The Ultimate Spring Checklist To Maintain Your Utah Home
How did this past winter treat you, fellow Utahns? Luckily, if you live in Salt Lake City or along the Wasatch Front, spring is just about here! We’re definitely excited for the warmer weather springtime brings.
As Utah homeowners, springtime means catching up on the home maintenance tasks you couldn’t get to during the winter. This requires more than just the infamous spring cleaning. Since your home just endured months of snow and ice, it’s important to make sure this weather didn’t cause any damage to your home.
Not sure which tasks to tackle first? Here’s the ultimate spring checklist to maintain your Utah home…
Inspect your home’s roofing
Inclement winter weather can cause a lot of wear and tear to the roofing of Utah homes. At the beginning of springtime, once the snow has melted, it’s a good idea to inspect your roof for damage such as missing shingles or exposed pipes. If you feel up for climbing a ladder, you can do that to take a quick look at your roof, or you can even just stand in your yard and use binoculars or your smartphone to get a closer look at the condition of your home’s roofing. If you notice any damaged areas or lots of leftover debris (such as dead leaves or branches), call a professional roofer to have your roof repaired and/or cleaned.
Clean the gutters and downspouts to prepare for Utah’s springtime rain
As part of your spring maintenance checklist, make sure you thoroughly clean your Utah’s home’s gutters and downspouts. Similar to how winter storms can damage your roofing, the gutters and downspouts of your home can be damaged or get clogged during winter months.
Leaks and/or clogging in your gutters and downspouts prevents them from draining properly. It’s extremely important to ensure your gutters and downspouts drain well to prevent water and flooding damage to your home. Especially since spring tends to be a pretty rainy season in Utah, make sure there’s nothing blocking your gutters before those spring showers begin.
Repair any exterior surfaces at the beginning of spring
Are you thinking about painting the exterior of your house? Spring in Utah is the perfect time to give your house a fresh coat of paint, especially before the weather gets unbearably hot. If you’re not ready to paint your house, you can still give it a fresh look by power-washing the siding. Also, check the siding for any loose boards, and have those repaired if needed.
Hanging out on your deck or porch with your family and friends during Utah’s fabulous spring weather is the absolute best. With that in mind, you want to make sure these areas of your home are safe and ready to go for all the quality time this spring. To do this, inspect your porch and deck for warped or loose boards and rickety railings. Sweep away any debris, such as dead leaves, that may have accumulated on the deck or porch over the winter. Finally, resealing your home’s exterior woodwork every spring also helps the wood to last much longer than if you leave it be.
Clean the air ducts of your Utah home as part of your annual springtime maintenance tasks
After using the heating system in your home all winter, it’s a good idea to have your air ducts cleaned at the beginning of springtime. This helps rid your air vents of all dust, dander, and mold that may have built up in your air ducts over time. Especially during the winter, where there’s little fresh airflow in your home due to the cold weather outside, contaminant buildup in the air ducts of Utah homes is common.
Plus, springtime allergies in Utah can be quite severe, due to the high pollen count in the air. Having your air ducts cleaned helps get rid of any pollen and other allergens trapped in the air ducts of your home, which can help minimize allergy symptoms for Utah residents. Then, when you run the cooling system in your home, all of those irritants won’t be distributed throughout your home along with the cool air flow. If you’re a Utah resident who’s interested in having your home’s air ducts cleaned as part of your spring home maintenance list, contact Crystal Clean Vents today for a free in-home air duct inspection.
In that same vein, you’ll want to have your air conditioning unit serviced before you start to need it for hotter weather. You can have it serviced professionally, or at least change the filter, clean it for any dust, and check for any leaks in the hoses.
Inspect your home’s windows, window sills, and screens
One of the top things we look forward to about spring in Utah is finally getting to open up our home’s windows and let that fresh, springtime air into our homes. However, before doing that, there are a few things we need to do:
Check your windows to make sure you can get them open. If the window is stuck closed, try sliding a putty knife underneath the window to get it open.
Check your window sills for cracks and loose edges. Re-caulk them as needed to close off the cracks.
Check your screens for holes, and patch up the holes or replace the screens as needed.
Mosquitoes and termites thrive in Utah’s springtime weather, so repairing any holes in your window sills and screens is essential to help keep these pests outside of your home. Plus, closing off these holes helps minimize the amount of pollen that gets inside your home, therefore, helping you combat those pesky springtime allergies.
Miscellaneous Utah home maintenance tasks to accomplish this spring
As part of this seasonal maintenance series, we’ve been giving you some different tasks that need to happen around your home at least once a year. Here are some tasks to cross off your list this spring:
Rake up any dead leaves and debris in your yard that got buried under the snow during winter.
Test your sprinklers to make sure they’re working properly
Oil garage-door opener and chain, garage door, and all door hinges.
Remove lint from inside and outside washer hoses and dryer vents.
Look for grease residue in your kitchen, and wipe down all surfaces with warm water and a mild detergent
Clean kitchen exhaust fan filter.
Replace interior and exterior faucet and shower-head washers if needed.
Keep an eye out for termites and other infestations, clean, set out bug traps, and call an exterminator if needed
Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and change batteries as needed
Completing these springtime home maintenance projects on your Utah home will help your house stay in excellent condition for many years to come. If you’re wondering what other maintenance tasks we recommend doing throughout the year, check out our other seasonal home maintenance guides for Utah homeowners here: Summer, Fall, and Winter.