7 Home Maintenance Items To Add To Your Spring Cleaning Checklist

Through no fault of our own, homeowners are confined to their homes with not much to do but take care of them. Since it’s spring, it makes sense to do spring cleaning and home maintenance. This not only prevents maintenance disasters but increases the value of your home.

Many homeowners haven’t an idea what to maintain aside from new paint and cleaning the gutters. We’ve put together a list of seven spring home maintenance tasks for you to consider.

1. Schedule a Pest Control Checkup

The trouble with pests is that once they get in your home, they don’t leave. With the warmer weather of spring leading into summer, pests have warmth, moisture, and food on which to live. Why would they leave?

Pest control companies locate entry points in your foundation, siding, windows, and doors. You can move to close these entry points while the pest control company treats the house. You might not be rid of pests permanently, but you can decrease their numbers significantly.

If you don’t already have a regular pest control company that you work with, click here to learn more about what to look for in a good service provider.

2. Give Your AC Unit A Checkup

A well-oiled machine runs better and longer than one that isn’t. You depend on your AC unit to control not just the temperature inside your home but the humidity as well. Add possibly dirty ducts to the equation, and homeowners can better understand the need for clean AC units.

AC professionals perform a 20 point checklist to ensure your unit runs at peak performance. They’ll replace the filters as well as check the ducts for leaks. Additionally, a well-functioning AC system costs less on the monthly power bill which is a necessity in summer.

3. Inspect The Roof

A roof leaky from winter snow and storms means moisture inside the house. This means health problems for the family beginning with the asthmatics. If you don’t feel equal to scaling the heights, hire a roofing professional to check for loose shingles or tiles, separation around the chimney, vents, and fascia.

Remember to have the flue checked for proper performance by a chimney sweep professional.

4. Inspect Windows And Doors

Heat and cold will do anything to be together. They’ll seep underneath doors or through cracks or separations in windows. When the window seals are broken, the space between the panes gets foggy and can’t be cleaned. That’s how you know you need new windows.

If there is any space at all between the door jam and the door, get one that doesn’t have any space between them. Window and door professionals can test your windows and doors for leakage. To save money on your power bill in the heat of summer, get them tested.

5. Clean Your Gutters

Gutters and downspouts were designed to catch water from the roof and carry it away from the house. Water pooling in gutters and outside downspouts close to the foundation cause expensive to repair water damages to the house.

Have a gutter cleaning professional clean the gutters and downspouts in spring and just before winter. He’ll clean out leaves, twigs, and debris which will allow water to flow freely to the downspouts. He’ll flush the downspouts to ensure freedom from clogs. He might attach tubes to the downspouts to carry water away from the house and foundation.

The importance of this can’t be stressed too much. Water and the inside of a house don’t mix. Mold, mildew, and water damages to the walls and ceilings are expensive to repair. Stop them before they begin.

6. Check Your Water Systems

It wouldn’t do for a fire to break out and your sprinkler system fails. Nor would it be pleasant to bathe in cold water due to a failure of the water heater. Your plants and flowers need water as well, so a functioning sprinkler system is necessary.

Have a plumbing professional check all these water systems for functionality. Draining and cleaning the water heater prolongs its life, as does maintaining the sprinkler systems. Your home and flowers will thank you, and you’ll see a return on the investment in your utility bills.

7. Landscaping

Nothing says spring more than colorful fresh flowers and flowering plants. They need nutrition, though, to grow to their full potential. Have your soil tested for the proper nutrients like nitrogen, and be sure to aerate your lawn so the nutrients and water can get to the grassroots.

Use weedkillers only until the ground temperature reaches 60 degrees. After that, the soil will be too warm and weeds will invade your lawn. Use fertilizers after the soil reaches 60 degrees. You don’t want to harm the roots of your plants by putting fertilizer on aerated soil too soon. Water is important to plants, so irrigate your lawn in the early morning or late evening. Otherwise, the water will evaporate in the heat leaving the plants thirsting.

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