Published April 28, 2021
Spring Home Maintenance Tips
This spring, incorporate these home maintenance checkups into your spring cleaning routine to ensure a healthy home all year long!
Check gutters
If you haven’t checked your gutters since the fall, be sure to clean out all dead leaves and twigs that may have accumulated. Clogged gutters can impede drainage, and can cause water to leak into your home. If you tend to get a lot of leaf accumulation in your gutters every year, consider getting a gutter screen installed to save you the trouble of having to clean it out regularly.
Also be sure to check your gutters for any loosening that may have occurred over the months, as piles of leaves and heavy snow can cause them to loosen and droop, preventing proper drainage.
Check the attic
You know who else loves staying cozy in your home? That bird that built its nest in your attic to escape the winter cold. Also that squirrel that chewed its way through your insulation to move in for the season. Spring is the perfect time to poke your head into your attic, and check for any critters who’ve taken up residence in there, as well as any holes they came in through. Do a quick scan of your insulation and beams to make sure there aren’t any wet spots indicating a roof leak, too. Just be sure you’re wearing proper coverings so you don’t brush your skin up against that insulation.
Schedule a chimney cleaning
Chances are, your fireplace saw more than one or two burning logs throughout fall and winter. It’s a good idea to schedule a chimney cleaning as soon as the weather warms up to get rid of any buildup, find and repair any structural issues, and just generally clean it up a bit. Before you know it, the cool fall air will be creeping back in, and you definitely don’t want to find out your chimney has cracks and nasty buildup when you’re trying to build a warm fire on a chilly night.
Check outside faucets
Freezing-cold days in the dead of winter are notoriously bad for outside faucets, as well as indoor pipes. Even the tiniest crack from freezing temperatures can turn into major water damage inside and outside the home, so these issues need to be addressed as soon as they’re identified. HGTV recommends this simple trick using a hose faucet to check for pipe damage: “Turn the water on and place your thumb or finger over the opening. If you can stop the flow of water, it is likely the pipe inside the home is damaged and will need to be replaced.”
Check around windows and doors
Did you notice a draft coming from a certain corner of the living room on cold days? Did you get a chill every time you passed by your front door? If so, check your windows and doors to see if any of them need to be re-sealed with caulk. Not only will this prevent drafts in the winter, but it’ll also help keep out that hot, humid air in the dead of summer - it’s a double win: stay comfortable, AND save on heating and A/C bills throughout the year!
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