Winter is almost over, and soon it will be time to start prepping your home for spring. There are some things that you’ll need to do to your home to say goodbye to winter and prepare for spring.
Start with Your Roof
The first area of your home that you need to prepare is the roof. After all, it protects the rest of your home from any damage that might have occurred during the cold winter months. It is essential to make sure that all your shingles are intact. This means checking for loose as well as any cracks that might have formed. If there are areas of your roof that are showing winter ware, it might be time for a repair or replacement this spring.
Protect Your Home from Allergens
You’ll need to ensure the air in your home is clean and ready to protect you and your family from allergens. One way to do this is by changing your air filters. Having a high-quality air filter in place is the key to fighting off allergens in your home. It’s also essential to maintain a solid humidity level throughout your house. Mold and mildew will accumulate with too much moisture, but allergens like pollen and dust are easily flared when the air is too dry.
Clean and Repair the Gutters
Depending on your location, leaves and debris may have piled up in your gutters throughout the winter months. Get out on a ladder and remove any debris so that you can avoid flooding from spring rains. While you are up there, make sure that you do not have any areas where moisture has come out of the top of the gutter and harmed your roof decking. If so, make sure to get these areas fixed and sealed right away. Take a water hose and run water through the gutter to make sure that it flows to the ground through your downspouts and away from your home’s foundation.
Reduce Dust Accumulation
Dust might pose itself as harmless, but can be extremely harmful to your body’s respiratory system. Dust particles can be found anywhere in your home and can accumulate very quickly. To fighting dust collection, there are many things you can do: clean your sheets and bedding every week, replace or upgrade your furnace filter, purchase an air purifier, etc. Doing so can help remove existing dust and slow down the future accumulation of dust and dander.
Add Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans help keep the air in your home circulating. If you do not have a ceiling fan in each room, you might consider getting some installed. If you do, then make sure that they are blowing the hot air upward. Hot air blowing downward will heat up the room, rather than keep it cool. If you live in a location that experiences a cooler spring, you might consider the opposite. Either way, it’s important to turn off the fan when you leave the room so you save energy.
Check the Vents Around Your Home’s Foundation
If your house has a crawl space, you will more than likely have vents around your home’s foundation. The screens could have collected leaves or debris during winter, so it is important to check these screens and remove any blockage come spring. You can use a vacuum to clean around these screens, or you can remove debris with your hands. Once you’ve removed any restrictive pieces, check to make sure your screens and vents aren’t damaged, and replace them if they are.
Tend to Your Lawn
Leaves, branches, and sticks may have accumulated on your lawn during winter. Grab a rake and remove any debris from your lawn. This will also pull up any patches of grass that didn’t make it through the cold of winter. Tending to your yard will allow you to prepare it for regrowth in the spring season.
Fertilize the Yard
Come spring, it’s standard practice to spread fertilizer all over your yard. To ensure you’re doing all you can to bring your yard back to its beautiful green color, use a high-quality spring fertilizer. Don’t apply your fertilizer too early, however, or you run the risk of feeding weeds instead of your beautiful, green lawn.
Perform Maintenance on Your Heating and Cooling System
With the change of the season comes the potential for warmer weather, which means more open doors and windows. Even if you do have more mild temperatures in the spring months, you should still be maintaining your HVAC system. Clean around your HVAC system to remove dirt, debris, leaves, and any other blockage, and take note of any issues so you can get them repaired. Regardless of the time of year, ensure your filters are cleaned and replaced on a regular schedule!
Insulate
Insulating your home is not just crucial for winter, but is also essential as spring is approaching. There are several areas of your home where you will want to add quality insulation, like Knauf Insulation. These include walls, ceilings, attics, and more! Insulating your home, regardless of the season, will provide a more consistent and comfortable temperature throughout.
No doubt preparing your home for spring is a lot of work. Thankfully, the weather is usually kind enough to be able to get outdoors and get these chores done. Do not delay, but get started on the process today!