Daylight Saving Ends: The Fall-Back Home Safety Checklist for Iowa

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, when the clocks fall back an hour. If you can spare part of that extra hour, it’s the best weekend of the year for a short home safety check: the house is about to be closed up for five months, the furnace is about to run every day, and the first hard freezes are here or close.

This list is for Des Moines-area homeowners who want to knock out the November basics in about an hour. Everything on it is DIY-safe, and by the end you’ll know what a pass looks like and which results mean it’s time to call.

Why tie a November home maintenance checklist to the clock change?

Because it’s the one date everyone remembers. Early November is also the hinge of the heating season here: furnaces go from occasional to constant, windows stay shut, outdoor plumbing is about to meet single-digit nights, and real snow is usually a few weeks out. A lot of the no-heat and frozen-pipe calls we take in January trace back to something a ten-minute November check would have caught.

What’s on the fall-back checklist?

Task	Time	What you need
Test smoke and CO alarms, check dates	10 min	Step stool
Change the furnace filter	5 min	Correct-size filter
Fix thermostat clock and schedule	10 min	Fresh batteries if it uses them
Test the sump pump	10 min	5-gallon bucket of water
Shut off and drain outdoor faucets	10 min	Flashlight
Check water heater temperature	10 min	Kitchen thermometer
Find and test the main water shutoff	5 min	Flashlight, a tag
Clear around furnace vent pipes outside	5 min	Gloves

How do I test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms?

Press and hold the test button on every alarm until it sounds. If they’re interconnected, one test should set off all of them, so walk the house and confirm each one actually sounds.

Then take one down and read the back. Smoke alarms should be replaced 10 years after the manufacture date printed on them. Carbon monoxide alarms wear out sooner on many models; depending on the brand they’re usually rated for 5 to 10 years, with the date on the label. An alarm that keeps chirping after a fresh battery is often telling you it has reached end of life.

The standard placement guidance is a CO alarm on every level, including the basement, and outside each sleeping area. Smoke alarms go on every level, outside sleeping areas and inside each bedroom. If a CO alarm ever goes off, get everyone out and call 911 from outside. Our carbon monoxide safety guide covers the furnace and water heater side of that.

Pro tip: Write the install date on each alarm in permanent marker where you can read it from the floor. Next fall you’ll know which ones are due without pulling them all down.

Which way does the furnace filter go?

The arrow on the frame shows airflow, so it points toward the furnace and away from the return duct. Write today’s date on the edge. A 1-inch filter usually needs changing every one to three months in heating season; a 4-inch media filter usually goes six to twelve. If you’re unsure what rating to buy, our furnace filter guide explains MERV numbers and why the most restrictive filter isn’t always right for an older blower.

How should I set the thermostat after the clocks change?

Check the clock on the thermostat itself. Wi-Fi models usually update on their own; older programmable ones often don’t, so your 6 a.m. warm-up is now running an hour off.

Then adjust for shorter days. With the sun down around 5 p.m. for most of November, moving the evening warm-up a little earlier is more comfortable than cranking the setpoint when you walk in. If the thermostat takes batteries, replace them now. Dead batteries are a surprisingly common “furnace won’t turn on” call, which is why our no-heat troubleshooting checklist starts there.

How do I test my sump pump before winter?

Lift the lid and slowly pour a 5-gallon bucket of water into the pit. The float should rise, the pump should kick on, empty the pit and shut off. If it hums without pumping, runs and won’t stop, or doesn’t start at all, it isn’t ready for spring thaw.

Then go outside and look at where the discharge line ends. It should be clear of leaves and pointed away from the foundation, because that outdoor end is where ice forms in January. The sump pump cost and testing guide has the full fall routine, including battery backups.

Are the outdoor faucets shut off yet?

If you didn’t get to it in October, don’t let it slide past this weekend. Disconnect every hose: a hose left on a frost-free sillcock traps water and can split the valve inside the wall, and you won’t know until April. If there’s an interior shutoff for the outdoor faucet, close it and open the outside faucet to drain the line. Step-by-step details are in our outdoor faucet winterizing post.

What temperature should the water heater be set to?

120°F is the standard recommendation: hot enough for showers and dishes, low enough to reduce scald risk, and easier on the tank. Gas dials often show “Hot,” letters or “Very Hot” instead of degrees, so measure. Run the hot tap closest to the heater for a minute or two, fill a cup and check it with a kitchen thermometer. Adjust in small steps and recheck a few hours later.

Electric water heaters have thermostats behind metal panels with live wiring underneath. Shut off the breaker before opening anything, or leave that one to our water heater team.

Pro tip: While you’re at the water heater, shine a flashlight at the floor around the base and at the open end of the T&P discharge pipe. A damp ring, rust trail or crusty drip there is an early warning worth a call before it turns into a leak.

Do you know where the main water shutoff is?

In most metro homes with a basement, it’s on the foundation wall near the water meter. In slab-on-grade homes, check the utility closet, near the water heater or the garage.

Once you find it, turn it off and back on. Old gate valves with round handles can seize after years untouched. If it won’t turn with firm hand pressure, don’t put a pipe wrench on it; forcing a corroded valve can snap the stem and leave you with a leak and no way to stop it. Get it replaced on a calm weekday, and hang a tag on it so nobody hunts in the dark.

Why clear around the vent pipes outside?

High-efficiency furnaces vent through white PVC pipes on the side of the house, and some water heaters do too. If drifting snow, wet leaves or a snowblower pile buries them, the furnace shuts itself down. Rake back leaves, trim shrubs and note where the pipes are before the first storm.

Pro tip: Push a tall garden stake or driveway marker into the ground beside the vent pipes. Whoever clears the snow will see it and put the pile somewhere else.

When should I call instead of doing it myself?

Everything above is homeowner work. Call us at (515) 494-5483 if a check turns up a sump pump that won’t start, a seized or weeping main shutoff, water around the water heater, or a furnace that lights, shuts off and restarts over and over. If you smell gas or a CO alarm sounds, get outside first and call 911 or the gas utility from there.

If the check turns up…	Typical fix	Planning range
Furnace not serviced in a year or more	Fall tune-up	$99–$150 (ours is $129)
Furnace not lighting or short cycling	Furnace repair	$150–$800
Sump pump fails the bucket test	Primary pump replacement	$400–$900
No backup in a pit that runs often	Battery backup pump added	$600–$1,200
Split or leaking outdoor faucet	Frost-free sillcock replacement	$250–$450
Dripping T&P or drain valve	Valve replacement	$150–$350

Planning ranges for the Des Moines metro in 2026; your written quote depends on the equipment, access and what we find on site.

If you’d rather hand off the furnace part of the list, our fall furnace service visit covers the filter, flame sensor, safety controls, draft and CO checks, and the condensate system on high-efficiency units, with a written quote before any repair work.