Fall is here, and in much of the country, you can tell just by looking at the leaves on the trees. While those leaves are gorgeous, they can also cause problems for the roof and gutter systems of your church building. In our post, Fall Church Building Maintenance Checklist, we covered some important maintenance needs including roofs and gutters. Here are some more items to add to the list as you get your church building ready for fall, and yes, the winter months that follow it.

Dust both supply and return air grilles. Last time we talked about HVAC filters, but we didn’t discuss grilles. Dusty vents decrease efficiency, which leads to higher church building energy costs. They can also reduce your furnace or HVAC system’s lifecycle.

Get the freon level checked in your HVAC system. The freon level should remain constant, so if it’s low, there may be a leak. By having freon levels checked in the fall, there’s plenty of time to address any problems before you need to turn on the air conditioning again in the spring.

Watch for window condensation. If the windows in your church building are fogging up, your HVAC humidity setting could need adjustment.

Check plumbing fixtures. While church goers might bring clogs to your attention right away, they don’t tend to bother when it’s just a slow drain. However, slow drains can lead to clogs—which can especially be a problem when the holidays arrive and both restroom and kitchen usage spikes. By tending to your drains now, you prevent future aggravation.

Protect outdoor plumbing from freezing weather. As the weather gets colder, you should disconnect hoses from hose bibs when they’re no longer needed. Cover hose bibs for the winter. Insulate any exposed pipes—to prevent freezing, including in the attic or crawl spaces of your church building.

Replace burned-out bulbs in light fixtures. Fall and winter bring more hours of darkness, meaning that light fixtures will get more use, especially outdoors. When possible, retrofit with replacement LED bulbs, which are much more efficient. If you need to rent a lift or other special equipment to replace some bulbs, consider replacing all of them at the same time, to reduce future rental costs.

Test all smoke alarms and any carbon monoxide detectors. Replace batteries, including battery backups for hardwired devices. Remember that some smoke alarms could be located inside your duct work. For hard-to-reach places, plan this church maintenance at the same time as your various light bulb replacements.

Check the dates on all fire extinguishers. Replace or recharge any expired fire extinguishers.

Check all exit signs. Are those signs still shining brightly? If you have an older church building, this might be a good time to review all signage and egress lighting. Is it time to upgrade any fixtures or lighting? Pay special attention to long, winding, and/or dead-end corridors.

Check your first aid kits. What’s been used and needs replacing? Which items have expired? If your first aid kits are older, check online to see what newer kits include and consider expanding or upgrading your older boxes.

Now that you’ve expanded your Fall Church Maintenance Checklist with these items, we have one more suggestion for your to-do list. Our final free i3 webinar for 2018 will take place on Thursday, October 18. The topic is “Principles for a Successful Church Building Project” and we suggest you register today. We are working on our 2019 lineup of free webinars now, so watch this space for our announcement.