Prepping Your Home for Summer

Summer brings to mind lazy days in the sun, spending the long hours of daylight spending time with family at baseball games, barbeques, swimming holes and running through the sprinklers. With all that fun, though, comes a little responsibility. Home maintenance does not take a summer vacation, but keeping up on your maintenance schedule will prevent costly repairs when school is back in session!

Outside Looking In

As you know, cold weather can do a lot of damage to the exterior of your home. Summer means more time spent outdoors, and you don’t want to find an unexpected surprise when it’s time to invite the neighbors over for a barbeque. First, inspect your deck for signs of rot or moisture damage from the winter months. Rain and snow may have injured the wood. After making any necessary repairs, consider a fresh coat of paint or stain, too. It’ll help create a barrier against the elements all summer long. Your home’s sidings also may have been damaged by moisture or road salt. Moisture means mold, so be sure to give the siding a good soap n’ scrub to wipe away any mold and give your home a pretty shine!

If you are hosting that barbeque we mentioned, be sure to get that grill in tip top shape. Refill the propane tank or buy a few bags of charcoal, depending on your type of unit. Scrub the grill clean and get to work on that secret family marinade recipe – it’s time to get grillin’!

Shed a Few Pounds

While pulling out your lawn furniture from the shed, take a moment to give its contents a good, hard look. Now is a great time to take stock of the contents and declutter accordingly. If you find a bunch of things you can do without, but don’t want to simply throw away, hold a yard sale! The weather is perfect for it. Even if there is nothing in the shed you need to toss out, this is the perfect opportunity to move the gardening tools to the front and the holiday decorations to the back, or even just give it a thorough deep clean.

Let There Be Light

Just as we scurry out of our homes to play outside in the summer, so do critters we may not want scampering in the backyard. Invasive animals are far more active in the summer months, so be sure to get your outdoor lighting in working order. Check the electrical lines for any damage, and swap out burned out bulbs. Backyard floodlights serve the double purpose of both illuminating the backyard for human visitors and discouraging the furry variety from setting up shop in your gardens, or worse, in your home.

Inside Scoop

Though you’ll want to spend your time outdoors, don’t neglect the inside of your home! Now is a great time to get to some of those little things that fell by the wayside during the holidays and frantic dash toward the last day of school. Avid readers of the blog will remember we recommended against a deep clean of your oven right before Thanksgiving, since it’s taxing on the unit and could lead to failure just when it’s time to throw in the bird. Fast forward a few months, and here we are in the perfect time of year to deep clean all your kitchen appliances. As more and more of your cooking is done outdoors or shift to meals that don’t need the oven at all, give it a good scrub. The same goes for the microwave, toasters, even the refrigerator. Regular cleaning will help increase their efficiency and keep them working longer.

Walk All Over It

The rain, sleet and snow (not to mention mud and salt) that tried to wreak havoc on your outdoor sidings are no less kind to your floors. Summer is a great time to get your floors back into shape. Though all floors need scrubbed and cleaned following the foot traffic sludge-fest that is winter and spring, hardwood will need the most TLC. After thoroughly cleaning the floor, treat it with a polish, wax, or wood soap.

Air Apparent

As the weather gets warmer, air flow in your home becomes a priority. Wiping down ceiling fans will help prevent dust from swirling around your rooms, improving the air quality of your rooms overall. Replacing the central air conditioning filter every 30 days will also help to keep the air in your home fresh and clean! Another often overlooked opportunity to rid your home of dust bunnies is cleaning the bathroom vents. This simple task will help them last longer and run quieter. To do this, vacuum the louvers on the outside cover, then gently remove the vent cover and vacuum the fan side of the vent cover. Also suck up any dust visible inside the fan motor housing. While you’re on the ladder, this is also a great time to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Outdoor central air conditioning condensers need a little love, too. Make sure the top and sides are free from obstruction, and any shrubs or fencing are at least a foot away. Uneven ground beneath the unit will also disrupt the fan blades, so check the unit is stable and does not rock back and forth.

A little summer maintenance can go a long way to set your home up for success as the seasons change in the coming months. It may seem now like the long days and warm summer nights will never end, but before you know the leaves will be turning and the kids will be back in class! Put in the effort now to protect yourself from costly repairs later. If your daydreams lean more toward owning your own home than getting the perfect tan, be sure to reach out to us. Some great things are in the works at GCD, and we’re excited to work with you to find how you and your family can be a part of it!