Autumn home maintenance checklist

HSE requires a gas safety check every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer in rented homes, and notes that an annual service is not the same thing as a safety check.

Finding a dead pump or a leaking valve in September is a booking; finding it in December is an emergency call-out.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service recommends sweeping by a certified sweep: quarterly for wood when in use, twice a year for bituminous coal or peat, and at least once a year for smokeless coals.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service advises testing alarms weekly with the test button, replacing batteries yearly and replacing each alarm every 10 years.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service advises a carbon monoxide detector in any room with a carbon-fuelled appliance, including boilers, open fires, heaters, stoves and flues.

Blocked gutters overflow down the wall through the wettest months, and UK damp guidance treats water getting in through defects outside as penetrating damp.

One loose tile in October becomes a wet bedroom ceiling after the first named storm.

The Met Office advises securing bins, plant pots and garden furniture, turning trampolines upside down or pegging them, and keeping shed doors locked.

UK damp guidance notes that homes which are insufficiently insulated and heated are more prone to moisture and condensation building up on cold external walls and windows.

The same guidance warns that a poorly ventilated home traps moisture, so seal the draughts and keep the deliberate ventilation working.

UK guidance describes condensation damp as moisture generated inside the home cooling and condensing on colder parts of the building — the first mould of the year usually appears there.

Unheated spaces are where a British freeze does its damage, and a burst there empties into the ceiling below.

GOV.UK advises planning how you will respond to a flood and knowing where the water stop tap, the gas shut-off valve and the mains switch are.

GOV.UK suggests measures such as flood doors or self-closing air bricks, non-return valves to stop flood water coming up the drains, moving sockets higher and laying tiles instead of carpets.

Mice and rats come indoors as the nights draw in, and a gap the width of a pencil is enough.