Are you ready to prepare your home for summer? All homeowners should perform standard maintenance every spring and fall before extreme weather hits. Proper summer maintenance will ensure that your home looks its best and performs its best when the heat hits.
In this guide, we will cover the top 5 summer home maintenance tips:
- Maintain Your HVAC System
- Clear Slow Drains
- Prepare Your Yard
- Inspect Your Roof
- Spring Cleaning
1. Maintain Your HVAC System
You will be using your air conditioner significantly more in the summer than you normally do.
Perform standard maintenance on your HVAC system to ensure that your air conditioner works when you need it most and runs as efficiently as possible.
Some ways you can maintain your HVAC system yourself include:
- Perform a visual inspection
- Clean the filter
- Clean the condensing unit
- Replace condensation pan
You should also schedule professional maintenance that will ensure professionals come to your home to get the job done properly.
Professional HVAC techs can point out serious problems and make repairs before they become a bigger problem.
One of the largest problems you may encounter is a leak in your HVAC system.
If you do notice a water leak in your home’s AC system, it may have developed as a result of a clogged condensate drain line or low refrigerant. You will need professional services to repair the problem for you.
All HVAC systems come with an expiration date. Old HVAC systems may not work well and may cost more to run at the end of their lifespan, meaning you should consider getting a new system altogether.
2. Clear Slow Drains
Most of us expect our plumbing system to work properly without putting much thought into it, and we don’t notice a problem until it happens.
Summer maintenance can prevent a serious drain clog. If you do experience a stubborn clog, it can damage your pipes and lead to expensive leaks and plumbing repair.
Slow drains occur for numerous reasons, including hair, soap scum, sediment buildup, food waste, grease, and toothpaste.
You can prevent clogged drains by using drain strainers and installing a water softener. However, that can’t completely prevent a blockage from occurring.
Some of the ways to clear slow drains include:
- Baking water, vinegar, and boiling water
- Drain snake
- Chemical drain cleaner
If you don’t already notice slow drains, you should still use this time to maintain your plumbing preemptively. You may be able to get away with a natural enzymatic drain cleaner instead of a chemical drain cleaner.
You can also use a root killer if you fear tree roots may infiltrate your plumbing.
Don’t forget to flush your water heater at this time as well.
3. Prepare Your Yard
You will use your yard a lot more in the summer, and it’ll be more on display.
Maintain your landscaping to keep your grass as green as the grass on the other side.
It all starts with the soil.
If you don’t grow healthy-looking grass naturally, you may need to start by aerating your yard. Aerating your yard refers to the process of removing clumps of soil on the top of your yard to allow the soil underneath to breathe better, giving it better access to water and nutrients.
Homeowners should aerate every couple of years (once a year if the grass doesn’t grow).
Next, you’ll want to plant grass seed.
While you nurture the yard and wait for the grass to grow, you can tend to the other plants in your yard.
Trim tree branches that look dead or cause a hazard.
You’ll also want to remove weeds and plant season-appropriate flowers.
Finally, ensure that your lawnmower works properly and clean your grill.
4. Inspect Your Roof
Your roof protects your family from the blistering sun.
All roofs experience damage from UV rays, rain, hail, snow, and other natural occurrences. While roofs are designed to withstand the trauma, they may show some wear and tear over time.
Climb your roof to visually inspect it for damage.
Signs of damage to your shingle roof include:
- Damaged shingles
- Missing shingles
- Mold
- Curled edges
- Higher utility bills
You can make repairs to a shingle roof by simply replacing the damaged shingles. If you notice significant damage, you may want to talk to a professional roofer about a possible roof replacement.
While on your roof, you can also take the time to clean out the gutters so that they don’t cause standing water on your roof after it rains.
5. Spring Cleaning
Spring cleaning has become a popular concept for a good reason, and we should all embrace it.
Clean your entire home from top to bottom so that it looks as rejuvenated and pretty as the plants outside. This also goes for window blinds. Here are some tips for how to clean wood window blinds.
You’ll also want to clean the exterior of your home with a power washer to remove mold and mildew on the shaded areas of your home. Don’t forget to clean all of your windows, including the difficult-to-reach ones outside.
We hope these Summer maintenance tips have been helpful! Read our other posts for additional tips that deal with pests, solar panels, and other DIY projects.
