Home Maintenance Checklists for Every Season

Home Maintenance Checklist – Summer Tips

This Summer home maintenance checklist offers tips and advice to keep your home’s systems–especially your air conditioning–in good working order during hot Summer months.

1. Change/clean HVAC air filters.
2. If applicable, have your septic tank system inspected to assure that it is in good working order.
3. Have lateral sewer lines inspected and cleared.
4. Inspect driveways, sidewalks, patios, bricks, and other concrete or stone surfaces for cracks. Repair as needed.
5. Remove hair from drains in tubs, sinks, and showers using drain cleaner that is appropriate for your system.
6. Inspect decks, steps, and wooden structures for wood rot and other damage. Make repairs as soon as possible to minimize further complications.
7. Weatherproof all wooden surfaces if it has been two years or more since you last did so.
8. Check eaves around your home’s roof, chimneys, caps, etc. Remove flying insect nests. Fix any damaged areas.
9. Test ground-fault circuit interrupters around your home. Examine electrical cords for wear.
10. Inspect washer hoses and dryer vent system.

Home Maintenance Checklist – Winterize Your Home

Our Fall maintenance checklist offers tips and advice to winterize your home’s systems and make sure they are in good working order during the upcoming Winter months.

1. Have your heating system professionally inspected.
2. Change/clean HVAC air filters. Use a vacuum with a brush attachment to clean out forced air registers and ductwork in your house.
3. Check the weather stripping around your exterior doors and windows. Repair gaps or other damaged areas.
4. Inspect the caulking around the exterior doors and windows. Reapply if necessary to minimize drafts and keep insects out.
5. Properly “close” your pool. Make sure water is drained from pipes, and cover your pool to keep it clean and safe during the off-season.
6. Clean your chimney and fireplace to minimize chances for fire-related problems during Winter.
7. Inspect your roof for damaged shingles, flashing, skylights, dormers, etc. Repair as needed.
8. Inspect attic and basement for signs of birds, squirrels, bats, and unwanted guests. Seal entrance holes.
9. Drain water from outdoor faucets, garden hoses, and underground sprinkler systems to minimize freeze damage.
10. Insulate pipes outside the home and in unheated basements and garages.

Home Maintenance Checklist – Winter Tips

Below is a home maintenance checklist offering tips and advice to keep your home’s systems in good working order during Winter months.

1. Test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace batteries and any damaged equipment.
2. Take fire extinguishers to a certified inspector to make sure they function properly.
3. Change/clean HVAC air filters.
4. Check faucets in your kitchen, bathrooms, basements, etc., for leaks and other problems. Clean the lint out of your clothes dryer vent.
5. Check refrigerator and freezer gaskets. Place a dollar bill on the seal then close the door; if the bill easily moves, the seal is not working properly.
6. Use a vacuum with a brush attachment to clean coils on the back of your refrigerator and freezer.
7. Flush water heaters to remove sediment and improve efficiency.
8. Dye test toilets and repair identified leaks.

Home Maintenance Checklist – Spring Cleaning Tips

Below is a home maintenance checklist offering Spring cleaning tips, and advice to get your home’s systems in good working order for the upcoming warmer months.

1. Have your air conditioning system professionally serviced.
2. Change/clean HVAC air filters.
3. Clear debris from around the outside of air conditioner, removing the cover, if applicable.
4. Inspect windows and doors to make sure they function properly. Replace if necessary.
5. Check putty around windowpanes and weather stripping around windows and doors. Fix as needed.
6. Check window and door screens. Replace or repair as needed.
7. Check locks, latches, and hinges on your doors and windows. Replace or repair as needed.
8. Trim back trees and shrubs as needed to eliminate overhanging branches and to improve curb appeal.
9. “Open” your pool for the swimming season. Make sure your pump and filtration systems work effectively, and that your chemicals are balanced.
10. Pressure wash your home’s exterior, and apply touch-up paint as required to address paint failure.
11. Remove leaves, small branches, and debris from gutters, downspouts, and down-spout extensions so that water properly drains away from your home.
12. Look for sagging or otherwise damaged gutter components. Repair if necessary.
13. Inspect your basement or crawlspace for dampness.
14. Turn on water to outdoor faucets, turn on irrigation system, and check sprinkler heads. Make needed repairs.
15. Clean the screens on roof vents and louvers.
16. Examine caulking around sinks, tubs, and showers. Reapply if necessary.
17. Remove early signs of bird nests and stinging insect nests from eaves, ledges, etc.
18. Check foundation walls and wooden areas at or near ground level for signs of termites and other wood-boring insects