It’s finally summer! Before you hit the beach or pack up the car for your family vacation, don’t forget about the routine maintenance that should be performed on your home this season. This summer home maintenance will help lower energy bills and save you time, effort, and investment of future home repair.
To keep the home functioning at its best, follow these 11 summer home maintenance tips.
- Continue ongoing monthly maintenance.
- Strictly monitor the entire home’s humidity levels daily and use a dehumidifier to remove excess humidity. Condensation buildup on any surface in the home is a sign of excessive humidity.
- Make sure you can see water in all drains. The trap needs to have water to ensure that sewer gas does not emit from the floor drain.
- Clean the bathroom fan grill by removing the grill and rinsing with water. Bath fans play a crucial role in removing humidity from the home.
- Disconnect the duct connected to the dryer and the wall and clean all connections of lint. Clean the dryer vent’s outside hood, as well.
- Inspect all exterior penetrations through the exterior envelope of the home. Use an exterior-approved caulking to seal any potential areas where water and/or pests could enter.
- Inspect weather-stripping around all doors. All doors will react differently with different seasons, so some minor adjustments to door catches may be needed to create a tighter seal between the door and weather-stripping.
- Check that painted exterior items are in good condition and touch up/re-paint as needed. These items may include: front door, porch post, architectural moldings, garage door, steel lintels over windows and doors (in brick areas), and main gas service supply.
- Make sure the A/C condenser is clean and clear of any obstructions. Check that the A/C disconnect is plugged in, too!
- Seal all exterior concrete surfaces to protect the concrete from harmful salt tracked in on vehicle tires in the winter. Contact a licensed concrete contractor to get a quote on sealing concrete.
- Sealing garage floor concrete is also recommended. Epoxy concrete sealers will protect the surface of the new concrete and accommodate easy cleaning.
Do you have any summer maintenance tips to add to our list? Leave them in the comments!
