Your Home Maintenance Checklist For Every Season

Seasonal Home Checklist

Do you know how frequently you need to perform maintenance on your home systems to keep them up and running? Unless you are directly following the manufacturers’ yearly maintenance suggestions, you probably aren’t doing enough to extend the lives of your in home units. As the leading American home warranty company, providing a shield protecting your home against breakdowns, we thought it would be a good idea to provide you with some of the most effective and convenient tips for keeping your home systems and appliance performing at their peak no matter the season.

Winter

• Have your furnace annually serviced by a skilled professional. The improved efficiency will pay dividends on your energy bill and keep your family safer.
• Get your wood stove connector pipes and chimneys inspected by a certified chimney sweep annually.
• Check for gas odors around your appliances, particularly out of the way gas fireplaces.
• Insulate the pipes in your attic and crawl space.
• Remove debris from your window wells, gutters, downspouts, and storm drains.
• Clean your dryer’s exhaust duct, along with the damper. Wiping away any dirt and lint underneath the unit also helps.
• Check the attic ventilation.
• Check the caulking around your doors and windows. Loose seals translate to heat loss which ends up costing you more money.
• Thoroughly clean the exhaust hood and air filters in your kitchen.
• Check your water supply hoses for cracks and deterioration.

Spring

• Check to make sure the light bulbs in all your fixtures are the correct wattage.
• Consider installing a lightening protection system. Our home warranty does not cover lightening or other natural disasters, so it’s best to be prepared.
• Get a professional air conditioning contractor to inspect your system and perform any necessary maintenance.
• Trim shrubs and plants, moving them out of the way away of your condensing unit to ensure proper airflow and circulation.
• Check your roof for any water or weather damage incurred during the winter.
• Check your drainage and sewer system to protect from back-up losses.
• Drain sediment out of your water heater. Consult the manufacturer’s recommendation for the best method.
• Inspect your plumbing shutoff valves to make sure they are all working properly.
• Vacuum and Dust regularly to remove irritants that can carry germs and aggravate any allergies.
• With increased rain and thawing snow, a lot of basements flood during spring. To prevent this, make sure your sump pump is function properly and that your gutters and downspouts are clear of debris. Make sure the downspouts slope away from your home 6’ or more.

Summer

• Get your annual air conditioner maintenance done before the weather gets too hot.
• During peak temperature hours keep your curtains shut to cool off the house.
• When cooking, use exhaust fans to help remove excess heat and humidity.
• Close registers (HVAC Vents) in out of use rooms. However, make sure to close no more than one fourth of the area of your home, doing any more might damage your heating system.
• Caulk and weather-strip your windows.
• Keep your thermostat at 78 degrees for maximum efficiency.
• Make sure your fireplace flue stays shut when out of use.
• Clear furniture away from vents, registers, and radiators to help circulation.
• Change the filters on forced air units.
• Compact fluorescent lights will lower your energy bill by with their high efficiency, this is a perfect time to stock your home with them.

Fall

• Leaves & Debris—Make sure to keep the areas around your HVAC’s condensing unit free of debris and leaves. Regularly clean your gutters and downspouts ensuring water flows freely, this will prevent any structural issues and reduce the chance of flood in your home.
• Have a professional check your heating system before you need it in the winter.
• Take the necessary steps to prevent your pipes from freezing when temperatures drop.
• Drain your in ground sprinkler systems.
• Hire a certified chimney sweep to inspect and clean your flues and fireplace damper.
• Make sure caulking around doors and windows is ready to withstand the cold.
• Inspect all your painted surfaces for peeling, water damage, and mildew. Repair and repaint as necessary before the weather makes it impossible.
• Insulate any outdoor faucets and plumbing in unheated garages and crawl spaces. Otherwise, these places are ripe for freezing and breaking over the winter. Here, a little preparation now prevents a lot of headache later on.
• Check for and remove birds’ nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures.
• Dust and inspect your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Here at Liberty Home Guard we’re on a mission to simplify home ownership. With these tips outlining some of the most effective ways to be proactive when it comes to your home’s health, we hope this helps simplify your experience as a homeowner.