Fall Maintenance for the Best Home Insurance in New Bedford
Hot summer days at the beach or vacationing at the lake are now behind us. As the Greater New Bedford area begins to cool and the kids get back to school, it’s time to start focusing on preparing your home for the fall and winter seasons. New England is known for our gorgeous autumn leaves, but for homeowners, this means a lot of yard work and cleanup. Get ahead of the game this year by installing gutter guard protection that will reduce the amount of time you spend up on a ladder pulling out soggy muck with your hands. Take time to get inspections on the features that you will rely on the most when the temperature drops and the weather gets bad. Your New Bedford insurance agent wants to remind you that sometimes the best Massachusetts home insurance is the work that you do each year to protect your home from potential damage. For a FREE quote on an MA homeowners insurance policy, contact an agent at Borden Insurance.
Eliminate Drafts to Improve Efficiency
One of the most simple DIY (do-it-yourself) projects is to spend an afternoon going around your home to check for any cracks in the foundation where the masonry meets the exterior of your home or where utilities, pipes, and wires enter the house. Caulk any cracks that you see to ensure that they are sealed up properly. Then check around all of your doors and windows to look for any gaps that might need to be caulked and sealed as well. These tiny little cracks allow cold weather to seep into your home and let heat escape, which causes your heater to work harder to maintain the proper temperature. When this happens near pipes and wires, water can also get in and result in freezing. Eventually, the water will melt, which can lead to mold and mildew. It is an endless cycle of damage for your Massachusetts home.
If you use storm windows, make sure to install them early in the season and store your screens and summer windows carefully in a shed or garage. Before you put them away, take time to repair screens and clean them carefully, spraying them with a protective coating that you can get at the local home improvement store for extra coverage. Apply weather stripping to windows and doors to reduce the chances of drafts causing an impact in your home and consider having your insulation inspected to ensure that it is still performing as it should.
Check Exterior Protective Layers
There are several layers of protection around your home that are designed to keep cold temperatures, water, snow, ice, and wind outdoors for the health of your home and everyone inside it. Your roof is the first layer of protection that should be checked. Consider signing up for seasonal services, which provide inspection in the spring after the snow and ice have melted away and again in the fall, before cold weather returns. If there are any missing or loose shingles, they should be repaired right away. If left unchecked and unrepaired, water could make its way into your roof, attic, and home, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage. Massachusetts home insurance is designed to protect you from natural disasters and situations, but it won’t protect you from neglect.
Speak with your New Bedford insurance agent for more information on the responsibilities of homeowners concerning their MA homeowners insurance policies. A neglected roof could result in all sorts of damage that might not be covered and water damage can result in dangerous levels of mold and mildew that could be very expensive to remove. Also check gutters, downspouts, and weather stripping around your home to make sure everything is clean and in good condition. Inspect the paint or siding around your home to ensure that those layers of protection are performing as they should and are not peeling, chipping, or falling away.
Heat Source Inspections & Maintenance
Every year you should have your heating system inspected and maintained by a licensed and experienced New England contractor. The needs of northeastern homeowners are much different than what is required in other states, so it is vital that you choose a contractor that has worked in the Greater New Bedford area for many years. If you also use a wood stove or fireplace to heat your home during the winter, make sure to have it inspected, cleaned, and tested before use each year as well. Glass doors on fireplaces and stoves should be cleaned and checked for cracks. Clogged chimneys are the cause of many fires each year, as well as result in an increase of dangerous vapors that can be lethal to humans and pets.
Test smoke and carbon dioxide detectors at this time and change the batteries – whether you think they need it or not. Switch ceiling fans to an upward draft to redistribute the warm air from the ceiling to the space below. This will help your HVAC system, heater, and other heat sources be more effective and efficient. If you have a window air conditioner, go ahead and remove it at this time. Clean it and properly store it so it will be ready for use again in the summer.
Get a FREE Quote for MA Homeowners Insurance
Take time to review your current policy with a New Bedford insurance agent at least once each year. If you are interested in getting a FREE quote for Massachusetts home insurance or if it’s been a while since you updated your home insurance in New Bedford, contact Borden Insurance by calling 508-999-3636. We have proudly served the Southcoast communities since 1909 and have earned a solid reputation for providing top-notch customer service and a wide range of options for MA homeowners insurance and other personal insurance policies.