As we move deep into fall, now is a good time to make sure you're keeping up with key home maintenance items that can help your home run smoothly, efficiently and safely -- things that may have been neglected during the summer months in favor of afternoons by the pool.

These tips come to us via Elizabeth Dodson, co-founder of HomeZada, a cloud-based home improvement and organizational software tool.

Clean out your clothes dryer vents

Your dryer has a duct connected to the back of it that typically vents up vertically through the roof. This duct gets lint stuck inside that builds up over time. The lint is flammable and can cause house fires (32 percent of dryer fires are caused by a failure to clean, according to the National Fire Protection Association). Removing the lint from your dryer vent will also create an efficient working dryer as air can move more freely through the duct and vents.

Clean out your gutters to avoid trouble later

With snow and heavy fall rain on their way, you will want to clear your gutters so runoff will move through the gutters seamlessly, rather than overflowing and potentially damaging parts of your house or landscape. Clogged gutters can cause water leaks under the eaves and down the exterior walls, which can lead to mold. Water in gutters can also freeze and cause ice dams, which can also cause overall damage to your gutters.

Flush or drain your hot water heater

Flushing your hot water heater is necessary to remove sediment from the tray. If this sediment builds up, the hot water heater will not be functioning and a cold shower will prevail as the weather gets chillier. Additionally, flushing a hot water heater reduces the risk of causing damage to the tank and piping of the hot water heater. Your hot water heater will last longer if proper care is done annually.

Clean or check your fireplaces

Making sure your fireplaces are ready for winter is a safe tip, but also an efficient tip. Using gas or a standard fireplace or wood stove creates heat efficiently throughout your home. If you have a standard fireplace, make sure you get a professional to sweep and clean the chimney as the soot could be flammable. Also, test to make sure your damper is working properly. If your damper gets stuck, you risk smoke being trapped in your fireplace and then making its way into your home causing other damage to your house and health.

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Get your home ready for winter

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It is that time of year again: time to start heating the house. Many of us hold out as long as possible, but the old put on a sweater or grab a blanket routine will only last a few more weeks at most! Our lovely fall weather cant last forever.

Many people, especially homeowners living in older homes with outdated heating systems or poor insulation, find there is something to be desired when the heat kicks on.

Inefficient heating systems struggle on two levels. First, they dont do a very good job keeping the house steadily warm and second, they cost more to run. A forced-air furnace or a boiler can be replaced without remodeling your home. However, during a major remodeling project, the mechanical equipment can be relocated as well as replaced, and the ductwork can also be reconfigured to add more ceiling height to some areas.

If you are adding square footage during a remodel, this will change the requirements of the heating system. Heating systems are designed based on the size of the house. A loose rule of thumb is that one forced-air furnace generally handles about 2,000 square feet. If you are expanding beyond that, a second unit may be required.

One of the most important parts of the heating system in a house actually has nothing to do with the mechanical heating unit. It's the insulation found in the home.

In a new home, insulation is added in the walls, attic/roof, under concrete slabs and in crawl spaces. Older homes were built with far less (or no) thought as to how to insulate these areas, so part of every remodeling project should be to update the overall energy efficiency of your home as much as possible.

Insulation is rated in R-values. R-value is the measurement that tells you how well your insulation will resist heat flow or heat transfer. The higher the R-value, the better the efficiency. The governments energy conservation recommendations for R-values depends on climate and varies by ZIP code.

For most of Utah, the ceiling is recommended to have an R-value of 38, the mass wall R-value should be 19 and the floor R-value should be 30. Washington County, with its warmer climate, requires less insulation, with a required ceiling R-value of 30, mass wall R-value of 8 and floor R-value of 19. Up north in the Cache County, the numbers are slightly higher to combat the colder winters, with the recommended ceiling R-value of 49, mass wall R-value of 19 and floor R-value of 30.

Adding insulation to an existing house can be a do-it-yourself project for the ambitious homeowner or you can hire a professional insulation contractor. Either way, the first step is determining the extent of the existing insulation not an easy proposition. If you have a brick home built before about 1950, there is essentially no insulation in your walls. Houses from the 1950s and '60s have minimal insulation. In the 1970s, efficiency became more important, though the technology of insulation has obviously improved over the last 40-some years.

Adding insulation to the older masonry home has to be done by adding rigid insulation to the exterior and resurfacing the house with another exterior material, such as stucco or cement fiber board; on the interior, you essentially need to build an new stud wall, add insulation and add new gypsum board (sheet rock).

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Helenans dont just like to admire art, they like to make it.

The second annual This is Helena multimedia, community art show has drawn more than 100 entries -- from 20-year-old emerging artists to veteran artists in their 70s.

The opening reception is from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at The Studio Art Center, 650 Logan St., with music by John Dendy and Greg Hayes.

The art show is the brainstorm of Emily Free Wilson and her husband, Matt Wilson, and they were just putting the finishing touches on it Friday morning.

The front gallery space of their new Studio Art Center was bursting with all sorts of colorful and fun sculptures, paintings, pastels and more.

Its been a really great reminder to me of how important art is in our lives, said Emily. Artists have been coming through the front door to drop off their work and sharing stories of how important art is in their life.

Im really happy; were at 100 or 101 pieces, she said.

Its a great opportunity for new artists, or ones new to Helena to show their work, she said. But well-established artists like Richard and Penny Swanson and Robert Harrison wanted to be part of it, too.

One fun example by one of Helenas newer artists is Adam Riggs Sheep Go to Heaven, Goats Go to Hell. His painting, an oversized and ornate playing card, shows a well-dressed and imperial-looking mountain sheep at the top of the card and an equally imperial mountain goat at the bottom -- until you spin the card.

Adam works at a taxidermy on the edge of town, she said. Between his job and his kids, he doesnt have much time to paint.

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Multimedia art show This is Helena opens Saturday