October Maintenance | |
OCTOBER Just Do It! Air Conditioners Remove individual window units and store them in a dry place. Cover window units that can't be removed and the condensing unit of a central system. Programmable Thermostat Change the batteries in a programmable thermostat so it will not forget its program. Then reset the unit for your winter heating schedule. Yard Work Use outdoor power equipment to make leaves, twigs and branches useful organic material. There's a wide range of walk-behind cleanup machines and stationary chipper/shredders that can recycle grass, leaves, brush and branches into mulch, wood chips and other valuable natural resources for your yard and garden. Fill in bare spots of the lawn with a patch of sod or seed. Keep it watered and protected from foot traffic. Divide and replant perennials such as daylilies and peonies and trim off the top of the foliage. Be sure to plant them at the same depth and space them so they have room to grow. Plant spring flowering bulbs throughout the garden. Fertilize all the garden beds and cover with mulch to protect them during the winter. Cut the lawn for the last time and apply fertilizer. Winterize the gas-powered lawn mower, snow thrower and other outdoor equipment by draining out the old oil and than filling the crank case with new oil. Fill the gas tank with fresh gasoline and add gas stabilizer according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Chip away any dried on dirt or debris from the underside of the metal housing and clean the topside of the unit. If storing it inside, remove the spark plug and squirt an ounce of oil into the cylinder chamber through the spark plug hole. Then pull the starting rope to move the piston up and down and spread the oil. Then replace the spark plug. Lawn and Garden Tools Remove dirt and mud from garden tools. Use a wire brush or medium steel wool and oil to remove rust or worn paint from the metal parts. Apply a silicone spray or water-displacing lubricant such as WD-40 (R) to coat the exposed metal parts. Use a coarse file to sharpen the edges of digging tools like a trowel, weeder and shovels so they'll cut into the soil more easily. Position the tool in a vice so you can freely work the file back and forth on both sides of its edges. Outdoor Spigot Avoid having frozen pipes by draining the water out of the exterior spigot. A newer house may have a freeze-proof spigot but most older homes have a shut off valve located inside the house. To winterize the spigot, turn the water off at the inside valve and then open the outside spigot to allow the water to drain out of the pipe. Some inside valves have a drain plug. Remove it so the water will drain out, then replace the plug. written by Gene and Katie Hamilton copyright HouseNet Inc, 1996 |