For most owners, home maintenance comes only when something goes wrong. Clogged gutters, leaking pipes, faulty wiring all of these causes inconvenience and money at worst your family’s safety is at risk.
Don’t be caught napping.
Performing a few monthly maintenance tasks is much better than paying for pricey repairs down the road. The good news is that most of these are DIY-friendly chores. Look through this home maintenance checklist and pick out what works for you and your schedule and you will have a happy home for years to come.
How to Protect Your Home All Year Round?
It is important to take preventive measures to shield your home from long term issues all year. The best time to start working is when the weather is mild to take necessary maintenance activities to protect your home from probable damage.
Insulation to beat the heat
Insulation is perhaps the first thing that pops in your mind is the frosty draft seeping in during the cold winter. But it is also important during the sizzling hot summer months to prevent sticky air from entering.
Beat the heat by starting at the top, your attic. Inspect every nook and cranny to ensure that the area is properly insulated to keep the cool air in. The attic door should be insulated as well to keep the air-conditioned air from escaping and the warming bills cheap.
Include floors and walls in every part of the home, caulking when needed. Install weather strips to entryways and windows it is the simplest and cheapest way to keep your cool.
Clean the outside of the windows
Bitter cold winters or a rainy season make it difficult to clean the exterior of the windows leaving it with stains. Cleaning the outside of the windows during the summer months will let the sunshine in making it more functional. This will also stop the window seal from wearing down, saving you the headache of changing windows.
Check your gutters
Fall is one of the most wonderful seasons that is nice to enjoy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands dirty with your leaf piles. You rake the lawn to get rid of the debris, however, you need to free your gutters to get rid of them too. This will keep water from turning into ice and splitting them when the temperature plunges to below zero. Also, leaf guards or wire mesh can solve the issue. While at it, ensure that your gutters are pitched at a right angle to guide water to the downspout away from your home’s rooftop.
Home Maintenance by Season
A home is every American’s biggest investment and maintaining it is a must to keep it in top condition all year round. But home maintenance is a daunting task, especially for a homeowner who hasn’t drained a gutter.
It doesn’t have to be that way, a home runs with the seasons becoming animated in the spring and digging in for the winter. Keep on top of your maintenance chores and your house will run like clockwork.
Spring Home Maintenance Checklist
It’s springtime, it’s time to open the windows, clean the closet, and give the whole house a good once-over.
Your grounds
- Rake up the debris that survived the winter. Apply a thin layer of mulch for weed removal and to keep the ground moist from the heat.
- It’s the best time to hire a landscape maintenance service to mow your lawn and take care of your plants
- Reseed your yard, filling in bare spaces before the summer heat.
- With the last winter snowstorm behind you, it’s time to stack your snowblower at the garden shed and bring out your lawnmower.
The exterior of your house
- Walk around the house and check for breaks in the concrete, the condition of the driveway, loose or broken shingles on the roof, and signs of water pooling.
- Clogged gutters will cause roof leaks or water to seep in your house.
- A fresh coat of paint will retouch chipping or peeling paint. It’s best to hire a professional to save you from aches, pains, and accidents.
- Give the house a good scrub. Wash-down the storm windows, inside and out. Remove grit stuck to the façade, it can ruin paint and masonry.
Inside your home
- Call your HVAC or A/C technician for checkup and servicing.
- Check your pipes for leaks, faucets for drips, and the ceiling for water stains.
- Give your sump pump a once-over to see if it’s draining properly.
- A chimney should be cleaned regularly to keep the air inside breathable.
- Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Summer Home Maintenance Checklist
Prepare your home and yard for the sizzling heat of summer with these simple chores.
- A layer of mulch will help the plant to grow, keep weeds down, and help retain moisture.
- Check for leaks in the outside faucets and hoses.
- Remove dead branches from trees.
- Cleaning home from insects and handle pest infestation
- Watering intensely a couple of times a week rather than light watering daily will stimulate sturdy, healthy roots.
- Install a clothesline and dry your clothes under the summer sun. You’ll save money by skipping the dryer and clothes will smell better too.
- Deep clean your grill.
- Sweep painted porch surfaces, mop with an all-purpose cleaner, and scrub built-up dirt.
- Check your deck for protruding nails, rotten planks, and if it needs sealing.
Fall Home Maintenance Checklist
Prevent damage from winter storms with these home preventive maintenance steps and keep your home and yard buttoned up for the freezing months ahead.
- Hire an arborist if you have trees, they can prevent tree damage and help them survive snowstorms.
- Rake leaves, it can inhibit spring growth.
- Unclog gutter and downspouts, neglected gutters can cause wood rot, infestation, and ruined gutters.
- Seal gaps to avoid mice and other creepy creatures coming into your house looking for a warm place to stay.
- Shut off water to outside faucets to protect your pipes from freezing temperatures.
- Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Cover the exterior of an A/C unit with an insulating wrap to protect it from the cold air.
Winter Home Maintenance Checklist
Prepare your home for the winter and avoid costly repairs with this winter home maintenance checklist.
- Well-kept gutter can save you money by reducing the need for gutter replacement and roof damage.
- Make sure your sump pump works or ends up with a flooded basement and a damaged foundation.
- Check your window wells, loose liners need replacement.
- Take out built-up lint from the dryer vents to cut the risk of fire and keep your house energy efficient.
- The last thing you would want is to stay dark during cold weather because of a failure in the electrical system.
- You need to bleed your radiator every winter to make it run at maximum capacity and efficiency.
- Wrap insulating tapes on exterior pipes to protect them from freezing temperatures. Frozen pipes can crack and release gallons of water that can cause serious structural damage.
- This is a guest post not written by this websites’ owner.