Your Ultimate Spring Household Maintenance Checklist
When winter comes to an end and the temperature outside starts warming up, it’s time to start working on your spring household maintenance to-do list. The cold and other winter conditions can do a number in certain areas of your home and property. Starting to work on your spring household maintenance checklist when spring begins will allow you to repair anything that may have been damaged during the winter. In addition, getting started now will ensure your home is ready for summer.
Here are nine items that should be added to your spring household maintenance checklist, and it’s essential that each one is completed.
1. Put Money Into Garage Door Repair
Automatic garage door openers are great to have. Rather than getting out of the vehicle to open the garage door to drive your car in, you can simply press the button on the remote to open and close the garage door, making your life more convenient.
Cold winter months can be damaging to your garage door. When it gets very cold, the temperature will reduce the space between the molecules, causing the track to warp and become misaligned, making it difficult for the door to open and close properly. You can try to lubricate the track with WD 40 or another lubricant to get the door functioning correctly; however, lubricant won’t work if the tracks are warped. In this case, you will need to call a professional for automatic garage door repair to fix the problem so that the door will open and close with ease again.
2. Call a Roofer
Your roof is an essential part of your home’s structure and keeps the heated or air-conditioned air in and the cold or heat out. It is also designed to protect the home’s interior when it rains and snows.
Winter conditions can put a significant amount of pressure on your roof. Snow or rain and freezing temperatures can cause ice dams to form on the roof. When water seeps between the shingles, it expands, causing the shingles to become loose and can penetrate through the layers of the roof, creating a leak inside the home that can result in considerable water damage. In addition, when too much snow accumulates on the roof, it can become too much for the roof to hold, causing it to weaken and could potentially collapse.
The best way to ensure your roof hasn’t been damaged during the winter is to add calling a residential roofer to your spring household maintenance to-do list.
A roofer can come to your home and get on the roof, looking for signs of damage, such as loose, cracked, curled, or missing shingles and leaks. It often rains a lot during the spring, and it’s best to get the roof fixed before the rainy season begins. Waiting too long to have the roof inspected can result in further water damage that can be expensive to repair; therefore, you should call a residential roofer when winter ends.
3. Obtain Driveway Sealcoating Services
Your driveway is the route from the street to your front door, and in most cases, your family uses the driveway multiple times a day. It’s essential to the health of your vehicles that the driveway is in good condition.
Driveway sealcoating provides a few benefits, including:
- It prevents damage from dripping auto fluids
- Blocks the drying effects of the sunlight
- Extend the lifespan of the pavement.
- Avoid high repair costs
- Protects against water and freeze-thaw cycles
Although sealcoating protects against freeze-thaw cycles, it can still be damaged during the winter. Breaking the ice and snow on the driveway with a metal shovel can scrape the sealcoating. In addition, if you have your driveway plowed after a snowstorm and the plow driver sets the blades too low, it can scrape off the asphalt coating.
When working on your spring household maintenance to-do list, you should check the sealcoating. If it was damaged during the winter, you can have a professional add a new layer of sealcoating. If the scrapes and damage are deeper than one inch, you will need a professional to fill in the gouges before adding a new layer of sealcoating.
The sunlight becomes more powerful in the spring and summer and can cause damage to areas that aren’t adequately sealcoated; therefore, it’s best to have any damage repaired, and a new layer of sealcoating applied when spring begins.
4. Replace Your Siding
The cold weather, snow, and ice can do a number on your home during the winter, especially the siding. If you have vinyl siding, the cold temperatures during the winter can cause the siding to become brittle, which can cause cracks or breaks. This damage cannot be repaired, and you will need to replace that part of the siding. If the problem isn’t resolved, the cracks will allow the heat or air-conditioned air to escape from the home and let moisture in.
If you have wood siding, the snow and ice can cause the lamination to wear off, leaving the wood exposed to moisture and causing rot. Rot can cause significant damage to the roof, your home’s structure, and the interior.
If there was a severe storm during the winter and it ripped off part of the siding or caused it to become dislodged, it will significantly affect your home’s temperature and allow moisture in, creating water damage and mold.
When working on your spring household maintenance to-do list, take a walk around your house and inspect the siding carefully. If you detect any issues, you should call a professional in siding replacement when spring begins to prevent the air-conditioned air from escaping and heat from getting in during the summer.
5. Inspect Your TV Antenna
Before cable TV, people had antennas on their roofs to get a television signal. Today, the old antennas no longer work, but many people install antennas when their cable or satellite TV bills become too expensive and want to cut the cord.
Modern antennas allow you to watch local channels, such as NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and PBS, and you can use streaming services for other channels.
If you have an antenna for local channels on your roof, it can become damaged during the winter. The wind can affect the wire connections and can cause corrosion. In addition, water can accumulate in the plastic box attached to the antenna, which can cause issues with the signal. Finally, snow and ice can damage the antenna itself, affecting the signal.
Even if your TV seems to be working fine, antenna repair and inspection should be on your spring household maintenance checklist.
Climbing a ladder to get on the roof can be dangerous, and you may not know what to look for; therefore, it’s best to hire a professional in antenna repair to inspect the antenna. If the antenna did sustain damage during the winter, a professional in antenna repair can fix the problem, ensuring you have a proper signal and the antenna functions correctly.
5. Hire a Tree Maintenance Professional
The trees on your property serve a few different purposes. First, the trees add to your home’s curb appeal. In addition, they provide shade during the winter, making sitting outside more comfortable, and the trees offer some protection to your home and vehicles from the elements.
Sleet, snow, and strong winter winds can damage the trees and put your home and family at risk. If too much snow has weakened a branch, a gust of wind can cause it to fall on your house, car, or anyone standing underneath. Therefore, hiring a tree trimming service should be included when creating your spring household maintenance to-do list.
When a professional trims the trees, they will look for areas of weakness and for branches that are dying or have died, so they can be removed before causing any damage.
Tree trimming can also help with leaf growth. If there is a dead or dying branch on the tree, it will receive nutrients, even though the nutrients can’t help the branch. When the dead or dying branch is removed, the nutrients will go to the healthy branches, which is essential for the leaves to grow. The tree expert will also observe the tree’s overall health, checking for signs of disease or structural deficiencies.
6. Upgrade Your Window Treatments
One task to add to your spring household maintenance to-do list is changing the curtains when winter ends. During the winter, thermal-back drapes are excellent because they will prevent the cold air and heavy winds from affecting the temperature in your home.
When spring arrives, it’s time to change the window treatments and hang light drapery fabrics that let the sun sine in more and will be a refreshing change from the dark, heavy drapes used during the winter.
You can install shades or blinds that can be closed when you want your privacy, and you can still let the sun flood your home during the day.
Changing your window treatments in the spring can be aesthetically pleasing and will brighten up your home by letting the sunlight shine into your home.
7. Hire an AC Service
If you don’t already have an air conditioning system in your home or the existing unit has reached the end of its lifespan, it’s best to have the AC installed in the spring before it starts getting too hot outside. An air conditioning installation service can help you choose the correct size AC based on the size of your home and can discuss your options with you.
If you have an air conditioner and it’s not nearing the end of its lifespan, you should add air conditioning maintenance to your spring household maintenance to-do list.
Routine maintenance is essential to ensure the AC is functioning as efficiently as possible, which will ensure the system is running as efficiently as possible, keeping your home cool and your energy bills down. In addition, the tech will inspect the unit to find minor issues that should be repaired immediately to prevent them from escalating to a major problem with an expensive repair bill.
AC installation service and routine maintenance should be scheduled to ensure the air conditioner keeps your home cool all summer long.
8. Hire a Landscaper
When winter ends and the ground thaws, it’s time to start thinking about your yard, and you should include calling a landscaping contractor to your spring household maintenance checklist.
A spring cleanup is essential to prepare your yard for the new growth of grass, trees, flowers, and shrubs. During the spring cleanup, the landscape contractor will provide the following services:
- Clearing any branches, leaves, and clutter
- Hauling away any debris.
- Redefining the borders of your lawn.
- Cutting the grass
- Seeding any damaged or missing areas of the lawn.
- Aerating the lawn
- Cleaning and re-edging the flower beds and garden
- Trimming and pruning the shrubs and trees
These services are essential for maximum growth during the spring, keeping your yard looking great well into fall.
9. Invest in Fence Installation
If you have always wanted a fence to separate your yard from your neighbor’s or to provide more privacy in your yard, include it in your spring household maintenance. When the ground thaws in the spring, it’s the perfect time to install a fence.
If you want to install the best fence possible, you should consider vinyl fence installation. Vinyl fencing has several benefits, including:
- Vinyl needs very little maintenance.
- Easy installation
- Vinyl provides maximum privacy
- Vinyl is aesthetically pleasing
- There are plenty of colors and styles to choose from.
- Durability
- Longer lifespan than most other fence options
If you plan to install a fence, it’s best to do it in early spring. If you have the fence installed as soon as the ground thaws, you can add flowers and shrubs around the fence when you hire the landscape contractor.
Creating a spring household maintenance checklist ensures your home and yard are ready for spring and summer. When everything on the list is complete, you can relax and enjoy the nice weather with the peace of mind that your home and lawn are in good shape.