Home Sweet Home #7: Winter Home Maintenance Tips from the HUI Maintenance Team

• Aerate The Soil: Aerating simply means making holes in the ground by removing plugs of soil. It’s the single most important task you can do to maintain a healthy lawn! This helps create extra pore space in the soil, allowing air, nutrients and water to enter.

  
  

• Rake Your Leaves: Don’t get us wrong, leaves are pretty but leaving them to decompose in your yard can prevent light and air from reaching the soil (two things your grass needs). Contrary to common belief, fallen leaves will not help insulate your yard during the winter months. If you don’t feel like raking and the leaf cover is sparce, you can use a lawn mower to break the leaves down into a lawn-health mulch.

  
  

• Clean Your Gutters: This is a chore best saved for late fall after the trees have lost their leaves. Check your gutters and give them a thorough cleaning. You can use an old plastic spatula makes a great tool for cleaning debris. Don’t forget to clean your downspouts too!

  
  

• Drain Garden Hoses: Freezing water splits a hose open, to prevent this drain garden hoses before putting them away for winter. Blast out the water with an air compressor or stretch them out on a sloped yard or driveway.

  
  

• Furnace Inspection: Having your furnace inspected and cleaned at least once a year is one of the best things you can do to extend the life if your furnace and ensure it is running safely and efficiently. Make sure to regularly change our air filters too!