The first day of spring is less than two weeks away — the perfect time to start your spring cleaning. Keeping up with home maintenance is an important aspect of reducing the risk of costly home repairs and upholding your home’s value. In fact, you can lose 10% of your property value just as a result of not keeping up with proper maintenance.
To help keep your home in great shape, we’re rounding up a few tips and some local businesses that can help.
1. Clean your gutters: This is one of the most important home maintenance steps you can take as clogged gutters can lead to serious water damage. Ensure that all gutters and downspouts are free of leaves and other types of debris to prevent rainwater from overflowing.
2. Clean the A/C condenser: Experts recommend doing this task at least once a year. The A/C condenser is the part of the system typically found outside the home, which transfers heat from inside to the outdoors. Cleaning the condenser will improve your system’s efficiency and potentially lower your energy costs. Try it yourself or contact an HVAC professional.
3. Prep the yard: As the temperature warms up, it’s important to get your yard and garden ready for the spring by cleaning up weeds, applying fertilizer, mowing the law, landscaping bushes and trees and trimming tree branches.
4. Clean the siding: Regularly cleaning the siding on your home will keep it looking beautiful and help maintain value when you go to sell your property. You can use a hose and a soft cloth to touch up the siding, but power washing a couple times each year is recommended.
5. Clean and repair decks: Before the summer hits, get your deck cleaned up and ready to entertain guests. Most decks can be power washed as well. Then, look for any areas that require repairs — splintered wood, fading color, loose rails — and address issues as soon as possible.
6. Caulk around windows and doors: Using the right type of caulk around windows and doors can prevent air from entering or escaping your home, reducing your energy use and spending.
7. Inspect walkways and driveways: Over time, walkways and driveways often become damaged, but this can turn into a safety issue, especially if you have older visitors who are prone to falling. Check your walkways to look for any areas that may require professional attention.
8. Inspect the roofing: Perhaps one of the most important maintenance tasks, inspecting the roof can prevent weather-related damage, regular wear and tear from aging and potential leaks from becoming worse.
Follow these eight steps to keep your home in top shape and make it easier to sell in the future.
If you need help with home maintenance, insurance or listing your property for sale, check out some of these local businesses:
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