn. Since there’s really no way to be completely prepared for this unpredictable season, the best thing you can do is work on projects you know will help protect your home and your yard from potential damage this season.

To help keep your exterior and yard looking as good as it did all summer, start with these three tasks:

1.  Fertilize your Lawn

Lawn experts will tell you that fertilizing your grass in the fall will help protect it over the winter and allow it to flourish again in the spring. In the hottest and driest summer months, many grasses stop growing. Fertilizing your grass in the fall will help the roots spread out more underground and even grow a few new blades before the winter frosts and snows set in again. Who knows? You might even see your lawn growing again this fall if the weather’s right.

2.  Clean Your Gutters

No one likes cleaning gutters, but no one likes leaky rooves, fading paint jobs, and rotting wood, either. The only thing worse than cleaning gutters is trying to do it when it’s below freezing outside. Fall is when much of the debris that causes problems for the rest of the year in your gutters accumulate, with leaves and sticks and dirt blowing around and landing on your roof. Clogged gutters cause all kinds of problems because the debris channels water run-off where it’s not supposed to go. Water running down your exterior outside of your gutters can cause damage to the foundation, the walls themselves, and, of course, that brand-new paint job you just paid for this summer.

3.  Turn Off and Drain Your Outdoor Faucets and Sprinklers

Even in the deepest, darkest days of winter, the temperature can fluctuate greatly in Colorado, making your hoses and sprinklers more susceptible to bursting. Damage to hoses is one thing, with water expanding and contracting in it as temperatures change, but a burst faucet can cause serious problems to the exterior of your home. Chances are, if you’re not going anywhere this winter, your indoor pipes won’t burst in extremely cold weather, but your outdoor faucets are another matter. Fortunately, this is an easy fix. Before you shut them down for the fall or winter, disconnect your outdoor hoses, turn off the outdoor water supply, and open your faucets and run your sprinkler system until they run out of water. You can be sure you won’t have any excess water lurking in these lines when the temperature outside starts to flirt with freezing.

Conclusion

Prepare your home for as many types of weather as possible. Make sure your paint job not only looks good, but also seals off the surface of your exterior from the elements, which are on the way.