Perfect Thanksgiving, Perfect Family Home
Is this the view from your home: dusty windows, overgrown hedges, and lackluster landscaping?
Spring and summer are synonymous with spring cleaning, home maintenance, and yard work. If your exterior needs a little TLC, try these Five Spring Maintenance Must-Do’s that will instantly revive your exterior and keep your home in tip-top shape for many springs to come!
Maintain Your Home With These Five Spring Maintenance Must-Do’s:
1. Check and Clean Gutters and Water Drainage. Improper drainage can lead to water puddling around the foundation of your home or entering the crawl space. Improper yard drainage can lead to flooding. Clean and clear gutters and downspouts, freeing them of debris. Make sure downspouts drain away from the foundation, and fill in any low areas of your yard that create pools of water to prevent insect breeding.
2. Tune-Up Your Air Conditioner or HVAC System. Cleaning and maintaining your HVAC system can lead to a more efficient and longer lasting unit. An annual service call to your HVAC technician can help keep your system running smoothly and at top efficiency. Spring is also a great time to check and change system filters, which can also increase efficiency and air quality in your home.
3. Check the Integrity of Your Siding, Trim, Windows, and Doors. Use a screwdriver to probe the wood trim around your windows and doors. Check the integrity of the deck boards and railings. Then take a look around for loose boards on your siding and caulk, replace, and repair as needed.
4. Examine the Roof. Check roof shingles for winter damage. Repair and replace any damaged, cracked, buckled, or loose roof shingles. Also examine the flashing around chimneys, skylights, and vents for damage. If you live in an older home, consider establishing a budget for eventual roof replacement.
5. Spruce up Your Yard and Lawn Equipment. Check your sprinkler system for leaks in the line once you start up your spring watering routine. Adjust sprinklers to make sure they are reaching your plants, and not just watering the street or sidewalk. Sharpen the blades on lawn equipment and check the gas and batteries of any gas or battery-powered yard equipment. Give your yard a facelift (and make your neighbors happy) by removing any noxious (and otherwise) weeds, trimming back trees and bushes, adding new plantings (but not until the snow has melted on Black Butte!), and dusting the yard with new rock or bark.
A well-maintained home is one that is pretty, sustainable, and efficient. A simple spring maintenance check can go a long way to the overall happiness and sustainability of your home and landscape.
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