8 maintenance mistakes homeowners will make this spring
Lifestyle
Audio By Carbonatix
10:30 AM on Wednesday, March 18
By Mark Soto for HomeServe USA, Stacker
8 maintenance mistakes homeowners will make this spring
As a homeowner, routine home maintenance is a year-round obligation, especially with spring — a time to rejuvenate after winter and get ready for the summer — just around the corner. As you work through your seasonal spring home maintenance checklist, take care to avoid common mistakes that tend to spring up this time of the year.
From cleaning out your gutters to having vital home systems — such as HVAC and plumbing — inspected, staying a step ahead of potential missteps and necessary tasks can help keep your household running smoothly as the weather warms. HomeServe USA shares eight of the most common maintenance mistakes homeowners often make during the spring:
1. Ignoring Your Gutters
If you’re truly minding your maintenance obligations, then you need to keep your mind in the gutter. Homeowners should clean out their gutters at least twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. As your roof’s primary drainage system, gutters must remain clear of obstructions like leaves, twigs, dirt and critter corpses in order to prevent clogs that can result in rainwater runoff overflowing onto your roof and down the sides of your house, resulting in shingle, siding and foundation damage.
Combine neglected debris accumulation from winter with spring rainstorms, and you have a recipe for roof damage. Grab a ladder, a bucket and a pair of work gloves, and remove debris from gutters by hand, or call a roofer to handle this if you’re physically unable, unwilling or simply too grossed out.
2. Not Doing a Roof Inspection
Spring roof maintenance doesn’t stop at the gutters. A harsh winter can cause problems with your shingles, and a roof inspection can help you identify and address those issues before they worsen. To avoid a leaking roof during those proverbial April showers, climb up on a ladder and perform at least a cursory inspection of your roof, checking for warped, broken, missing or otherwise compromised shingles, as well as downed branches or other debris, and anything else out of the ordinary.
Again, if this isn’t something you’re willing or able to do yourself, a professional roofer can perform an inspection and fix or replace broken shingles, cracked flashing and other problems to ensure smooth sailing through spring.
3. Forgetting About Foundation Cracks
Winter weather can damage more than just your roof; what’s under your feet is vulnerable, too. Due to expansion and contraction of concrete during extreme temperature swings, cracks can form in your foundation — and spring is no time to ignore them. Those cracks can worsen as snow melts and soil absorbs that excess moisture, leading to soil erosion and further cracking, ultimately compromising the integrity of your home’s foundation.
If you live in an area prone to heavy spring rains, unchecked foundation issues can cause a deluge of other problems. Hire a foundation repair contractor to inspect your home’s foundation as well as fix cracks and any other issues they discover.
4. Enabling Allergens
They say those aforementioned April showers bring May flowers, and as those flowers bloom, they can release pollen that aggravates allergies, causing sneezing, itchy eyes and other discomfort. Prepare your home by replacing your HVAC filters. If the filters are clogged, they’ll have a harder time removing allergens from the air, while making your system work harder, impeding efficiency and resulting in higher energy bills.
You should be replacing your furnace, air handler and return filters at least every three months, so chances are that if you changed them out for winter, you’ll be due again when spring arrives. For severe allergies, you may also want to invest in an air purifier, and maybe even a HEPA-filter vacuum, as allergens often end up in your carpet or on your furniture surfaces.
5. Overlooking HVAC Tune-ups
After a brutal winter or in anticipation of a sweltering summer, a spring HVAC tune-up is worth every penny in the peace of mind it provides. While switching out the air filters every few months constitutes the bare minimum maintenance, it’s not enough.
Getting a professional tune-up by a licensed HVAC contractor typically includes cleaning the evaporator and condenser coils, cleaning the condensate drain line, refilling refrigerant, checking for leaks, calibrating the thermostat and inspecting electrical components. This ensures your HVAC system works when you need it most, and that any minor issues are diagnosed early, before they become bigger problems.
6. Skipping Spring Cleaning
In addition to the practical benefits of clearing clutter, spring cleaning is also a boon to your health. If you made frequent use of the fireplace during the winter, clean in and around it, and consider hiring a professional chimney sweep to do a deep dive. In your kitchen, thoroughly clean the appliances you use most, such as the oven, stovetop, refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker, and wipe down general surfaces to remove accumulated dust and debris. In the bathroom, deep cleaning should focus on removing stubborn soap scum from the sink, shower and bathtub, as well as cleaning and resealing your tile grout.
Homeowners might be tempted to spare themselves the effort of a big comprehensive cleaning, but even if it doesn’t pose a threat of a major system breakdown like plumbing, HVAC or electrical, it’s just as important. Doing a deep clean of your entire house can help with everything from better air quality to improving energy efficiency and lower utility costs.
7. Passing on Plumbing Inspections
Freezing temperatures over the winter months can damage your pipes and leave them susceptible to leaks. Inspecting your pipes for small leaks and fixing them in a timely manner can prevent bigger, wetter issues down the line — like a burst pipe and the flooding that follows. Also, check your lawn for puddles or saturated spots when it hasn’t been raining, as it could be an indicator of a broken underground water line or sewer line.
Since homes typically use up more water in the summer due to increased lawn and landscape demands, swimming pools and other warm-weather needs, catching issues early prevents you from wasting water and money.
8. Letting Landscaping Languish
Once the snow in your yard melts, it uncovers the months of seasonal neglect over the winter months. It’s time to rake up the yard to remove leaves, dead plants, damaged grass and other debris. Inspect your lawn and determine which patches could use overseeding, and add new mulch to landscaping so the stage is set as spring growth occurs.
It’s also a good time to inspect your hardscape — checking for cracks and weed encroachment in patios, sidewalks, driveways and other paved pathways. Like your home’s foundation, your hardscape can be compromised when snow melts and moisture enters the surrounding soil. Ignoring the landscaping and hardscaping around the house can cost you in the long term, with more expensive issues and aesthetic impacts.
This story was produced by HomeServe USA and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
