Originally published 4/4/2019

It’s springtime! Now is a good time to take care of some home maintenance tasks that we tend to let slide.

Gutters

First, now is a great time to clean your gutters. It’s a dirty job, but it needs to be done to make sure your gutters are doing their job and directing rainwater where you want it to go, instead of just running off the edge of your roof (and bouncing back up onto your siding and trim – more about that later.) We posted an article about this earlier this year, with important safety tips and some suggestions about products and tools to help make this job easier. Click here for the details.

Chimney

If you have a wood burning fireplace, you should clean your chimney flue. Creosote buildup in your flue can result in a chimney fire.

Local hardware stores can sell you a brush kit to remove built up soot from the inside of your flue.

Be sure to start by removing as much ash as possible from your fireplace. Close the doors to your fireplace, and tape plastic over the front of your fireplace to keep soot and ash from flying out the front as you are brushing out the flue. If you aren’t comfortable going up on your roof, consider hiring a professional to do the job for you – especially if your home is more than one story. Alternatively, it is also possible to clean your chimney from the bottom up.

Siding

Another good maintenance task to take care of now is pressure washing your siding.

Pressure washing is a great way to remove dirt and mildew from the exterior of your home, as long as you remember a few basic tips. Before pressure washing your home, make sure to thoroughly wet down all garden areas, flower beds, and shrubs near your home to ensure your plants are contaminated by the cleaning solution. Avoid or cover electrical outlets. Be careful to avoid spraying into your siding overlap joints and soffit vents. Don’t use too much pressure or you could strip off the paint or even damage your siding.

You may wish to consider purchasing your own pressure washer. Renting a gas-powered pressure washer can cost nearly $100 a day, whereas you can buy an entry level pressure washer for $200-$400 outright.

Once you have gone to all the trouble to pressure wash the exterior of your home, a good product for keeping your exterior clean and mold free is a product called Wet & Forget Outdoor.

Wood Trim

Yet another maintenance task is to touch up the caulking and paint on the lower portions of your wood trim around your windows, doors, garage doors, and porch columns. We frequently see buyer home inspection reports calling out wood rot for repair or replacement. Falling water splashes back up onto wood trim near ground level, causing damage and rot much sooner than on wood trim at eye level.

AC service

You should also contact your HVAC company to inspect and service your air conditioning system. As we mentioned in our home maintenance post, it is very important to change your air filter every month, but a professional can also do a thorough cleaning on your condenser coils and ensure that your coolant pressure levels are at a satisfactory level and ensure that your coolant isn’t leaking.