The seasons may come and go, but when it comes to heating system maintenance in New Jersey, you can never be too careful. The same can be said for your plumbing. Pipes can expand or contract depending on the season, so you want to make sure that your home is prepared for warm and cold weather. We’ve assembled a home maintenance checklist for your convenience, so that you’re ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at you, regardless of the time of year.

Plumbing Maintenance: Water may be the essence of life, but it can cause some serious damage inside and outside of your home if you’re not prepared. Routine plumbing maintenance should be done in the spring and the fall to prevent any problems from occurring during the rest of the year.

Spring:

• Check your gutters! Pile-ups of leaves and debris from winter storms can lead to leaks or mold.

• Check your sump pump! Make sure it’s in working order BEFORE the spring rains come. If you don’t have a back-up pump , now is a good time to purchase one.

• Check your hardware! Make sure you don’t have any leaks or drips coming from your faucets or toilets.

• Clean your drains! We know it’s gross, but a clogged drain can wreak some serious havoc. People tend to shed more hair in the spring than the fall, so one free and easy plumbing maintenance step you can take is removing excess hair from your drains.

Fall:

• Insulate your pipes! The last thing you want is for your pipes to freeze in the middle of winter, so make sure to wrap them up with insulation tape before the cold fronts come in.

• Turn off your water! Make sure that your outside faucet valve is off and your hoses are drained and disconnected. Build up can cause both the hose and your faucet to break.

• Clean those filters! Better to get them cleaned before the cold weather sets in. This way, you can avoid recirculating dirty air all season long.

Heating System Maintenance: Just because your heating system doesn’t run the whole year doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a TLC when the seasons change. The last thing you want is to be without hot water or heat during the frigid months.

Spring:

• Change those filters! Your heating system uses filters, too. It’s a good idea to replace them after a season of heavy use.

• Check your thermostat! A long, hot shower might sound nice in the winter, but in the warmer weather you’ll be uncomfortable. The ideal water heater temperature should be 120 degrees, but you might want to lower it during the warmer months.

• Tighten those connections! Make sure everything is supposed to be connected. Sometimes wires can become loose, so this type of heating system maintenance will ensure you’re ready to go for the next year.

Fall:

• Check your fuel connections! Even if you just tightened them in the spring, take another look: a loose or cracked gas/oil connection is not only inefficient – it’s dangerous, too.

• Check your controls! Make sure all of your controls are working in the best possible order.

• Run the heat on a warm day first! Make sure that everything is working BEFORE it gets chilly. It’s easier to get someone in for heating system maintenance before the season starts. And by running your heat for a short time, you’ll manage to dislodge any dust in your ducts, thus enabling you to air out the house in warm weather.

Septic Systems Maintenance

Whatever you do, don’t ignore your septic systems. Maintenance in New Jersey can get a bit pricey if you wait too long, so regular check-ups with a licensed operator is crucial. It might be to your benefit to wait until fall, in case you need a more extensive system wash, as the "aroma" might linger in warmer weather. But regardless of when you call, septic systems maintenance is a key component of getting homes ready for any season.