Enduring the rough weather during winter and tackling all of your spring cleanings after, may take a toll on your home. When summer arrives, it’s time to take care of any repairs that the winter weather may have brought upon your home. Taking care of home maintenance tasks will protect your home and save you money down the line.
A summer maintenance checklist will help you maintain your home’s value over the years, boost its curb appeal, and protect it from upcoming weather. Maintenance will make your home and lifestyle comfortable during the boiling summer holidays when you can only stay indoors to keep cool. Your spring cleaning is probably already done, so let’s look at the home maintenance tasks you may want to take on this summer.
Exterior Maintenance
If you’re wondering about which tasks you should take on this summer, here is a comprehensive list of the most useful home maintenance tips. Starting with the tasks you take on outside your home.
Pressure Wash Your Exterior
Pressure washing will eliminate the grime built up over the past year. Power washing can also remove peeling paint from your home’s siding – this is a sign that your siding will need a new coat of paint this summer.
Summer and spring are the best times of the year to pressure wash your exterior due to the weather. Simply pick a day and time during the warmer months to complete the job. You don’t want to paint your home’s exterior on a day that’s too hot to handle, where working in the heat can become dangerous.
Paint Your Home
Every few years you should repaint your home’s exterior and do touch-ups now and then. This summer, check your home’s siding and exterior to identify any areas that need a touch-up, or start planning an entire paint job if required.
Avoid painting your home on the hottest day of the year. Also, if the paint dries too quickly, it can crack or peel more easily in the following months. If the weather is generally too hot or rainy this summer, just hold the project until early autumn.
Repair And Paint Your Gate Or Fence
Summer is a good time to make repairs and paint your gate or fence. The weather should be dry and warm for the paint to dry properly.
Before you begin painting, check your gate for issues like cracking or splintering wood and loose rails. Once the repairs are done, use a pressure washer to clean your fence and remove peeling or flaking paint. Then repaint with the colour of your choice.
Inspect The Roof
It’s important to ensure that your roof is ready for the rainy season. Check if the roof is missing a tile or shingle; summer is the time to repair those large things.
Spruce The Garden
The lawn is an area that is easy to overlook, especially during winter. For summer time you will want your lawn to look lush, green, and free from weeds or patches. Consider aerating and overseeding your lawn to prevent and alleviate soil compaction, fill in the patches, and thicken your grass.
Depending on the region in which you live and its usual weather, you may want to do these gardening tasks in the early summer or late spring.
If you don’t have the time to take care of your garden, book an outdoor service with SweepSouth to have your garden professionally transformed.
Give Your Garage Some Care
In summer, it’s generally warm enough to leave the garage door open for a while, which makes it a great time to do some maintenance.
Move your car out of the garage, then shut the door and oil its hinges to keep it opening and closing smoothly, even getting rid of that creaking sound it may have. Also, if your door has an opener and a chain, clean the chain by removing dirt and debris, then oil it well. Clean the clutter and old storage from the garage too. Better yet, have your garage cleaned by a pro this summer.
Clean The Gutter
Gutter cleaning should be done a couple of times a year, or at least whenever gutters become blocked, which can be at any time, even in summer. If your gutters and downspouts are clogged with leaves, dirt, and debris, thanks to windy weather, clear them out ASAP. By taking on this task before summer, you can minimise potential weather damage, broken gutters, and infestations that tend to arise during the rainy season.
Alternatively, head over to our website and book to have your gutter cleaned by a pro with SweepSouth.
Maintain Your Outdoor Areas
Whether you use your garden to entertain guests and family, or for peaceful quiet time, keep your garden features looking good throughout the entire summer.
After hosting an outdoor gathering or braai, remember to wipe down your outdoor furniture and other outside surfaces. Inspect the deck, patio, and braai area or lappa for cracks or peeling old paint. This is a telltale sign that you need to repaint. Finally, make sure your lawn, trees, plants, and flower beds are getting a good amount of water from your sprinkler system.
Check Your Outdoor Plumbing
Winter freezes and spring thaws, meaning your outdoor taps and fixtures go under a lot of strain during these months. Even a slow drip can waste a lot of water and add up to your water bill. Also, water pooling around your house’s foundation can eventually cause structural damage.
Sprinkler System
Although we have a lot of rain throughout our summers, there are still many days that will be hot and dry. So your sprinkler system must be running efficiently to keep the grass green throughout the hot, dry days of summer.
Find your sprinkler heads and clean out the nozzles that may be clogged. Broken sprinkler heads should be replaced, and all heads should be adjusted so they’re facing perpendicular to the surface to prevent water wastage. Also, if you have one, you’ll want to inspect and clean your water feature to ensure it continues running smoothly.
Pool Cleaning
If you have a swimming pool in the garden, there’s no doubt it will be used the most during summer, so it’s important to stay on top of cleaning your pool. Skim the top for leaves and debris, empty the baskets, vacuum the bottom of the pool, clean out the filter, and check the chemical levels and water quality.
Interior Maintenance
Now that we have discussed the summer home maintenance tasks for your garden and exterior, your home’s interior is just as important, especially if you prefer to be indoors in the cool for most of the summer. Here’s what should be on your interior summer maintenance checklist.
