You should maintain your home regularly, whether you’re a homeowner or a tenant. Property upkeep increases the value of your home and keeps your residence a comfortable place to stay and live in.
Small problems in your house can turn worse and may even impact your home’s structural integrity. Roofing, plumbing, heating, or ventilation problems can inconvenience you and your family. Some of these concerns may trigger health issues and require costly repairs down the road.
Instead of waiting for the roof to leak or the windows to rattle, keep a checklist of these all-season home preservation projects that’ll keep you safe, no matter what nature throws at you.
All-Season Home Maintenance Checklist
Of course, you can choose to prepare before the onset of the unforgiving winter cold or the scorching summer heat. However, it’s best to perform these periodic home maintenance checks to ensure your family stays safe and comfortable whatever the season.
1. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System
To ensure that you’re warm and cozy in the winter and cool in the summer, clean your HVAC
system regularly. Here the basic procedures you can do yourself to keep that HVAC in tiptop shape:
- Make sure that your dryer vent is working as it should.
- Check the furnace filter and remove accumulated dust. Doing this ensures that your HVAC system works properly, maximizing the heating and cooling efficiency of your unit.
- Vacuum your heating registers and vents, which facilitate airflow and maintains the temperature in your home.
- Clean your air ducts properly to remove debris, molds, and prevent insects from blocking them. Indoor and outdoor vents can harbor dust that goes through the air ducts and into your homes.
- Remove any type of debris from your gutters and perform minor home repairs such as re-caulking. Remember, the best time of year to clean your gutters is spring because rains are common in that period.
2. Plumbing Systems
Leaks lead to mold and mildew growth. If left unattended for long periods, they can cause health problems and even weaken the building materials of your home. Make sure that there are no leaks in your house and all the pipes and tubes are maintained by doing the following:
- Check if your main water valve is working well and opened to its maximum capacity.
- Consider buying a booster pump if you notice your water supply has weak pressure and flow.
- Call a plumber to perform maintenance checks to find and fix leaks, corrosion, and other potential problems.
- Remove mineral deposits in your faucets and showerheads. This is something you should do regularly if you have hard water.
- Check if you have enough supply of water softeners, too
- Remove drain and sink clogs by pouring hot water.
- Test your water heater and make sure it works. Simply turn it on, and wait until it does its thing. Doing this helps clear your heater of debris, too.
- Check your basement’s plumbing system. Also, make sure there are no clogs and leaks in the toilet bowl and sinks.
- Clear your garbage disposal by mixing hot water and baking soda and running the solution through it.
3. Safety And Security
You should always prioritize your safety and security systems. Perform these maintenance activities at least once a month:
- Ensure the locks of your garage work properly as it’s a common target and entry point of thieves.
- Make sure your home surveillance system’s cameras point in the right direction.
- Change access passwords but make sure you don’t forget them to avoid bigger problems.
- Test all your ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets and make sure they don’t have problems. Always remember that as a basic need, electricity within your home should always be available and working properly.
- Inspect your smoke detector for functional issues. See if its batteries still have a charge left. Replace them if needed.
- Check your electric cords for any pinch or cut to prevent anyone from getting electrocuted.
- Look at the maintenance and inspection tag of your fire extinguishers to ensure they’re not expired yet.
4. Exterior Structure
Who says home maintenance should only focus on your property’s interior? Remember that the first points of contact for strong winds and heavy rains are your roof, windows, and walls. Water and wind can wear those sections down fast. Make sure that you do the following periodically:
- Check your walls for cracks.
- Remove any stagnant water collected in the walkway, patio, or anywhere on your property.
- Repair or replace cracked tiles as water can seep through them and cause further damage.
- Make sure that your water well is always in good condition. Also, if you think the water is contaminated, let a local environmental or health department check it for coliforms and other toxic compounds.
- Inspect all wooden sections of your home that are exposed to the elements. Know that they’re often the first ones to go as your home ages.
- Check the windows to see if you need to re-caulk. You’ll know you need to re-do it if you see gaps along the sidings.
- Look at your doors closely and make sure the connections are firm.
- Clean your gutters and downspouts.
- Make sure there are no obstructions on the roof and your chimney as a well-maintained roof is crucial to prevent leaks.
- Look around for discolored paint. Repaint if necessary. Remember that besides increasing our home’s aesthetic appeal, painting surfaces offer additional protection to the elements as well.
- Power-wash your yard’s flooring.
- Realign or replace any misaligned or missing tiles on your roof.
- Observe your roof valleys for accumulated water, leaves, and any debris. It’s the V-shaped area of your roof where different sections meet. If it’s rusty, have it replaced.
- Make sure the wood used in your home is free from mildew, termite, or insect infestation.
- Don’t forget lawn care.
Additionally, below is a rundown of weather-proof home maintenance activities for every season that you should do.
5. Home Maintenance Checklist for Spring
Depending on which state you’re in, spring could mean flooding, strong winds, and snow. Make your home resilient against these contingencies through the following:
- Check if your sump pump functions properly to ensure your home won’t be flooded when it starts raining heavily. Also, make your basement waterproof.
- Remove any type of debris from your gutters and perform minor home repairs such as re-caulking.
- Check your exterior sidings and roofing, and clean the interior and exterior vents.
- Trim the bushes and trees to prevent them from taking down power lines if they get uprooted.
- Repair any damage incurred from the harsh winter weather. Use impact-resistant construction materials if you can.
6. Home Maintenance Checklist for Summer
This is the best time to implement major home repairs and renovations, especially on your home exterior and drainage systems.
This home maintenance checklist is perfect when the sun is out:
- Repaint your home exterior, deck, and walkways, and repair any damage you see.
- Reapply sealants on your tiles and roof, and repair if necessary.
- Reinforce locks in your home and garage to prevent damages from high winds.
- Check your plumbing system and have the problem areas repaired.
- Improve your basement’s plumbing and HVAC systems.
- Clean your patio or spruce up your garden. You can also prune your vegetation to prevent pest infestation.
7. Home Maintenance Checklist for Fall
Maintenance works for this season should aim at preparing your home for the winter weather and storms. Hence, doing the following activities will prepare you for tougher temperatures ahead:
- Have insulators installed inside your home if you don’t have one yet. Also, install a carbon monoxide detector next to your water heater and furnace if you also don’t have one of this, too.
- Prevent the formation of ice dams by adding insulation in your attic. Protect exterior pipes from freezing with duct and insulation tapes. Reinforce your windows, and check for cracks.
- Clean soot and other sediments in your chimney as they can interfere with the heating system. You can also contact furnace cleaners instead as this can be a troublesome and dirty job to do.
- Cover patios, driveways, and decks. Drain air conditioner pipes. Secure crawlspace access areas. And make sure your shovels and snow blowers are up and ready for the next season.
8. Home Maintenance Checklist for Winter
Continue with your home maintenance activities to minimize damage, especially to your roof, heating, and exterior plumbing systems. This season puts your homes at a higher risk of catching fire because of your heating system.
Make sure your house stays safe and cozy by doing the following:
- Do more frequent checks on your home heating system. You can start with your fireplace and chimney. After that, make sure your fire detection and alarm systems work.
- Place winter gear near the entrances or along with doorways. Also, make sure that your snowblower already has gas on it.
- Make your ceiling fan run clockwise to push warm air downwards. And to efficiently keep the heat inside your home, reinforce your ventilation and insulation systems by sealing all cracks and holes in your home interior and exterior.
- Purchase a generator if you don’t have one yet. If you rely on your fireplace for warmth, be sure to stock on wood and fuel.
Before Wearing Your ‘Maintenance Man’ Hat
Most maintenance chores are easy to do and you should perform them as often as possible. However, some weather-proofing labor may require the expertise of contractors. Don’t hesitate to get help if you have no idea what to do. If you do get help, make sure that you ask questions and observe how they do it for you to learn how you can do it yourself next time.
