What the house needs in November, south of the equator
13 jobs, in five groups.
November is early summer and the last comfortable month for the outside work before the real heat. Clean the decking and oil it again, giving it two or three days to dry between the two, and clean the barbecue and look properly at the gas hose and the regulator. Go up into the roof space and look for a wasp nest while it is small and quiet. Finish the outside paintwork in settled weather. Indoors, the summer preparation carries on: insect screens, fans, fridge seals, air conditioner filters. Check the tank lid and the overflow in the roof while you are up there. Keep the bins washed out now that the weather makes it matter, and run the irrigation once more before the dry weeks. November is the start of the rainy season proper on the Highveld and of the dry, windy summer in the Western Cape, where the south easter can blow for days at a time. Garden furniture and anything light outside want tying down or bringing in there.
Safety
- Test every smoke alarm
- Every month. See January for how.
- Look in the roof space for a wasp nest
- Early in the summer, in November or December, while any nest is still small. A nest found in December is a small job, and one found in March is not.
Water and heating
- Wash the air conditioner filters
- Wash them in October or November, before the summer heat, and again in January if the unit runs every day. A clogged filter makes the machine work harder for the same cool air.
- Check the tank lid and the overflow
- In November, before the summer storms in the summer rainfall regions: lid secure, overflow clear, nothing growing inside. In the Western Cape the tank fills through the winter, so look at it again in April.
Inside
- Wash and put away the winter bedding
- In October or November, once the nights have warmed, wash the winter duvets and blankets before they go away, then store them dry with the cupboard door left open a little.
- Fit the insect screens and check the mesh
- In October or November, before the windows stay open for summer. A hole the size of a fingertip is enough to let mosquitoes in all season.
- Check the fridge and freezer door seals
- Before the heat of summer, close a sheet of paper in the door. If it slides out easily the seal has gone, and the fridge will work harder all summer.
- Clean and check the ceiling fans
- In October or November, before the fans run every day. Dust on the blades throws them out of balance, and a fan that wobbles usually has a loose fixing.
Outside
- Touch up the outside paintwork
- Pick a settled spell of dry weather in early summer. In the Western Cape that is most of the summer; in the summer rainfall regions, go before the afternoon storms usually set in, and give the paint time to cure.
- Wash the bins out
- Through the hot months from November to February, when a bin smells within days and dries in an hour in the sun. A rinse with a little disinfectant is all it needs.
- Clean the barbecue and check the gas hose
- Before the first braai of the summer: clean the grid and the burners, and check the gas hose and the regulator for cracks and corrosion.
- Clean the decking and oil it again
- Wash it, let it dry for two or three days, then oil it, ideally before the fierce sun of midsummer. Bare decking greys and splinters in the sun, and neither can be put right afterwards.
The garden edge
- Check the irrigation timer and the sprinklers
- Before the dry months, run each zone and watch where the water lands. In the Western Cape that means spring, ahead of the dry summer; where the summer brings the rain, check the timer again before the dry winter.
Tick them off as you go
This page is the plain list for November. The same list is tickable on the house through the year, where the ticks are kept on your own device and cleared at the start of each year. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The garden half of the month is on the almanac page for November, which covers what to sow, what to plant out and what is ready to pick.