Winter weather can take a toll on your home both inside and out. Spring, however, is a good time to perform maintenance tasks that ensure your home is ready for warmer weather. The following tasks should be part of your spring maintenance checklist.
Check your roof
If you have had snow storms, ice storms and other winter weather in your area, plan to check your roof during spring. You might see shingles or tiles on the ground near your home if they were blown off. Also check for loose tiles, damaged eaves and other signs of roof damage. If you're not sure what to search for, you can have a professional roof inspection done to find any damage that occurred during the winter.
Check your windows and doors
Check for openings around windows and doors in spring. Finding and closing these openings will help keep cooler air in your home as temperatures heat up. You can close these gaps and openings with weather stripping, caulking or other materials. Sealing up these gaps also helps prevent spring pest infestations as bugs become more active again.
Inspect outdoor faucets and sprinkler systems
Warmer weather means you can turn outdoor faucets and sprinkler systems back on again after shutting them down for the winter. Before using these, check to make sure they're working properly. If you put any insulation on sprinkler heads or faucets, remove it before testing them.
Clean your deck or patio
Your deck or patio might have grime on it from not being used or cleaned during winter. Give your deck or patio a good cleaning before getting it ready to use in warmer weather. Consider refinishing your deck if the wood is looking worn, which helps protect it from wear and tear all spring and summer long.
Put new batteries in detectors
Replacing old batteries with new ones in carbon monoxide and smoke detectors is an important spring maintenance task. Having fresh batteries helps ensure that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors will warn you if there's a fire or carbon monoxide leak.
Clean your gutters
Prepare your gutters for spring storms by clearing them out. Winter debris can accumulate in your gutters and stop water from flowing through them. You can either get up on a ladder to clean your gutters, or have professional gutter cleaning done.
About the Author
Judy Szablak
With over 30 years in the industry, Realtor Judy Szablak has been on national television for her real estate expertise on the HGTV Network, featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio "Morning Living” , NPR radio as an expert real estate panelist, It’s Relevant News channel, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal for her in depth knowledge of Fairfield County Connecticut real estate.
She was also on the local NPR radio station (WSHU) as a Fairfield County CT real estate expert. Judy has provided multiple online respected news sources with her real estate expertise including The Daily Easton, The Daily Weston, The Daily Fairfield, The Daily Stamford and The Daily Greenwich, as well as in print in the New York Post. She is a weekly Real Estate Columnist for WestportNow.com, another real estate column "Real Estate With Judy” is syndicated through Hearst CT Media Online and seen in The Connecticut Post, The Danbury News-Times, The Stamford Advocate, The Greenwich Time, The Hour, Fairfield Citizen, Westport News, Darien News, New Canaan News and the Wilton Villager.
Judy is also the author of the book, The Art of Buying or Selling a Home, available at all major book retailers. Additionally, Judy has been nationally recognized in a number of national real estate trade magazines, some with distribution to over 1 million members. She was featured in Real Estate Today as early as 1994 for her commitment to, and implementation of technology in real estate. Judy appeared in the Certified Residential Specialist Magazine, as she provided advice on marketing strategies and ethics in the article titled "Marketing Makeovers.”
Judy was also featured in REALTOR® Magazine, regarding image enhancement for Realtors. She was again featured in REALTOR® Magazine, in an article on "Achieving Flow” and operating at optimal peak performance. In another article in the same publication, Judy offered guidance to fellow real estate professionals as she explored the topic of implementing and maintaining personal websites. She has appeared in The Council of Residential Specialists Magazine, which featured her ideas regarding technology. Additionally, Judy authored an article on marketing and technology for the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Online Magazine. On two occasions, in 2015 and 2017, she appeared as a featured agent in Top Agent Magazine. I have a few other websites- www.TheCtrealtyBlog.com www.CtHomesAndRealEstate.com www.BestWestportHomes.com www.ThePetitePowerhouse.com www,SzablakConsulting.com
