A Dozen Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Home in Tip-Top Shape This Summer
Summer is the perfect time to take a vacation, hang by the pool and soak in the sunshine. However, the warm, dry season is also the perfect time to do some of those little jobs around the house you’ve been thinking about all year.
Here’s a list of some helpful ideas and tips to check off your list this summer:
Over time, our air conditioning units begin to lose efficiency. To keep your home cool and your energy bill from climbing too high during the spiked summer months, hire a professional to come out and service your unit. They’ll check for things like blower fan belts and cooler pads and offer suggestions to make your AC more efficient. Also, remember not to cool the house when no one is home – most systems these days have a timer you can set to prevent it from turning on by itself. If your unit doesn’t have one and you want one, contact your provider to see your options!
Throughout the fall and winter, leaves and debris can accumulate in your gutters and cause some serious damage. Use this time to grab a ladder and clean them out. Using a glove or trowel, go along your gutters and pull out anything that might be clogging it or weighing it down. Then (carefully) take your garden hose up the ladder with you to flush the gutter out.
It’s important to know your limits, though, if you think this might be too much for you to do on your own, call in an expert to do the job.
Summer is a great time to power-wash the concrete surfaces of your home. You can rent a power washer at most home improvement stores and wash away the dirt and grime off your patios and decks. It’s also a good idea to lubricate locks, sliding glass doors, door hinges and garage doors to prepare for the swelling that hot temperatures might cause. Thinking about remodeling? Do it now while the weather permits and the days are longer!
While summer is a little late into gardening season, that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong time to catch up. It is important to clear any debris from yard drains, plant new flowers, new bushes and spruce up your yard! Check your watering system to make sure it’s the most efficient and that any leaks or issues get taken care of so your water bill doesn’t dry you out. Also remember to only water at night and on your city-approved days in Fresno and Clovis.
In addition to tuning up the AC unit, it’s also very important to make sure the air registers in your home are open to allow for optimal air flow throughout the house. In the summer, we recommend closing the lower registers in your rooms and opening the upper and ceiling ones, and doing the opposite in the winter time. You can also adjust air flow by only partially opening registers in less popular rooms. It’s also very important to make sure no furniture or drapes are covering any registers which would thus inhibit air flow out of the vents entirely!
Natural granite is a very hard, dense material and is easier to maintain than most other surfaces. Yet, granite can be stained. If you follow some simple maintenance guidelines, you will have a beautiful granite surface that will last a lifetime. Granite should be resealed with a silicone base penetrating sealer every 8 to 12 months. Cleaning with mild soap and water is normally all that is required for day-to-day care of granite.
Throughout the year, your tile floors and countertops might see some water spillage. Grout joints are not waterproof and require some special attention to prevent water seepage. While you’ll see it predominantly in bathroom floors and counters, water damage can happen anywhere. No need to pout, just get some grout and patch up any cracks you might see forming in the grout. We suggest checking the grout periodically and resealing it as you see necessary to ensure the longevity of your tiled surfaces!
Summer is their playground, but it’s ok to ruin their fun. They thrive in this weather, both indoors and outdoors. So make sure to get your house sprayed early on in the season and wash down cobwebs in the crevices along the exterior of your home.
Baseboards are often overlooked when it comes to cleaning. It can be tough to muster up the energy to get on your hands and knees and clean the trim, but it is something you want to do at least once a year to keep dust and dirt from building up. A damp cloth and a little patience is all you need to clean up the trim around your home. Once they are clean this is also a great time to touch up the caulking to keep them looking brand new.
Many people neglect to clean out their dryer vent occasionally, causing lots of lint buildup and putting them at risk for a dryer fire. Thankfully you can avoid any risk of that with a few simple maintenance tips. You’ll need a dryer vent brush kit which will provide a brush to clean the vent tubing much better than a vacuum cleaner. Be sure to clean out the tubing and replace it back exactly as it was.
Also it’s a good idea to check the dryer’s lint trap housing and output vent on occasion to wipe them and prevent too much buildup. Lint buildup is very susceptible to catching fire in the heat, so be sure to take precaution and clean it out! For complete instructions to clean your dryer’s lint trap, screen and vent, visit here.
Make sure the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly and change the batteries as necessary!
Before you start grilling all your favorite summer foods, give your barbeque a deep cleaning. For gas grills, turn it on high with the lid on and allow it to cook for 30 minutes. Let it cool for a few moments then brush away all the char that’s been stuck on there for months! Or if you have a charcoal grill, empty it out completely and use a scrubby sponge and dish soap to wash the inside out completely – be sure to let it dry completely before using it again!
Take advantage of the longer, warmer days to complete all your summer maintenance projects so you can enjoy a BBQ with the family. While this list is extensive, it is not complete. If there are additional items at your house that need special attention during a specific season of the year, add it to your calendar. Remember, by keeping up with regular home maintenance tasks, you will hopefully protect yourself from future headaches and wasted money!
Author: Ashley De Young, De Young Properties
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