Getting Your Ivanhoe Home Ready for Fall

Fall Comes Quickly in Northern Illinois

September can still feel like summer around Ivanhoe, but homeowners here know how quickly that changes.

A few mild weekends can suddenly turn into falling leaves, freezing overnight temperatures and the first reminder that winter isn't far behind.

That makes early fall a good time to tackle a few basic home-maintenance items before colder weather makes them more difficult.

1. Schedule Your Sprinkler Winterization Early

If your property has an irrigation system, don't wait until the first hard freeze to think about it.

Sprinkler companies become busy quickly as temperatures fall. Scheduling winterization early helps protect underground irrigation lines and components from freeze damage.

Our new Ivanhoe Vendors directory includes resident-shared service providers, including options for irrigation and landscaping.

2. Take a Look at Your Roof and Gutters

Ivanhoe's mature trees are one of the things that make the neighborhood beautiful — but they also mean plenty of leaves.

Before winter, homeowners may want to check:

• Gutters and downspouts

• Loose or damaged shingles

• Cedar shake condition where applicable

• Flashing around chimneys

• Areas where branches contact or hang over the roof

Clearing drainage paths before freezing temperatures arrive can help prevent avoidable problems later.

3. Give Your Trees a Quick Inspection

Fall is also a good time to look for dead branches, damaged limbs or trees that may present a problem during winter storms.

If something looks questionable, a professional arborist can determine whether trimming or removal is appropriate.

This becomes particularly important near homes, driveways and walkways.

4. Prepare Your Lawn for Next Spring

A good-looking lawn in spring often starts with what happens in fall.

Depending on your property and lawn program, fall may be the appropriate time for treatments such as fertilization, weed control, aeration or overseeding.

Residents have already begun sharing lawn and landscaping companies for the Community Vendors directory.

5. Test Smoke and Carbon-Monoxide Detectors

As furnaces and fireplaces begin running again, fall is an easy annual reminder to test smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors and replace batteries where necessary.

It takes only a few minutes and is one of the simplest home-safety checks to complete.

6. Know Where Your Important Numbers Are

We’ve expanded the Contact section of the Ivanhoe Estates website to include frequently used numbers for:

• Lake County Sheriff's Office

• Fire and EMS resources

• Ivanhoe gatehouses

• ComEd

• Nicor Gas

• Aqua

• Groot

• Xfinity / Comcast

• JULIE

• Fremont Township

• Fremont Township Highway Department

Instead of trying to find these numbers during an outage or emergency, residents can now use the website as a quick reference.

Have a Contractor Your Neighbors Should Know About?

We're also building the Ivanhoe Community Vendors directory from resident suggestions.

If you've had a good experience with a roofer, electrician, plumber, painter, handyman, snow-removal company, cleaning service or another home-service professional, we'd like to hear about them.

The HOA does not endorse or guarantee the companies in the directory — the goal is simply to answer one of the questions neighbors ask one another all the time:

“Who do you use?”

Send us your suggestions through the Contact page and we'll continue building the resource for the community.