Transitioning your home from summer to fall

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – While we might not be into the consistent 60 and 50 degree temperature yet, there’s no doubt it will be here before we know it.

With cooler temperatures outside, that means warmer temperatures inside. But before you start using your furnace to heat up your home, it’s important to test it so you know it works.

“You know when you get down to those 50’s and higher 40’s, that’s a perfect day for a furnace test run is what I call it,” Blue Dot Sales Manager Brandon Barnette said. “Fire up that furnace, make sure it cycles a couple times, don’t just turn it on, feel heat and turn it right back off. Make sure it’s ready to go for the season, that way you can catch it before it’s too late.”

If it doesn’t, Barnette said now is the time to get it serviced. Because the longer you wait, the more you’ll find yourself waiting for an appointment.

“I see so many people wait until that first 30-degree day, they’re like ‘Oh, I need to get the furnace serviced and it’s too late’, and you end up waiting,” he said. “And if you’re stranded, that wait is uncomfortable.”

A furnace isn’t all that is used to heat up homes. For those who have a fireplace, it’s also time to get those along with your chimney checked, because you never know what could have happened since you last used it.

“Even if you haven’t burned it in a couple of years, and you had it cleaned a couple of years ago, you still have to be worried about birds getting in, caps deteriorating, tops or bricks deteriorating, making sure everything is sound and ready before that first fire,” Swims and Sweeps President Clayton Sherwood said.

While while the pools may be closed for parks and rec, some might still have them up at home.
So, if you’re still clinging onto summer, unfortunately, Sherwood says it’s nearly time to hang up the trunks.

“We usually like to close them in October to the first of November, is usually a prime time,” Sherwood said. “When the water temperature falls below fifty degrees, then that way algae tends to not grow as much, so that’s why close late, open early.”

Barnette told 27 News when it comes to heating your home, it’s important to be safe while doing so. You should make sure to test your carbon monoxide testers to make sure its exiting your home and not staying in.

For more local news, click here . Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts . Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.