Spring brings warmer temperatures and a desire to spend more time outdoors. It also is important to take the time to help your home transition to warmer weather. Here are some home maintenance tasks that can help your home transition smoothly from the cold of winter to the warmer months.
Indoor Maintenance
Clean Your Baseboards
Your baseboards are often overlooked in general day-to-day cleaning, but can gather a lot of dust and pet hair. This can cause a grimy, dirty look, and can eventually cause discoloration if left long enough. I vacuum the worst of the pet hair and dust, then take a damp cloth and wash them off. A sponge can be helpful if you have grooves in the baseboard. Taking a dryer sheet and wiping them down after they dry can help them to repel the dust for a while after cleaning.
Clean Ceiling Fan Blades
Ceiling fans are another area that often gets overlooked, but Spring is a great time to clear off the dust and grime. An old pillow case is a great tool for cleaning fan blades! Lightly spray the inside of the pillow case with a mild all-purpose cleaner & slip it over the fan blades. Gently pull as you wipe, trapping dust and dirt inside. Run a damp microfiber cloth over the blades to get anything that was left behind. Take a few minutes to wipe down the glass on the lights if your fan has them as well. This will keep the fan from blowing the dust around your room.
Clean Your Washing Machine
Your washing machine can get nasty with bacteria and needs to be cleaned periodically. Some washers have a self cleaning option, but it’s still a good idea to deep clean it a few times a year. Here is a great article from The Spruce with step by step instructions for both top load and front load washers:
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-clean-washing-machine-2147314
Wash Windows and Screens
We tend to open our windows more often in the Spring to let in fresh air and enjoy everything growing outside. Take some time to clean your windows! Inspect your screens for any damage that may have occurred over the Winter, and clean them of dirt and grime that may have accumulated. Removing them and spraying them down with a hose will get most of the grime, but you may need to scrub them a bit as well.
While they are drying, washing the inside and outside of the windows. Lowes carries the Ettore microfiber wand & squeegee that works very well and cuts the time drastically. Once they are clean, you can do a final wipe down with rubbing alcohol to make them shine if you want.
If you don’t use the Ettore tools, the Sprayway Glass Cleaner is my favorite for cleaning glass – it is ammonia free, so you can use it to clean your oven or gas fireplace glass too!
Check Smoke Alarms and CO2 Detectors
This job comes along every Spring & Fall. Check your batteries and replace them. Make sure you always have a spare set of batteries for all alarms and detectors, because they will inevitably need them at 2 am. Regularly updating the batteries helps to avoid those early morning annoyances, and ensures that they are in good working order should you need them.
Garage Maintenance
Our garages can become a catch-all during the Winter months, and things can get buried. Add to that the dirt and grime that gets brought in from our vehicles, and they need some love come Spring!
Take the time to go through everything that was put in the garage – but not put away – and put it where it belongs. Sweep out the dirt and rocks that have accumulated so you have a nice, clean floor.
This is also a great time to organize and prep your garden equipment!
Make sure everything is in good working order. Inspect for any damage that may have occurred, and look for wear and tear. Check to see if blades need sharpened, check and/or replace filters, oil elvels, and spark plugs. This will not only get everything ready for the next growing season, but will help your equipment last longer.
Outdoor Maintenance
Check Outside Faucets
Cold weather can damage exterior faucets, causing cracks and leaks. Here are some tips to inspect outdoor faucets to make sure no damage has occurred.
Check Exterior Water Drainage Areas
Check your gutters and downspouts to make sure there wasn’t any damage from ice or debris. Check that water flows freely from gutter extensions, and that it flows away from your foundation after leaving your gutters, as standing groundwater or backups can damage your foundation.
Herein Grand Junction, most properties are supposed to drain towards the road. Walk through your yard and check for any low spots that may have formed over the Winter, and make sure runoff flows away from your home and towards the street – and not your neighbors yard.
Prep Your Yard for the Growing Season
Things are starting to grow! If you are in Grand Junction city limits, they will do a Spring Cleanup and haul off trash typically starting the first week of April. Take a weekend before then to clear out dead branches and debris and pile it for removal.
When prepping your yard and garden, look at breaking up the soil after long months of dormancy. Add some compost and check that your planters and borders don’t need repaired.
Here is another good article from The Spruce on Spring yard cleaning.
Check Your Air Conditioning Unit
Whether you have refrigerated air or an evaporative cooler, now is the time to check it and prep it for warmer temps. Clear any debris that may have gathered around it, and change any filters that are worn out or full. The filters are especially important for evaporative coolers – cleaning the unit and making sure your filters are clean will help the unit keep your home cooler, and cut down on the amount of dust particles that are blown into your home.
Check Pathway Lighting
With more time spent outdoors, you want to make sure your lighting is functioning like you want. Path lighting helps keep people from tripping, and guides them along walkways. Check that all of the lights are working properly and replace or repair any that have burnt out. Make sure that there is lighting in the areas that need it for safety, and note areas that could use lighting for aesthetics. Uplights under trees can add a lot of curb appeal to your home!
This is a long list of items, but if you break them up and do a few each week, your home will be kept in tip top shape for you to enjoy this Summer! Taking some time now to check off these items will leave you time to play and enjoy your yard when the temperatures warm up.
Do you have anything to add to this list? Share below!
