This weekend is always a bit of a bummer for anyone who loves long summer nights, because Sunday morning is the end of Daylight Saving Time. That means that it gets dark an hour earlier, which means that winter is on its way! You should change your clocks Saturday night (the switch officially happens at 2:00 AM in your time zone) though most of your devices—like your computers, smartphones, and many appliances—will update their time automatically.
The end of Daylight Saving Time is often used as a reminder to check or change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, to ensure they’re working in case of an emergency. Upgrading to a smart smoke detector like the Nest Protect can give you extra peace of mind, since the connected device will send an alert to your smartphone when its battery is getting low. Or, opt for a hard-wired model (with battery backup for operation during power outages) and stop worrying about dead batteries altogether.
While you’re checking your smoke detectors, we also suggest two other quick home-monitoring tips that will improve the quality of your life. First is to change the air filter in your furnace. It’s suggested that the filter be changed anywhere from twice a month to once every two months, depending on usage. Regardless of how often you do change the filter, this weekend is perfect for it because most of us likely forgot to do it at the end of last season, and we probably have not yet fired up the heat this season—though we will very soon. As a matter of fact, it’s not a bad idea to give your furnace a test run this weekend, just to make sure it’s working fine. You don’t want to find out the unit has malfunctioned when it’s freezing outside.
Our second suggestion is to change the water filter in your refrigerator or whole-home filtration system. The average household should change the filters every six months to ensure their water is still being filtered properly. Combining this task with the others mentioned will keep you from having to remember the last time your replaced the filter. Need help finding the proper filter for your fridge? Check out our Refrigerator Water Filter Finder, or give one of our appliance specialists a call at 888-225-5800.
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