Keeping your house in great condition requires year-round maintenance. Here are a few items you may want to address around your home during the summer months.

Outdoor Tasks:

1. Walk around your home’s exterior and slide open crawl space vents at the foundation.

2. Prune trees and shrubs that can be pruned in summer.

3. Remove lint from dryer exhaust vent with a long, flexible brush.

4. Inspect driveways, sidewalks, patios, bricks, and other concrete or stone surfaces for cracks.

5. If applicable, have your septic tank system inspected to assure that it is in good working order.

6. Inspect decks, steps, and wooden structures (like window frames) for wood rot and other damage. Look for peeling paint, and damaged stairs. Make sure deck supports are not broken, weakened, or rotted out. Make repairs as soon as possible to minimize further complications.

7. Weatherproof all wooden surfaces if it has been two years or more since you last did so.

8. Check eaves around your home’s roof, chimneys, caps, etc. Remove flying insect nests. Fix any damaged areas.

9. Clean or power-wash your home’s siding.

10. Check your home’s crawlspace for water damage, animals, or other foreign matter.

11. Test and lubricate garage doors. This is also a good time to clean out all that clutter that seems to accumulate in garages.

12. Schedule a service call to have your furnace checked before the first cold day of fall or winter.

Indoor Tasks:

1. Change or clean heating, ventilating and air conditioning filters.

2. Clean kitchen appliances inside and out, including refrigerator coils.

3. Maintain clean drains. Try simple baking soda and vinegar cleaning solutions.

4. Remove hair from drains in tubs, sinks, and showers using drain cleaner that is appropriate for your system (again consider baking soda and vinegar).

5. Drain or flush water heater. See an explanation and how to instructions HERE.

6. Inspect washer hoses and dryer vent system.

7. Remove showerheads and clean them to remove any sediment buildup.

8. Check your dishwasher. Look for any signs of leaks under or around it. Check to see that the washer arm isn’t stuck by opening the dishwasher and spinning and lifting the washer arm. Make sure the drain hose arcs up to prevent backwash from the drain into the dishwasher.

9. Replace flashlight batteries.

10. Test carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and replace batteries or devices if necessary.