Summer is the time of year where most family and friend moments are spent out in the backyard, at the pool, or in the hot tub. But before you go ding in, don’t forget that summer maintenance has to get done.
Home Maintenance Tips
As spring blooms and summer grows closer, it’s time to do all those pesky outdoor chores that everyone hates. Summer maintenance may be an undesirable thing to do but undeniably important. Protecting your home from the elements, insects, and pests, and wear and tear are all important parts of homeownership.
The AC
One of the first summer home maintenance tips to keep in mind as summer comes is to clean or change the filters of your air conditioner. This will keep pollen, mold spores, and bugs out of your home and cut down on allergies when your inside. You should also make sure the outdoor part is still functioning properly and nothing has made a winter home inside. There’s nothing worse than turning on the AC and disturbing your friendly neighborhood wasp nest. You should visit your dryer vent and exhaust duct if that goes outside to make sure it’s not infected or clogged.
Porches, Padios, and Decks, Oh My
Other summer home maintenance tips include cleaning your porch, deck, or patio, and making sure it’s ready for another year. Give everything a thorough sweeping first then wipe down railings, doors, windows, and another deck or porch accessories. After that look over the entire construction and patch holes, cracks, or crevices critters could make a home. You may also want to check up on whether you need more deck protector, paint, or any other protective coatings. Finally, check your railings to make sure you don’t have any broken or damaged railings and get them patched up.
Window Washing
Now you might be wondering why it matters if you wash your windows. Creepy critters love making nests and getting your home through your windows so it’s important to follow these summer home maintenance tips. You might want to start by checking for any tree branches, bushes, or other plants that may be near your windows then do some tree trimming to protect your windows from being broken during bad weather and keep insect invasions to a minimum. Clean your windows by removing the screen first and washing it with a hose, a scrub brush, and soap. Then spray down the outside with a hose, making sure to get around the frame. Check around your windows and window frames to see if there are any cracks, holes, or damage that may require any caulking or sealing. Make sure the window frame interiors also get cleaned out and checked. Then clean the glass with soap and water. This will help protect your home from insects, and water damage as well as ensures better heating and cooling inside.
Siding and Foundation
Another important summer maintenance project is checking the siding and foundation of your home. The older your home is the more likely you may need to have siding removed, or updated due to wear and tear. Take a walk around your house and check carefully for holes, breakages, mold, looseness, and dirt. You may need to wash or even power wash the siding to remove dirt, grime, and mold and be able to properly inspect your siding. If you do notice anything wrong, like small holes, light damage, or slight looseness you can fix those issues easily yourself. If you notice any large problems like widespread rot, you may want to consider calling a contractor to find out if you need new siding. You should also check your foundation for any holes, cracks, sagging, etc. and seal anything you find. If you notice any significant damage, cracking, or sagging you may want to contact a contractor to check your foundation. Skipping these summer home maintenance tips could lead to huge issues later on, so err on the side of caution and check everything before it becomes too expensive to fix.
The Roof, Gutters, and Downspouts
Cleaning the gutters is not the most fun job in the world, but it’s got to be done. Take your time to make sure you all debris dislodged from the gutters and any downspouts. Make sure you don’t have loose, or clogged getters as those can lead to water damage. You may also want to check out your roof while you’re there. Look for any loose shingles, sagging, holes, cracks, or other damages. Don’t try to patch your roof yourself, rooves are complicated and require a professional. If you see any major problems call a roofer right away. Your roof is extremely important and waiting until it breaks can matters worse.
Driveway and Garage
It may not seem like it but your driveway and garage are important. You need to check both your garage flooring and your driveway for any cracks or damage and fill them. If you have a gravel or dirt driveway check for any potholes and fill them to make sure you won’t damage your car. Sweep your garage and check for any holes in the wall or floor where critters could get in or make their homes. You may also want to wash the floor with your hose. Finally, engage in some garage organization if you use it for more than parking your car.
These summer home maintenance tips are sure to keep your house defenced against critters and mother nature for another year.
Yard Maintenance Tips
Part of good summer maintenance is taking care of your yard, lawn, and garden. Don’t worry it’ll be easy with these summer home maintenance tips.
Lawns
A beautiful lawn begins with a good lawnmower, good lawn care, and lots of patience. First, make sure your lawnmower is ready for the summer. Check that blade is sharp and sharpen it if it’s necessary, check for fuel and other liquid leaks, and rust. Then thoroughly clean your lawnmower and give your yard its first mow of the summer. When it comes to actual lawn care, you’ll want to start by assessing your lawn to learn what the problems are, whether it’s weeds, dryness, moles, or something else. Once you know the problem you can go about fixing it. A few summer home maintenance tips for lawn care include applying grass fertilizer, planting mole, vole, and deer resistant plants, installing sprinklers, and removing dead grass or thatch. Weeds will be taken care of by fertilizer and dry grass by regular watering. if you have any lawn ornaments or decorations you’ll probably want to clean those up before putting them back no your lawn.
Trees, shurbs and bushes
Winter damages trees, bushes, and shrubs rather easily so when spring and summer roll around it’s time to trim. For trees, it’s likely you’ll need to call professional tree trimmers to take care of any large trees that have been damaged. For smaller or tree branches, you might be to take of them yourself if you have the right tools. If you suspect tree or bush of being dead, contact professional tree trimmer immediately as a dead tree or bush can be easily blown over during summer storms. Shrubs and bushes will usually only need a light trimming unless they have grown a great deal. Make sure trees, bushes, or shrubs don’t grow to close to your windows or into the siding or foundation of your house.
Landscaping
Landscaping sounds like something you can only afford if you live in the house referred to as an estate, but it’s actually really easy. Your local nursery can help you decide which plants may be best for your home depending on where you live. By plants that more drought resistant for sunny areas and plants that are shade tolerant for shadier areas. If you have them in your area you should also get plants that animals like moles, voles, groundhogs, and deer don’t like eating to prevent them from spreading ticks and fleas into your yard. For any particularly pesky varmints consider contacting wildlife control. You can prevent weeds from growing by putting mulch around your newly planted plants. You may also want to purchase annuals that will bloom in fall. You should also make a point to check for areas where you standing water and eliminate them to prevent mosquitos and other pests. Beyond that check, any lawn furniture for damage to bugs before use and check your fences. Whether it’s a metal, chainlink, or a wood fence, check for damage, looseness, and any holes your neighbor’s dog or other animals might’ve dug and fill them in. then you should be good to go for the summer. After these tips, your landscaping will thank you.
Gardens and Flowerbeds
Garden and flowerbed maintenance are very important for maintaining healthy plants. Start by removing deadhead or spent flowers to help your plants produce more. You’ll also want to check for weeds and bug infestations. If your garden a raised garden check the structure for any problems and if you find any patch them right away, the same goes for flower bed installations. No matter what kind of garden you have you’ll want to put mulch down to prevent weed growth and help keep your plants happy. you’ll also to water regularly and make sure to fertilize as necessary.
Pool, and Hot tub Maintenance
Summer means hopping in the pool and relaxing in the hot tub. But before you can use these summer home maintenance tips to get them ready for the months to come.
Pool Time
As summer arrives you’ll want to take some time to focus on the summer home maintenance tips necessary for a healthy pool. First, remove the pool cover, drain it, clean it, and store it for the time being. Next, you’ll want to add water, if you need to, and test out all the equipment for maintaining your pool to make sure it all works. After that, you’ll want to test the pool chemistry and apply shock and algaecide, if you’re using chlorine. If you’re using a saltwater pool, then unless you’ve lost an exceptional amount of water, your pool should be at a good PH already. Add more last only if you’ve lost a large amount of water. Finally, make sure all of your equipment is ready for another and nothing needs replacing or repairing. You can also just pay for a pool cleaning if you’re not sure about something or need help converting from chlorine.
Hot Tubs
When summer rolls around, it’s the perfect time to care for the hot tub after it’s been used all winter to keep you toasty. First, drain the water and thoroughly clean the tub. While it’s drained check all the jets, pipes, valves, and filer casings to make sure everything is functioning optimally and nothing is clogged or broken. Then after putting down a layer of protected one the surface, refill the tub. Check for cracks, leaks, and other damage to make sure you run into any problems while relaxing. Finally, turn on the hot tub and check to make sure everything is working properly, all knobs, switches, and buttons are working and nothing is amiss. You’ll also want to check the PH of your water to make sure it’s safe and cool the temperature of the tub to prevent heatstrokes and other issues.
Summer should be fun and it will be after you spend one weekend making sure everything is up to snuff. Hopefully, these summer home maintenance tips will help you keep your home, yard, and pool /hot tub in tip-top condition for years to come.
