Spring maintenance tips

It’s that time of year, the outdoors is coming to life!

Now is the time to think about some of the interior and exterior semi-annual maintenance items that need attention.

Here’s a spike on my to-do list:

• Change the batteries in my smoke detectors
• Vacuum and check that my carbon monoxide detectors are working properly
• Check my class A, B, C all-purpose fire extinguishers located in my kitchen, garage, and laundry room
• Call my heating and air conditioning company to repair my air conditioning
• Clean my gutters and check my downspouts
• Clean everything with the bathroom and kitchen exhaust filters.
• I clean my air ducts, I haven’t done them in five years it’s time
• Check my roof for wear along the snow line, from the ground with binoculars
• I service the interior sewer lines in my 1955 ranch-style home, in my kitchen, laundry room, bathtub, and basement floor drains. I add a cup of baking soda, then a cup of white vinegar, and then pour a kettle of boiling water. that. In fact, I do this monthly
• Find the handy caulking and caulking gun around the outside of my doors, windows, bathtub tiles, kitchen or bathroom countertops, driveway or foundation cracks and all those places that have caulk that has cracked or it has holes inside and outside of my home
• Check the soffits and fascia boards behind my gutters for water damage or areas where animals can enter my attic
• Check my water heater and other drain lines for water leaks.
• Vacuum the rear coils of my fridge and also underneath
• Check the flickering tar around my roof bumps or in the seams of my flat roof
• Mark areas of painted exterior surfaces that need to be repaired or repainted.
• Talk about our fire safety plan or our bad weather plan
• Schedule sprinkler start-up in conjunction with inspection of sprinkler heads and deck misting system.
• Replace the water damaged Trex deck, this material is supposed to be maintenance free, but not always
• Check the cement cap stone on top of my fireplace for cracks or deterioration.
• Check the attic for leaks or damage.

If I had:

• Stucco in my home, I would schedule my professional stucco technician to visit the home to make any necessary repairs
• A sump pump, I would have it inspected and operated to make sure it is working properly
• A radon mitigation system I would schedule my annual radon test
• A wooden subfloor in the basement with space underneath that has a ventilation system, would schedule an inspection of the fans and humidistat
• I lived in a high humidity area, I would get a moisture and mold inspection
• Living in an area that is affected by hurricanes or tornadoes I would do all necessary inspections of related items and review my safety plans and strategies.

Be smart in your approach to home maintenance, do what you can easily do, hire the rest.

Good luck, be careful when using your stairs, always look up, you will be surprised what can get in the way of a stair: light fixtures, electrical cables, all kinds of things.

And last but not least, clean the clothes dryer lint trap, lines, and outer lid along with the inside of the dryer.