Everyone knows fall is a great time to start preparing your house for the colder months. Winter is, sadly, right around the corner, and fall gives you the perfect opportunity to start preparing for the onset of lower temperatures and higher heating bills before the snow starts to fall. There’s plenty of information out there about what you can do to keep your house warm without breaking the bank, but here’s a few lesser-known tips that can come in handy to ready your home for fall!
Cleaning and Dusting You hear a lot about spring cleaning, but fall cleaning may actually be a more important project. After all of the indoor/outdoor traffic and activities of the summer, your floors and upholstery may need a deep cleaning. Otherwise, once you close up for the winter, you'll be trapping that unseen dust and dirt inside your home which could increase the amount of allergens and cold or flu germs in your home. Take a weekend, or more if necessary, and do an in-depth dusting, vacuuming and general cleaning of your home. Don't forget to change your furnace and air-conditioning filters now and throughout the winter season to ensure the furnace runs effectively, and the air conditioning too - at least, when you need it!
Purify the Air When your home is closed up during the winter months, poor air quality can lead to sickness. An air purifier can be a great investment for your family's health. By removing allergens and pollutants from the air, your family may stay healthier throughout the winter when everyone is cooped up inside more often. An air purifier is a big help to people who suffer from asthma or allergies and to anyone who is sensitive to pollutants and odors.
Check Your Ceiling Fan Sure, everyone knows a ceiling fan is handy for circulating air and keeping your home cool, but you can also use it to keep your house warm when the heather is on. Reversing your ceiling fan to push air down instead of drawing air to it will prevent the hot air from rising to the top of the room. Not only can this keep the room feeling more comfortable, but it can lower your heating bills by preventing your heater from working too hard.
Get Some Plants You can easily find a list of air-purifying house plants online. Fall would be a good time to purchase some of these plants as they thrive better indoors during this time of year. Not only will they make your home more attractive, they can actually help keep you family healthier. If you have a sunny window, you can include aromatic herbs in your kitchen to help clean the air. If your interior space doesn't receive enough sunlight for herbs to thrive, you could use essential oils or an aromatherapy diffuser to help clean and purify the air inside of your home.
