SORRY to be the ones to break the summer mood (although the recent rain started it), but now is the time to start preparing your home for colder weather.

Here’s a quick autumn home checklist from the team at Armishaws.com.

Money boiler

Have you serviced your boiler recently? It can increase its life span and make it more efficient, reducing winter bills.

If you don’t want to pay for a service, you can check the pressure yourself, most boilers run best at around 1 to 1.5 bar.

Get on the fence

Don’t wait for that storm to tell you your fences (lying halfway down the street!) need securing. Check them for any weaknesses before they fly away.

Declutter the gutter

Give your gutters a quick clean now, rather than having to climb that ladder after the weather turns.

Lag it

Lag exterior pipes or taps to protect them against the winter chill, not forgetting those in loft spaces or outbuildings.

There’s nothing plumbers like more than fixing burst pipes in winter when they can charge premium rates to fix a potentially preventable issue.

While you’re at it, disconnect and drain hosepipes to prevent them splitting.

Chim-chim cheree

When was the last time you had the chimney cleaned? And have you tested the batteries in carbon monoxide and smoke detectors recently?

Greener flames

If you have a wood burner or open fire, autumn is a good time to research alternatives to burning wood, to reduce your carbon emissions. Many high-street stores and DIY shops now supply eco-friendly logs.

Radiator gladiator

Bleed them now. You get bonus points if you left the radiator key somewhere easy to find.

Great outdoors

Clean outdoor furniture. Make sure it’s fully dry before covering it and putting it in storage to prevent damp and mould.

Fight drafts

Draught excluders are a really cheap way to keep chills out. For windows there are plenty of easy to install window kits available from most DIY stores.

True grit

Get grit for your pathways now, well before winter arrives to ensure you have it to hand when things turn icy.

Veg out

If you really want to plan ahead, September is the month to plant things like garlic, onions, radishes, to ensure an early spring harvest.

Get more household tips and advice at Armishaws.com/blog