16 Easy Spring Home Maintenance Tasks

What Are The Most Important Home Maintenance Tasks To Complete In The Spring?

Let’s be honest, being a homeowner does come with some “adulting.” There are filters and lightbulbs to change, gutters to clean, and windows to caulk – i.e., things that need to get done to keep your house in top shape. But before you know it, the weekend comes and goes, and it’s hard to find time to conquer that darn honey-do list.

With spring weather around the corner and daylight getting longer, now is a great time to finally get caught up with some of these common household chores.
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To help get you started, we gathered a list of 16 spring home maintenance tips you can tackle right now as the spring season hits. Print out this free Spring Home Maintenance Checklist to keep you on track!

Popular and Easy-To-Do Home Maintenance Tips

Below is a list of some of the most popular at-home maintenance tips that can easily be completed over a couple of weekends. Some of these tips are very easy, and simple chores for most homeowners. If any of them are out of your realm of knowledge, my suggestion is search the Internet for how-to advice, or call a professional for help.

In our market here – just like many other markets in the country, we notice a wave of Northwest Arkansas homes for sale this time of year. If you too have a real estate goal in mind this year, now is a great time to complete any deferred maintenance around the house.
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Some homeowners also consider having a pre-listing home inspection to learn more about other things that may pop up before listing their home for sale.

#1 Replace Your HVAC Filter

Replacing your filter for your HVAC is one tip that should be done on a regular basis. Many experts recommend that this should be done every four to six weeks. Depending on the type of furnace filter you have may determine how often you should replace it.
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Staying on top of this throughout the year can drastically help prolong the life of your unit and also help your HVAC run more efficiently. So if you haven’t done it in a while – now is a good time to get it done.

#2 Service Your Air Conditioning Unit

Preventative maintenance always is a valuable approach to making sure all of your units and appliances are running efficiently and correctly. Making sure your HVAC is properly serviced before the warm temperatures set in is a great way to prolong the lifespan of your unit.
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Having your air conditioning go out in mid-summer when temperatures are in the 90’s is definitely a dreaded nightmare. Call a local HVAC licensed technician to come out and service your air conditioning unit before the blazing temperatures hit.

#3 Clean Gutters & Downspouts

Have you gotten ready for the spring showers? This time of year tends to have more rainfall than any other season. Did you know that every inch of rainfall on a 1,000-sq-ft roof will collect 600 gallons of water? That is why so many homeowners have chosen to install rain barrels to take advantage of this great resource and use it for their landscaping.
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However, even if you do not have a rain barrel to collect rainwater, make sure your drain and gutter system is in top shape. This will make sure the rain coming off the roof is being properly directed away from the house and your foundation. Cleaning out your gutters and downspouts is a super easy home maintenance tip for you to complete this spring.

#4 Re-Caulk Around Windows

Over time, old caulking can dry out and become hard, causing drafty windows that make it difficult to cool your home over a hot summer. Also, poorly caulked windows can cause other issues such as water intrusion. If it has been ages since the last time you caulked your windows and doors, now is a good time to take care of that.
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When doing so, make sure you replace the old caulking by scraping or cutting it away before re-applying the new. This will help the caulking last longer and will help improve the efficiency of your windows and doors.

#5 Clean Siding

Improve the look of your home by giving your siding a good cleaning. Typically, we see that the north side of a home starts to form a green algae film where there is less sunlight hitting the home.
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Depending on how much of an area is affected, this easily can be cleaned off. A garden hose and a brush with a little bit of detergent can restore your siding so it looks like new again.

#6 Repair Chipping/Peeling Paint

Over time the paint around the exterior of your home tends to flake and peel away. When that happens, it leaves bare wood exposed. Typically, you see this around the exterior trim of windows and doors.

Prepping the surface correctly and repainting the areas can help protect the wood from being exposed to the outside elements and save it from being damaged or rotting.
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Simply giving these areas a fresh coat of paint this spring will brighten them up and make them look new again. Repairing chipping and peeling paint also can help eliminate one of the most common bank appraisal issues when determining your home’s value.

#7 Seal Your Driveway

Properly maintaining your driveway can help prolong the life and drastically improve the look. Also, if you are thinking about selling your home this spring – staining your driveway can significantly give the front of your house a whole new look. Depending on your driveway, this can be an easy-to-do task that you can complete over a warm, dry weekend.

#8 Stain Your Deck

​Another great tip if you are thinking about selling your home this spring is to enhance the look of your deck. If the weather and the temperature is just right you can simply prepare your deck for all the different elements throughout the year. Of course, this project can be time-consuming for a homeowner, but it is a great home maintenance tip that produces great results.

#9 Vacuum Behind the Refrigerator

Replacing a refrigerator can be a large and unexpected expense. The good news is that usually, preventative maintenance can help extend the lifespan of appliances. Before getting started on any kind of routine maintenance on your appliances, you can usually check the owner’s manual to learn more about how to properly care for the unit.
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One of the easiest ways to improve the efficiency of a refrigerator, besides simply cleaning out old leftovers on the inside, is by pulling the refrigerator away from the wall and gently vacuuming dust and debris behind it to allow for proper air circulation and to make sure the coils are not running too hot.

#10 Replace or Clean Your Dryer Vent

​Full dryer vents are known as one of the leading causes of fires. Replacing or cleaning your dryer vent is a great spring maintenance tip that every homeowner should not neglect. You would be surprised the amount of lint buildup that can gather inside a dryer vent. Don’t put off this home maintenance tip any longer!

#11 Replace Batteries in Your Smoke Detector

While we’re talking about things that can catch on fire, making sure all of the smoke detectors in your home are working is extremely important. Most manufacturers recommend testing each smoke alarm at least once a month to make sure they are working properly. It also is suggested that you replace the smoke alarms or replace the batteries every time change – once in the spring and again in the fall.

#12 Flush Out Your Water Heater

Depending on the water in your area may determine how often this may need to be done. Some recommend flushing out your water heater once a year – or even once every few years. Doing this is a great way to improve and extend the life of the tank and the water heater itself.
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There are plenty of tutorials available online to learn how to properly do it step-by-step, or check your owner’s manual to learn how to service your hot water heater appropriately. If you do not feel comfortable doing so, you always can contact a local licensed plumber to come out to service the water heater if it is an older unit.

#13 Plumbing Maintenance​

​Do you have a dripping faucet or caulking that needs to be replaced around the bathtub? Either reach out to your local plumber or tackle these on your own. Neglecting the caulking around a bathtub can cause issues that you may not notice until it becomes a larger concern down the road.

#14 Chimney Maintenance

​After a rough winter and the fluctuation of temperatures, your chimney may be in need of a little TLC. Sometimes, brick chimneys will need to have damaged mortar removed and have new mortar put in. This is called tuckpointing and usually can be accomplished by a local handyman or bricklayer if you do not have the proper tools to do so yourself.

#15 Prepare Your Lawn Equipment

Cutting the grass is right around the corner and will be here before you know it. Now is an ideal time to pull out all the lawn equipment from the garage or shed and start getting them ready for the spring and summer months.
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Simply unplugging the old spark plug, draining old gas and oil, and removing the old air filter from the year before and then replacing it all with new, is an easy way to prep your lawn equipment. You also may consider taking the lawnmower blades to a local shop to have them sharpened or even replaced if needed.

#16 Switch Direction of Ceiling Fans

​Now that the temperatures are starting to get warmer you probably will start turning on ceiling fans around the house. A lot of homeowners change the direction of their ceiling fan in the winter to better circulate the warm air. Now is a good time to change the direction of the fan to help cool down your house this summer.

Use a Checklist!

Sometimes as a homeowner, it may seem like there is always something to do around the house. Print this free Spring Home Maintenance Checklist and break up the items over a few weekends to more easily get them done, especially for any homeowner that is deciding on making the move in the coming months.

Keep in mind that most active home buyers are looking for a home that is turn-key ready and not a home that has a lot of deferred maintenance.

When you're ready to buy or sell, get in touch with me to get the process started right away!