Home maintenance is a set of tasks that every homeowner has to keep on top of if they want to transition from season to season with their house in good condition. Wear and tear is part and parcel of living in any home and detecting problems before they become bigger ones is not only sensible but also financially feasible. A stitch in time saves nine! Here is the ultimate easy home maintenance checklist for moving from season to season.
The Coming Of Spring
Spring is everyone’s favorite season and part of its charm is that it signals new beginnings and blooms. Spring cleaning is a great term for clearing out the clutter and in the context of your home that has quite a few different meanings. Start from the outside and schedule a roof cleaning from a professional, a gutter cleaning as well as some quality landscaping services. These steps will dramatically lift the exterior appearance of your home as well as its curbside appeal especially if you add in lawn furniture and accessories like lawn gnomes or a fountain.
After the semi-depressing frost of winter, showing the new blooms in all their glory and not having them hidden by overgrown bushels is very rewarding. Interior maintenance takes the form of checking the ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC servicing) as well as plumbing as extreme cold can clog pipes or even cause them to crack. If you do decide to undergo a thorough spring cleaning, hold a yard sale or sell the items you no longer use online. While you are working on the outside, be sure to wash the windows along with the porch and garage for a fresh, spring feel. Planting new flowers is always a good idea in the beginning of the spring season.
When Summer Hits
Summer is a fun season but also challenging due to the heat and later humidity in the July and August months. In some parts of the world the heat is an overpowering factor and can cause any number of problems with a house from poor ventilation and insulation to accumulation of dust and debris or even pest-related problems. Ensuring that your ventilation is optimal is very important so that you can utilize energy more efficiently and are not spending a fortune on your energy bill. Miami roofing contractors may be able to advise you on the best insulation sheets and other materials to use to improve your roof if it has been damaged through wear and tear.
Summer is a brilliant time to repaint the walls or the fence, doors or exterior of the house as it is comfortable for everyone involved and paint can dry quickly and evenly in warmer weather as opposed to the wintertime. Cleaning out debris in garages and store rooms is also a good idea for summer since pests prefer a moist, warm environment to multiply. Rooms and spaces like the basement, attic, and kitchen are most at risk of a pest invasion during the warmer months since food items may be stored close together or poor ventilation may result in moisture building up.
Double check the sprinklers in your lawn so that your plants and grass do not die out in summer as all the greenery will require extra watering. Valves can get blocked or rusty during this time of the year so keep an eye on that. Be wary of algae and fungal growth on the roof, driveway, around drainage or even inside the house where water damage is building up and keeping the walls moist.
Autumn Or Fall
The fall season is actually ideal for planting many different flowers and plants so if you have a green thumb, do not miss this opportunity to carry out some reseeding in your garden. Tulips and hyacinths are some of the flowers that flourish in the fall amongst many others. The fall season is famous for falling leaves so rake up the leaves, clean up fallen leaves and twigs from the roof where they can begin to cause damage to the roofing material after a while and carry out some cleaning in the garden. A professional commercial roofer should inspect the roof at least every six months in case any timely maintenance is needed.
Hire a professional to inspect the gutters as the falling foliage will undoubtedly cause blockages in drains and pipes such as downspouts. Most homeowners take autumn as the signal for shutting off their sprinkler systems before the frost damages them. During autumn stockpiling firewood and other winter-related supplies is often cost-effective and practical although proper storage is essential as some unexpected rains can damage the efficacy of firewood. Before the winter hits, one last thing to remember is to service the heating or HVAC system (if you use an inverter) and check radiators or boilers if your house has any.
The Frost of Winter
Winter is the perfect time to get out your shovel and snow blower and to pay attention to the plumbing as the cold can damage the latter easily. Look out for ice dams on your roof (especially if your roof is not sloping) as this can weigh down the roofing material and ultimately cause cracks and leaks. While everyone is mostly in a state of semi-hibernation or reduced activity during the winters, it is still a great time to call the bathroom remodelers for redoing your bathroom as the weather won’t be too warm to make construction uncomfortable.
Winter months can have storms or blackouts on the horizon so invest in a fuel based generator or a chargeable one so that in case there is a problem like that, you can stay powered up and warm. A generator is a good storage idea, especially if you have young children or elderly parents who live with you as they are likely to be more adversely affected by the cold.
