In most of the country, November is about getting the house ready for the cold. Here in the East Valley, it is about getting the house ready for people.
The weather finally turns pleasant, seasonal residents come back, and for a lot of Gilbert and Chandler households the calendar fills with Thanksgiving dinners, visiting grandkids and relatives who have not seen the house since last year. For the first time in months, the oven runs for six hours straight, the gas fireplace gets switched on, the guest bathroom gets used every day, and the backyard is full of kids.
That is a very different load than the house carried all summer. The weeks before Thanksgiving are the time to make sure it can handle it — before the guests arrive and before every handyman in the Valley is booked through New Year's.
Why Check the House Before Thanksgiving Instead of After?
Because a full house is the worst possible moment to discover a problem, and November is the last easy month to fix one.
Systems that sat idle through the summer — the fireplace, the guest bath, the outdoor outlets, the oven's self-clean cycle — all come back into use at the same time, with more people relying on them. When something fails on Thanksgiving morning, the fix is expensive and the timing is terrible.
A walk through the checklist below takes an afternoon. Anything it turns up can still be handled before the holiday calendar closes in.
Is Your Gas Fireplace Ready for Its First Fire of the Season?
Probably, but it has been off since spring, so it deserves a look before guests gather around it.
Gas fireplaces and outdoor fire features are common in East Valley homes, and they are generally safe when they are maintained. Before the first use:
- Look at the glass front and the firebox. A cracked glass panel, soot on the glass, or a yellow, lazy, sooty flame is a reason to call a gas fireplace technician before you use it again.
- Know that the glass gets very hot. Visiting toddlers do not. A safety screen is worth considering if small children will be around.
- Trust your nose. A smell of gas that does not clear quickly means shut it off and call the gas utility or a qualified technician.
- Test your carbon monoxide alarms if the home has any gas appliance or an attached garage — and put fresh batteries in the smoke alarms, especially near the rooms where guests will sleep.
- Outdoor fire pits and propane heaters: check hoses and connections for cracks, and keep them well clear of patio covers, furniture and the house.
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, have it swept and inspected before you use it. Many sat unused for years here, and that is exactly when a chimney deserves a professional look.
Can Your Kitchen and Electrical System Handle a Full House?
Usually — but holiday cooking and decorating put more demand on circuits than any other week of the year.
- Test every GFCI outlet in the kitchen, bathrooms, garage and outside by pressing the test and reset buttons. If one will not trip or will not reset, have it replaced.
- Pay attention to warning signs. A breaker that trips repeatedly, an outlet or switch plate that feels warm, flickering lights when an appliance starts, or a faint burning smell are all reasons to call an electrician, not to swap in a bigger breaker.
- Go easy on extension cords. Do not run them under rugs or through doorways, and do not chain one power strip into another.
- Use outdoor-rated cords and lights outside, plugged into GFCI-protected outlets with weatherproof covers. Inspect last year's light strings for cracked insulation before they go back up on the roofline.
- If you use a ladder to hang lights, stay off tile roofs entirely. Tile cracks underfoot, and a cracked tile is how water finds the underlayment later.
Will the Plumbing Keep Up With Extra Guests?
It will if you wake up the parts of it that have been sitting unused.
- Run every fixture in the guest bathroom. Drains that are not used can lose the water in their trap, and that is what lets a sewer smell into the room. A minute of running water refills it.
- Check the guest toilet. Look for a running fill valve or a flapper that does not seal, and check the supply line and shutoff valve behind it for drips or corrosion.
- Look at the water heater. Check its age, look for rust or moisture at the base, and confirm the temperature setting. Many safety organizations recommend around 120°F to reduce scald risk, which matters with small children in the house.
- Be kind to the garbage disposal. Grease, potato peels and fibrous scraps are the classic holiday clog.
- Make sure someone besides you knows where the main water shutoff is. If a supply line lets go while you are out, a guest who can stop the water in thirty seconds saves the floors.
What About Visiting Kids and the Backyard Pool?
This is the single most important item on the list for East Valley homes.
A backyard pool that the household's own kids respect can be a real hazard for visiting children who do not know the yard. Before the holidays:
- Test the pool gate. It should close on its own from any open position and latch on its own every time. A gate that has to be pulled shut is not doing its job.
- Walk the barrier. Look for gaps, loose panels, climbable objects pushed against the fence, and patio furniture that gives a child a step up.
- Check the doors that open onto the pool area. Door alarms and latches should work, and nobody should prop a door open during the party.
- Assign an adult to watch the water whenever kids are outside, even when nobody plans to swim. November afternoons here are warm enough that someone always ends up in the pool.
Is It Worth Having the House Looked At Before the Holidays?
For many East Valley homeowners, yes — especially if you have not had anyone in the attic, on the roof or at the electrical panel since you bought the house.
A maintenance inspection is not a real estate transaction and nothing is being negotiated. It is a walkthrough of the roof, attic, structure, electrical, plumbing, water heater, HVAC and exterior, with a written record of what is fine, what to watch and what to handle before the house fills up.
If you would like to have the house looked at before your guests arrive, Leading Edge Plus Inspections works throughout Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Queen Creek and the East Valley. Call Kelly at (602) 581-5678, or use the contact form on this site, and we will find a morning that works before the holiday rush.
Watch: Before the Guests Arrive: A Holiday Home Safety Checklist for Gilbert Homes
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should Gilbert homeowners check the house before Thanksgiving?
Because systems that sat idle all summer — the gas fireplace, the guest bathroom, outdoor outlets and holiday lighting — all come back into use at once, with more people relying on them. A failure on a holiday is expensive and badly timed. Checking in early November leaves time to fix anything before trades book up for the holidays.
Is a gas fireplace safe to use after sitting unused all summer?
Usually, if it is maintained. Before the first use, look for cracked glass, soot, or a yellow, sooty flame, any of which is a reason to call a gas fireplace technician. A gas smell that does not clear means shut it off and call the gas utility or a qualified technician. Test carbon monoxide alarms and replace smoke alarm batteries, and consider a safety screen if small children will be around the hot glass.
Can a home's electrical system handle holiday cooking and decorations?
Usually, with care. Test every GFCI outlet, avoid running extension cords under rugs or chaining power strips, and use outdoor-rated cords and lights on GFCI-protected outlets with weatherproof covers. A breaker that trips repeatedly, a warm outlet or switch plate, flickering lights or a burning smell is a reason to call an electrician.
How do you get the plumbing ready for holiday guests?
Run every fixture in an unused guest bathroom to refill drain traps and stop sewer odors, check the toilet for a running fill valve and a dripping supply line, and look at the water heater's age, base and temperature setting — many safety organizations recommend around 120°F. Avoid putting grease and peels down the disposal, and make sure someone else knows where the main water shutoff is.
How do you make a backyard pool safe for visiting children in Arizona?
Test that the pool gate closes and latches on its own from any open position, walk the barrier for gaps and climbable objects, confirm door alarms and latches on doors to the pool area work, and assign an adult to watch the water whenever children are outside.