Summer is here, and if you haven’t done it yet, it’s time to start on that warm weather home maintenance checklist to make sure that everything is in tip-top shape so you can truly enjoy the season.
Staying on top of your home care and repairs can help you save money by reducing large expenses in the future — it’s a lot less expensive to replace a single board than a whole deck.Â
Plus, your summer home chores can be done quickly, especially if you get the whole family involved. Organizing household chores is easy with the Mydoh app and Smart Card. In addition to allowing parents to assign children tasks in exchange for a weekly allowance, the Mydoh app comes with features that help facilitate money conversations at home, so you can assure there is additional value in your kids helping out around the house. Â
If you’re not sure where to get started or you need some chore ideas, here are some things you should look at each season to make your home life more sustainable and save you money in the long run.
Indoor summer chores
Replace your HVAC filter
Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (or HVAC) ensures that you have quality air and comfortable temperatures inside your home. But that doesn’t happen magically; they require maintenance.
Changing out the filter on your HVAC should be on your seasonal cleaning list, as it needs to be done every three months to ensure everything is running in tip-top shape―you can even get a notification from GarbageDay’s Air Filter reminder so you don’t forget. While this timeframe can be extended if you have a higher quality system, putting it off for too long can mean that more dust, dirt, and allergens are clogging the filter, decreasing its efficiency and lowering the quality of air in your home.Â
HVAC systems have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years if you treat them well. If yours is nearing its expiration date, it’s probably time to talk to a professional about replacing it. Older systems tend to be less reliable and energy efficient, can be more costly, and harm the overall quality of the air inside your home.
Check the pipes and hoses
Water damage can be costly, which means staying on top of any leaks you may be experiencing in your home is imperative.
As a regular part of your home maintenance routine, you want to make sure to check for any signs of leaking in your home. This means taking a peek behind your washer, dishwasher, and fridge (especially if it has an ice maker). You also want to check your toilet and other small appliances like the dehumidifier.
The pipes in your home should also be inspected on a fairly regular basis — at least once every two years. However, if your home is old, new to you (because you just moved in), or you have large, mature trees around, you might want to make that more frequent.
For bonus points, you could also check the foundation of your house for leaks too!
Dust the fans
Fans inside your home, especially those on the ceiling, which stay out of sight and mind, should be dusted and cleaned as part of your annual house maintenance schedule. Otherwise they might end up spreading dust around the home when it’s time to start using them again.
If you want to save money and maintain a cooler home, consider placing a fan that rotates counter-clockwise in the same room as your air conditioner. This can help get the room colder faster, and save money on your overall air conditioning costs.
Outdoor summer chores
Lawn equipment maintenanceÂ
Your lawn care equipment is not infallible, so giving it a once-over should definitely be on your summer cleaning list.
Depending on the lawn mower you have, blades should be replaced every 200 (or so) hours of use, but should be sharpened after every 25 hours of use. If your lawn care equipment needs to be replaced or repaired, now might be time to take care of it.
It might not seem like a big deal, but chipped or dull blades can damage your lawn. You want to use sharp ones to ensure that your grass grows properly.
Outdoor deck
Part of your exterior house cleaning should involve doing a once-over of your deck, especially if yours is wood. While it might not be used much during the winter, it could have been damaged due to the weather or simply need a deep clean.
You also want to check for things like:
- Signs of rot in the boards
- Insect infestation
- Splinters
- Water damage
- Large cracks
All of which can make your deck unsafe to use. Any boards on a wooden deck that are damaged should be completely replaced.Â
Inspect the roof
If you’re building a home care tasks checklist, inspecting the roof should definitely make the cut. A perfect chore for the summer, you should give your roof a once-over annually — some even recommend getting a professional to take a look.
When you’re looking at the roof, you want to keep an eye out for:
- Loose and/or missing shingles
- Cracked and/or missing sealant or caulk
- Damaged, loose and missing gutters
- Evidence of chimney breakage
You’ll also want to keep an eye out for the plant life around your home — watch out for overgrown trees or rotting branches that could fall and seriously damage the structure of your roof. Finally, there shouldn’t be any algae or moss growing on the roof.
Check out the driveway and sidewalks
Your driveway and walkways also need some TLC come summer home property maintenance time. Damage to either could be a safety issue, and can also cause drainage issues if there’s a large rainfall.
Check for cracks that need to be sealed or missing pieces that you should replace. It’s also not a bad idea to take a look in your garage to make sure there aren’t any watermarks, especially if your driveway slopes downhill towards it.
Clean the windows
Windows in particular can be prone to collecting mold and mildew, which beyond being gross, can get out of hand if they’re not taken care of.
Luckily, cleaning this up is pretty easy with an eco-friendly, Â DIY cleaner. Small amounts of mold can be cleaned up using ingredients such as vinegar and baking soda. There are also plenty of other opportunities to clean your home in an eco-friendly and sustainable way.
Don’t forget to give the window screens a wipe down too. They can collect dust and grime as well. This could be a great task for the kiddos (or get a regular cleaning by including it in their allowance-based chores), with Mydoh, you can set up both task-based and allowance payments for them.
Lawn maintenance
Lawns are essential to the curb appeal of your home, and summer is when they need a little bit of your attention to look their best. Beyond cutting your lawn to maintain a clean look and prevent fires, watering your grass is important.
There’s a rumour out there that it’s best to water your lawn at night, but this can actually increase the risk of disease in it. Instead, you want to water your lawn in the morning before 10 am. This gives the soil the opportunity to actually soak up the water before it evaporates.
If you want to take your outdoor gardening activities to the next level, you can start a garden with old containers. This is an easy way to both save money on your food budget and keep your gardening to a minimal mess.Â
Getting the family involved
Your annual home maintenance summer chores are a great time to get the entire family involved.
Simple tasks like watering the plants or checking for cracks in the driveway are a great way for kids looking to get involved. Mydoh can help incentivize the kids to get involved with summer chores, you simply set up a task-based allowance and they get paid when it’s done.
Summer chores are just one way to step up your home care game. For more sustainable living tips delivered right to your phone, get your hands on the GarbageDay app, and if you’re ready to start giving the kids chore incentives, learn more about how to raise money-smart kids with Mydoh or simply download the Mydoh app to get started.