How can you take care of your home maintenance every season without getting wrapped up in endless to-do lists? Home maintenance doesn’t have to be complicated if you keep a regular routine and use a simple seasonal schedule. The right seasonal maintenance depends on the type of weather in your region and a few specific needs of your home, but a yearly checklist makes it easy to quickly cross off everything your home needs to stay in great condition from year to year.
To help, we’ve put together a simple seasonal schedule for keeping up with home maintenance.
Autumn Maintenance Schedule
Autumn is – by far – the most maintenance-intensive time of year. There is so much to do from wrangling leaves to preparing for the first winter freeze. This can be easy to tackle if you simply lay out your checklist and schedule each item on your calendar.
- Annual Roof Inspection
- Have your roof inspected in late autumn before the first frost to make sure your roof is ready for winter. This is also a great time to have your gutters cleared and install gutter shields.
- Pre-Winter HVAC Tune-Up
- Have your AC cleaned and put away for the winter and your Heater tuned up and tested. This ensures no unpleasant surprises when you need your central air the most.
- Change the air filter.
- Insulate Your Pipes
- If your region freezes in the winter, take care of your pipes in autumn. Line every pipe you can reach with tube insulation or a powered heat wire. Close and cover all outdoor taps, and drain your hoses for the winter.
- Lay a Perimeter of Pest Spray
- When it starts to get gold, bugs and other pests try to move indoors. Lay a perimeter in early autumn to keep them out all winter.
- Winterize Your Garden
- Depending on your local temps and your garden design, you may need more or less winterizing care. For delicate flower beds and flowering bushes, cover the ground with mulch and prepare a tarp to protect from deep freezes. For a kitchen garden, plant your winter veggies. Or just rake and cut your grass once last time.
- Insulate the House
- Autumn is a great time to open doors and windows, and also to prepare for insulation. Weatherstrip the doors, caulk the windows and cracks, and hang your winter curtains to keep the cold out and the warm in – energy-efficiently.
Winter Maintenance Schedule
In the winter, focus on indoor maintenance but keep an ear and eye out for any signs that snow or storms have caused problems outdoors.
- Prepare Your Fireplace
- If you have a fireplace, make sure it’s clean and sturdy – with a working flu – before lighting the first fire of the season.
- Winter HVAC Care
- If it snows, cover your outdoor HVAC unit, and be sure to change your air filter every month while spending extra time indoors with the heater on.
- Keep Your Walks Safe
- Make sure your family and visitors are safe outdoors by salting potentially icy paths.
- Replace Batteries in Smoke and CO2 Detectors
- Keep Your Drains Clear
- Pour hot water and vinegar down your drains weekly to keep them running clear and clean.
- Indoor Deep Cleaning
- Schedule Summer Roofing or Renovations
- Summer is the time for major outdoor renovations, but teams book up fast. Be sure to book a season or two early.
Springtime Maintenance Schedule
- Spring Cleaning
- Have Your Roof Inspected
- After winter storms, be sure to have your roof inspected again. It’s usually free.
- Pre-Summer HVAC Maintenance
- Now that winter’s over, take care of your HVAC and prepare to switch back to AC. Get your AC tuned up and your heater cleaned and put away for the season.
- Change the Air Filter
- Power Wash the Exterior
- If you want to, rent a power washer and spray down your pavement and the exterior of your home for an outdoor Spring Cleaning.
- Clear Interior and Exterior Vents
- De-Winterize Your Garden
- If you have a garden, remove the mulch and turn fertilizer into the soil. For a lawn, early Spring is the time to pre-treat with fresh grass seeds, fertilizer, and pest discouragement.
- Flush and Descale the Water Heater
- Have your water heater drained and vinegar-washed to remove hard water scale.
Summer Maintenance Schedule
Finally, summer is the best time for home maintenance, and especially for big projects and those every 5-20 year maintenance projects, a home may need.
- Oil and Clean the Garage Door
- If you have a garage door, warm weather is the best time to maintain it. Consider also swapping to a smart garage door controller.
- Major Roofing and Renovations
- If your roof or home needs major exterior work, summer is the best time for warm, dry weather to get it done.
- Adapt for Garden Growth
- If your garden grows like crazy in the summer – as some regions do – get your shears and gloves ready to trim back shrubs and keep weeds from the flowerbeds and lawn.
- Check for Leaks
- Summer is the most likely time to discover leaks that may have formed over the winter. Invite your plumber over for a detailed inspection.
- Clean Exhaust Fan Filtres
- Find every exhaust fan in the house – above the stove and in each bathroom – to remove and clean the filters.
- Repair Pavement Cracks
- Dry summer weather is the best and sometimes only time to repair your driveway or patio pavement.
This simple schedule may look like a lot, but with the help of local professionals, it will be easy to take care of. Contact us today for the support you need to keep your home in great condition every year!