With fall right around the corner, you might want to start thinking about ways to prepare your home for cooler weather. While you’re busy taking your sweaters out of storage, however, you might be forgetting key factors to keeping your home safe with changing weather.

Here are three ways you can protect your home before fall.

Install a gutter guard

If you’re sick of fishing leaves and debris out of your gutters every fall, the best way to perform your gutter cleaning is by preventing the mess in the first place.

Gutter guards are designed to allow water to pass through their openings but deter any leaf litter from accumulating. You might have to rake your lawn a little more often, but it means your home won’t get damaged. It’s not commonly known, but clogged gutters are actually the primary cause of water problems in your basement or underground crawl space. To maximize your gutter capacity, pair your gutter guards with K style gutters. They’re designed to hold twice the capacity as half round gutter options. Try contacting a professional to install new gutters or update your current seamless gutters with gutter guards.

Fix your driveway

Between growing tree roots, cold weather, and water damage, autumn really takes a toll on your driveway. Take advantage of the warm weather now before you end up struggling to make repairs later. You should also angle your gutter downspouts in downhill directions and away from homes. These cracks and breaks in the concrete could make for dangerous conditions when the weather grows colder.

Inspect your roof

Regular gutter cleaning can help improve the longevity of your roof, but water and debris can damage your roof if left alone for too long. To ensure your roof is up to take on snow, wind, and sleet, it’s best to perform a roof inspection and get necessary repairs before it’s too late in the season.

These are just some of the necessary home fixes you should make before winter comes. When you need the best gutter cleaning services and installation, contact NW Rain Gutters to keep your home safe all year long.