Home Maintenance Checklist to Keep Your Remodel Looking New

After spending money to remodel your home, you understandably want to keep it in shape. To pull that off, you need to make a home maintenance checklist. So, what should go on that checklist? If you are still a relatively new homeowner, you may have a tough time figuring out where to start. In that case, we are here to help you out.

Use this article to produce your own home maintenance checklist. Without further ado, let’s discuss the home maintenance tips you always need to keep in mind.

Your General Home Maintenance Checklist

Many of the maintenance tips our home renovation contractors discuss in this article are applicable during certain times of the year. We will get to those in a bit.

For this part of the article, we want to focus on the maintenance tasks you should perform no matter the season. As much as possible, these are the maintenance tasks that you should complete monthly. Let’s discuss them in greater detail below.

Inspect Elements of Your Home Security

Home security should always be your priority. You should continue to prioritize it as you go through your home maintenance checklist.

Do you have security cameras installed on your property? Check them out and see if they are still working as intended. You should do the same thing for your smart doorbell.

Make sure that those elements of your home are working to protect you and your family. If you have alarms set up around your property, you should take the time to inspect them too.

You should also check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Test them out so you can confirm that they are still working.

Deep Clean Your Kitchen

The kitchen is a part of the home that often ends up pretty messy. It is hard to prevent that from happening.

Your kitchen cabinets, countertops, and floors are likely candidates to end up coated in layers of dried sauces and liquid ingredients. While inspecting your kitchen, you may also find random pieces of food debris scattered all over the place.

Simply put, your kitchen can turn into an unsanitary area rather quickly. You can stop that from happening by deep cleaning your kitchen regularly.

How often do you need to deep clean your kitchen? Ideally, you should deep clean your kitchen two times per month. If you cannot manage that, you should aim for monthly cleaning.

Check for Leaking Pipes and Frayed Wires

We are combining these tips here because they are necessary maintenance tasks for keeping your home working properly. On top of that, you can never tell when you might need them.

Start by inspecting all the fixtures you have at home that use water. Check them carefully and see if water is pooling around them. Puddles of water are common indicators of leaking pipes.

Do not leave those leaks unaddressed because they can seriously damage your home.

Frayed wires are also dangerous. One of them could be the spark that starts an electrical fire. Inspect all your electrical connections at home before they cause any problems.

Examine Your Home’s Walls and Siding

One more general maintenance task you should perform regularly involves inspecting your home’s walls and siding. Small cracks may form on your walls and siding without you noticing. You may only become aware of those cracks once they affect the structural integrity of your home.

Stop those cracks from getting out of hand by keeping an eye out for them. You should also take the time to administer repairs as soon as you spot those cracks.

Your Winter Maintenance Checklist

We can now turn our attention to the maintenance tasks that you should perform at the start of each season. Let’s start with the maintenance tasks that you should work on during winter.

Protect Your Air Conditioner

You probably will not be using your air conditioner that much during the winter. Since you will not be using it for a while, you should keep it covered to shield it from the elements.

A simple tarp should be good enough to keep your air conditioner adequately protected. Make sure that it is completely covered.

Smaller window-type air conditioners can be removed from their perch and stored indoors. You can also get a small cover to protect your window-type air conditioner.

Clear Your Gutters

Gutters are designed to move water away from your roof. When the rain comes pouring down, your gutters work overtime to ensure that water will not get trapped up there.

Aside from water, random bits of debris may also get stuck in your gutters. That is the real issue because twigs and rocks can damage those elements of your home.

Those bits of debris are more likely to end up trapped in your gutters because rains are less frequent during winter. You need to remove them manually before they do real damage.

Seal Leaks Around Your Doors and Windows

Leaks can form along with your doors and windows. Those leaks may form due to your doors and windows aging.

If you do not address those leaks, you cannot heat your home effectively. You would effectively be wasting money in that scenario.

Inspect your doors and windows thoroughly and see if there are any leaks. Use a strong sealant and make additional repairs if they are necessary.

Turn Off Your Sprinkler System

Watering your lawn daily is no longer necessary during the winter season. If anything, your outdoor landscape may be adversely affected by daily watering.

Turn your sprinkler system off during the winter to preserve the quality of your lawn. You should also drain your sprinkler system so you can prevent frozen pipes.

So, will your lawn need watering at all during the winter? In all likelihood, your lawn will only need to be watered twice per month at most. Handle that watering manually to protect your lawn.

Your Spring Maintenance Checklist

Once spring rolls around, you will need to go through a new home maintenance checklist. The items that should be on that checklist are detailed below.

Change Your Air Conditioner’s Filter

Now that the weather’s warming up, you will likely need to use your air conditioner more often. While it is still early in the spring, you should replace your air conditioner’s filter so it can work properly.

According to This Old House, you should replace an air conditioner filter every three months.

Failing to replace the filters on time could cause the appliance’s performance to suffer. The air quality in your home may also be affected by your failure to replace the filter on time, so do not forget that important task.

Examine Your Roof

Going up to your roof during the winter is dangerous. You could end up slipping because it is hard to establish your footing on those slippery tiles. Roof tiles are also more susceptible to damage when they become dried out by the winter air.

Wait until the spring before you check your roof for damage. Move carefully in case there are damaged tiles up there.

Turn On Your Sprinkler System

With the winter chill going away, your plants will need watering again. That means you must turn your sprinkler system back on.

You should not have any trouble with your sprinkler system if you had it drained during the winter.

Start Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is an annual tradition in many parts of the country. The chances are that it is also a tradition in your neighborhood.

You have already replaced your air conditioner’s filter, but there is still plenty of work left to do.

For instance, this is the perfect time for you to clean your windows. If you have screens covering your windows, you should also clean them.

Do not forget to clean your basement and your cabinets. Those parts of your home rarely get any attention throughout most of the year so save some time for them during spring cleaning.

Your Summer Maintenance Checklist

The arrival of summer will necessitate the creation of a new home maintenance checklist. Keep the following tasks in mind so your home is ready for the summer season.

Fix Any Leaking Pipes and Fixtures

Droughts are commonplace in San Diego County and any resident can tell you that. You get used to droughts after a while, but that does not make them any less troublesome.

We all have to do our part to mitigate the impact of droughts on our households. That is why you should take the time to fix any leaks affecting your home. Fix those leaks as soon as possible so you can prevent your household from wasting water.

Flush Your Water Heater

Not everyone is a fan of cold showers, but they are more tolerable during the summer. You may even find them refreshing on especially warm days.

If you are okay with taking cold showers for a bit, you can use this opportunity to flush your water heater. It is probably full of sediment at this point, so flushing it is highly recommended.

Your water heater should be ready to work again not long after flushing, so you will not need to endure cold showers for long if you do not like them.

Repaint Parts of Your Home That Need It

Go around your home and check how the paint looks in certain areas. The layers of paint on your home’s siding, deck, and walls are especially prone to chipping, so inspect them closely.

Hopefully, the paint coatings on those parts of your home are still intact. If they are not, now is the best time for you to repaint them. The summer weather should help the paint dry faster.

Install Screens on Your Windows

Insects like invading indoor spaces whenever summer rolls around. If your windows are open, insects nearby will not hesitate to accept your innocent invitation.

Keeping your windows closed all summer long is not an option, given the warm weather. Instead of doing that, you can install screens on your windows. Those screens should keep those annoying invaders at bay.

Your Fall Maintenance Checklist

To wrap things up, let’s talk about the maintenance tasks you need to finish during the spring. Learn more about those tasks below.

Rake Your Yard Frequently

Fall foliage is uniquely beautiful, but it becomes less so when it starts to cover your yard. Your yard probably looks like a mess because of those leaves.

Raking is something you must do regularly during the fall season. At a minimum, you should head out to rake your yard at least once per week to keep it neat. If you can do that every three days or so, that would be even better.

Get Your Fireplace and Chimney Inspected

The fall weather is famous for being on the chilly side. Cranking up your furnace may not be necessary yet, but you may want to use your fireplace.

Before doing so, call the professionals so they can check on your fireplace. You should also have them look at your chimney.

The professionals can spot any issues affecting those parts of your home. Get any issues fixed if they pop up so you can use your fireplace without any worries.

Inspect Your Insulation

Poor insulation and the fall weather can combine to make your home uncomfortable. Avoid that potential issue by inspecting your home’s insulation.

Check for any substantial damage and make the required repairs.

Unclog Your Dryer Vent

Technically, you can clear out your dryer vent any time during the year. Still, saving it for the fall season may be a good move on your part. You are probably at home more often during the fall so waiting for the technician to come over should not be a bother.

Remember to book your dryer vent cleaning well ahead of Thanksgiving. Doing that will ensure that a technician can come over on time.

Taking care of your remodeled home year-round will be a challenge, but it is one you should manage as long as you tackle the maintenance tasks one at a time. If your main concern is remodeling your home, we at Eco Minded Solutions can help with that. Reach out to us today and let us know about the plans you have in mind for your home!