Fall Is Coming — Are You Ready?

Fall in the Greater Edmonton Area is short. One week the patio furniture is still out; the next there is frost on the windshield and the furnace is running for the first time since spring. The jobs that get a house ready for winter are mostly small and mostly cheap — but several of them can only be done while it is still mild outside, and a few of them matter far more than they look. Here is the checklist we would work through on a fall weekend, in the order the weather forces on you: outside first, then the heating system, then the drafts, the air and the safety checks.

Outside First, While It’s Still Mild

Outdoor jobs get harder with every cold week, and some become impossible once things freeze. Do these first.

• Clean the eavestroughs and check the downspouts. EPCOR says eavestroughs should be checked and cleaned regularly, in spring and in fall, so water isn’t collecting near your foundation. Its test is simple: pour water in at the far end and look for leaks, sags, cracks and pooling. Make sure each downspout ends in an extension that carries water 1.5 to 2 metres away from the house, and prune back branches that drop leaves into the troughs. Troughs packed with leaves are also where the trouble in our ice dams article starts.
• Disconnect the hoses and shut off the outdoor taps. EPCOR’s frozen-pipe advice is to disconnect and turn off outdoor hose faucets, because a faucet that freezes can burst and cause water damage inside your home. An irrigation system needs winterizing too. There is more in our frozen pipes guide.
• Clear around the air conditioner. The outdoor unit has finished its season. Rake the leaves and garden debris away from it, and read our article on covering an air conditioner before you wrap it in anything.
• Check the vent hoods on your outside walls. The intake and exhaust hoods for your HRV and the dryer vent flap all need to breathe. CMHC says to remove leaves and other debris blocking the HRV’s outdoor hoods, and to clear snow and frost away from them through the winter. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services gives the same reminder for the dryer vent flap.

Get The Heating System Ready

Your furnace is about to go from sitting idle to working every day. A little attention before the first cold night pays off all winter.

• Put in a clean filter. Natural Resources Canada recommends cleaning or changing furnace filters every three months, because a dirty filter makes the furnace work harder. Starting the heating season with a fresh one is the easiest win on this list, and our MERV filter guide will help you pick one.
• Book the yearly service. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says heating equipment — and chimneys, if you have a fireplace or wood stove — should be cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional. Natural Resources Canada gives the same yearly advice for the furnace and for a heat or energy recovery ventilator.
• Clear the space around the furnace. Summer storage has a way of drifting toward the furnace room. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says to keep anything that can burn at least 1 metre (3 feet) away from heating equipment.
• Unblock the vents and returns. Natural Resources Canada says to keep return-air grilles and warm-air vents clean and free of obstructions, and to move furniture that is sitting on top of them.
• Expect a smell the first time. A burning-dust smell for the first while is usually normal. Our article on why a furnace smells like burning explains how long it should last, and the few smells that are not dust.

Seal Up The Drafts

Natural Resources Canada says windows and doors can be the cause of up to 25 per cent of a home’s total heat loss, and that sealing them with caulking and weatherstripping makes a home more energy-efficient and more comfortable. Its Keeping the Heat In guide goes further: air leakage control is the single most important retrofit activity, and should be considered first in any upgrade to your house.

Walk the house on a cold, windy day and feel for drafts around window frames, exterior doors, and wherever pipes and wires pass through an outside wall. Caulk the gaps that never move, and weatherstrip the doors and windows that open. It is inexpensive work, and you feel it every day until spring.

The biggest leak is often overhead. Warm air that escapes into the attic wastes heat, and when it reaches a cold roof it can melt snow into ice dams and attic rain. Look through the attic hatch: if you can see the tops of the ceiling joists, there isn’t much insulation up there. Our article on how much attic insulation Alberta code requires explains what the numbers mean.

Fresh Air And Humidity For Winter

With the windows shut until spring, what you breathe depends on the equipment that moves and conditions your air.

• Clean the HRV. If your home has a heat recovery ventilator, CMHC says to clean or replace its filters every two months and to clean the heat exchange core as your owner’s manual describes. Our HRV article explains what the unit actually does.
• Watch the humidity. ATCO Energy puts the sweet spot for most Alberta homes at 30 to 50 per cent relative humidity, and says staying closer to 30 to 35 per cent in winter helps prevent condensation on your windows. Water running down the glass means it is too high; static shocks, nosebleeds and cracking wood mean it is too dry. An inexpensive hygrometer takes the guesswork out, and our article on window condensation covers what the moisture is telling you.
• Give the dryer a clear run. The dryer works harder in winter, when nothing dries on the line. Clean the lint screen every load, and if a load has started taking two cycles, read our article on what that usually means.

Safety Checks As The Heat Comes On

• Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says to make sure both are working as you start heating again, to test them monthly and to put in new batteries at least once a year. Smoke alarms expire, too: they last 10 years, and then they need to be replaced.
• Know where your carbon monoxide alarm is. Health Canada says you cannot see, smell or taste carbon monoxide, that the most important place for an alarm is in the hallway outside sleeping areas, and to choose one certified for use in Canada.
• Use space heaters carefully. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says to plug a space heater directly into the wall, never into an extension cord, and to keep it 1 metre from anything that can burn.
• Never thaw a frozen pipe with a flame. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services warns against using a blow torch or any open flame, because the pipe can carry the heat into the wall and set it on fire.

Where Home Pros Fits — And Where It Doesn’t

Most of this list is do-it-yourself work, and it should be. The parts we do are the ones behind walls and up in the attic: furnace and duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, HRV cleaning alongside a furnace and duct cleaning, and blown-in attic insulation. An insulation visit starts with a free attic inspection, and a good share of those end with us telling you the attic is fine.

We don’t do eavestroughs, roofing or plumbing, and we don’t repair, install or replace HVAC equipment. If the yearly heating service turns up a problem, you will be calling a licensed HVAC contractor — not us. That is also why we have no reason to find a problem that isn’t there.

Quick Answers

Links open official government, utility and energy-provider sites in a new tab. Home Pros Group isn’t affiliated with these organizations.

This article is general home-maintenance information, not an inspection of your home. Electrical, gas and plumbing work must be done by a licensed professional. Guidance is summarized from EPCOR, Natural Resources Canada, CMHC, ATCO Energy, Health Canada and the City of Edmonton. Always follow your equipment manufacturer’s instructions.