Freshen Up Your Home With Spring Maintenance Tasks

Freshen Up Your Home With Spring Maintenance Tasks 

After a long cold winter, the first signs of spring are finally arriving. You have seen those first bulbs peeking their heads above the snow, and you may have even seen a robin scouring the frozen ground for worms.

The warmth of spring is right around the corner, and now is the time to get your home ready for the better weather ahead. If you want your old home to look and feel new again, here are 10 spring maintenance tasks you can complete now. 

• Schedule a chimney sweeping: There is nothing like the warmth of a roaring fire when it’s cold outside, but the ash residue could be silently building up in the chimney. Now is the time to call a chimney sweep so your future fires will be warmer and safer. 
• Replace your furnace filters: Your furnace has been working overtime all winter long, and the filters are likely clogged with dirt and debris. Replacing those dirty filters now can increase the efficiency of your HVAC system and lower your future utility bills. 
• Create an emergency kit for summer power outages: Winter may be ending, but spring and summer storms can still bring the threat of power outages. If you have an emergency kit with extra food and water, spare batteries, and other essentials, now is the time to replenish it. If you do not yet have an emergency power outage kit, now is the time to build one. 
• Upgrade your outdoor hand and power tools: Remember the broken tine on that rake or the lawn mower that never starts? Now is the time to upgrade that equipment, and you can find some real bargains this time of year. 
• Check and clean the hose on your dryer: You have been doing a lot of laundry during the cold winter months, but when was the last time you checked your dryer hose? The dryer hose can become clogged with lint and other debris, creating a risk of fire and driving down the efficiency of the appliance.   
• Weatherproof your windows and doors: If your energy costs have spiked over the winter, the cold weather may not be the only culprit. Weatherproofing your windows and doors can help you save money both now and during the summer cooling season. 
• Consider upgrading your water heater: A tankless water heater can reduce your energy costs, and now is the perfect time to install one. You can find some great deals on tankless water heaters in the late winter months, and installers are often less busy at this time of year. 
• Check your gutters: Your gutters really took a beating with all that ice and snow, so show them a little love with a thorough inspection. If Santa gave you a drone for Christmas, get it out and do a flyover – this is a great way to spot clogs, breaks, and defects that are not visible from the ground. 
• Inspect the insulation on your pipes: Hopefully, you prepared for winter power outages and cold weather by insulating your pipes. Now is the perfect time to inspect and repair that insulation. A little bit of maintenance now can prevent a huge repair bill later. 
• Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: Having multiple smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of your home is essential for your safety, but when was the last time you tested them? Now is the time to check those life saving devices and make sure they are working the way they should. 

With spring just around the corner, it has never been more important to get your home in shape. The simple maintenance tasks outlined above can give your old home a new lease on life this spring, so grab your tools and get going.