Seasonal Maintenance Checklist
Let’s be honest — it’s easiest to wait to worry about home maintenance when something is actually going wrong. Or maybe you put off thinking about routine checks and cleaning until you suddenly start thinking about selling your home. Either way, staying ahead of home maintenance will only benefit you in the long run (and the short run!). For one thing, it is much more pleasant to live in a house where everything is functioning properly. If you don’t stay ahead of home maintenance, eventually your house is going to force you to think about it. By then, chances are you’ll end up playing catch-up for a while on all the things you let fly under the radar. Or maybe your house won’t make a peep until it’s finally time to start fixing it up to put on the market, and then you’ll look under the hood and wonder how you’ve been driving this long!
Home maintenance can be daunting, especially if it’s been a long time since you last took a close look at things. That’s why it can be super helpful to take updates a few at a time, and that’s what this post is here for! So here are a few ideas for to check off on your home maintenance list each season of the year.
Spring
When spring rolls around, you’re probably putting away your heavy coats and jackets and pulling out your shorts and t-shirts, and springtime home maintenance is pretty similar. The main goal of spring maintenance is to transition your house from winter to summer. Here are a few ways to do that!
Check your exterior. The winter can be hard on your roof, gutters, and siding, so it’s good to check each of these areas in the springtime to make sure they don’t need any repairs! Look out for missing shingles in your roofing or cracks in your siding, and clear out your gutters with this step-by-step from Able.com.
Prep your plants. Get your landscaping and your garden in gear for the spring by clearing out old leaves, spreading fertilizer on your grass, and knocking out any overgrowth or weeds that have come up. As an added bonus, give your yard work equipment a quick check as well so you don’t have to deal with any issues when you need them! Here’s an article from The Spruce on how to check your lawnmower so it’s ready for the spring.
Check your HVAC. As you transition from heating your house for the winter to cooling it for the summer, it’s a good idea to make sure that the HVAC system is still in good condition. You can hire a professional to look at it, or you can check it yourself and give it a routine clean with these steps from Cielo Wigle.
Check your smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Make sure you have batteries in the first one, and confirm that the other one is easily accessible and not expired. This is one item on the list that you’d definitely rather be ahead on than behind!
Summer
It may be pretty hot outside, but there are still some things to be checked and checked off in the summer months to keep your home running smoothly. Here are a few items to add to your maintenance list for the summer.
Clean your outdoor AC unit. Your AC is doing a lot of work for you in the summertime, so give it a little love! Hose down your outdoor AC unit and clear away any plants that may be growing on it.
Wash your windows and screens. Take the time in the summer to remove your screens and give them a good cleaning. Wash your windows while the screens are off, and check for any cracks or holes around them that may be letting in heat or bugs.
Clear out the pests. Speaking of bugs, summer is a good time to refresh your pest-control plan. Bring in a professional exterminator, or just seal up holes and replace your old roach traps with new ones. Now is the time to do what you’ve got to do to keep your home free of unwanted critters!
Check your outdoor plumbing. Make sure there aren’t any leaks or issues with your outdoor plumbing pipes during the summer. Tend to any problems and clean off any buildup!
Fall
Just like spring maintenance is about transitioning your home from winter to summer, maintenance in the fall is about getting things ready for the winter again. Here are some ideas for how to make that transition smooth.
Check your exterior (again). Check your roof and siding once more before you start dealing with winter storms, lots of dead leaves, and snow! Clean out the gutters again too so you’re ready for whatever the winter weather brings.
Care for your plants. Just like the spring, now is the time to give your plants some extra attention as we move into a dormant season for most grasses and trees. Find some helpful ideas for prepping your yard for winter with this post from Allstate.
Prep your heating. Before you need to start using them around the clock, it’s a good idea to make sure your heating systems are in prime condition! Clean out your fireplace and chimney or check your furnace to make sure it’s functioning properly. Just don’t wait until it gets cold to make sure you can stay warm.
Drain your hot water heater. This one doesn’t strictly have to happen during the fall, but it’s probably a good time for it since winter is coming. It’s good to do this at least once a year so you can get rid of sediment buildup and make your water heater last longer! Here’s an HGTV post on how to do it.
Winter
The last season on the seasonal maintenance checklist is winter, when your home’s main job is to keep the cold out and the warm in. Here are a few things to do to help your house do its job!
Inspect your insulation. This goes without saying, but your house can’t keep cold air out and warm air in if there are problems with your insulation. Make sure there are no issues or holes and deal with anything that arises.
Change your HVAC filter (again). About halfway through the winter, it’s helpful to check on your HVAC like in the spring and change out the filter. Having your system running all the time brings in a lot of dust and debris, so this will keep your heating at its best.
Switch the direction of your fans. This one isn’t so obvious! When your fan is spinning counterclockwise, it sends a downdraft, which helps keeps rooms cool in the summertime. But if you switch its direction so that the blades move clockwise, your fan will send an updraft that spreads the warm air by your ceiling down to the rest of the room. Try it out this winter!
Let your tools warm up. This is more a tip than a maintenance task, but it’s an important reminder if you want to preserve the tools that you use to do your maintenance. Most yard work tools don’t do well in the cold, so let them run for a couple minutes in your house or garage so that they can warm up before you start using them to cut down branches or clear out snow.
These tips and reminders will help maintain the value of your home, whether you’re thinking of selling sometime soon or you just want to enjoy the space you live in comfortably for years to come!
