Summer Home Maintenance Checklist

Home maintenance isn't the first thing you think about as you plan your summer activities. Summer is for fun things like family barbeques, long weekends and vacation. Why not get all your home maintenance chores done in June, and then you can enjoy your gardening and landscaping (or hire a lawn care service). Once you've completed your summer home maintenance checklist, you can relax during long summer evenings and take fun excursions on the weekends..

A number of our summer home maintenance tasks address how your house interacts with your landscaping and local critters that live in your neighborhood. The idea is you want to protect your home from damage by insuring that the exterior envelope remains water and airtight. This will also help you save money with lower utility bills.

This summer home maintenance checklist is one of a series of seasonal checklists (click to access other checklists) to help you quickly inspect and make required repairs. The tasks are organized to 1. inspect; 2. repair and 3. update many home features to reduce or eliminate the amount of time you need to invest in ongoing maintenance. You can print our one page version of the checklist to keep track of your progress completing these tasks.

Keep Your Family Safe

The heavy lifting for exterior home maintenance should have occurred during the spring. Summer safety focuses on cleaning up after summer storm damage and chores related to landscaping, outdoor barbeques and it's the ideal time to handle routine maintenance of your well and septic system.

Inspect	Maintain	Update	Homeowner Tasks to Keep Your Family Safe
			Every Quarter (or more often) Test smoke and carbon monoxide batteries monthly and change them twice a year, when you set your clocks for daylight savings time. Change furnace filters and if they’re really dirty, you’ll need to change them more often than once a quarter. Clean humidifiers (especially important in the winter) and change filters per manufacturer instructions. Clean dryer lint trap with each use; Once a quarter, clean vents and behind the dryer to remove lint buildup.
			Prevent Storm Damage Inspect – Identify tree limbs (unhealthy, leaning over house, etc) that may come down during storms. After each storm, make a quick inspection to identify any downed branches and/or damage. Maintain – Cut down dangerous trees/limbs before they cause damage. Use a tree service for anything that can fall on your home when cut down. Update – Plant trees based on their full grown height and address how their roots will affect your foundation and/or septic system.
			Driveway, Patio & Walkways Inspect – Hard surface areas for cracks or holes. Maintain – Repair holes and cracks larger than a hairline with special crack sealant material. Water that seeps into cracks can freeze and cause greater damage to the driveway. Update – Extend the life of your asphalt driveway with periodic seal coating to protect from damaging sun rays (should be done during warm weather).
			Lawn Mowers, Outdoor Grills & More Inspect – Check mower blades to see if they are sharp enough for another season. Inspect grills before first use. Maintain – Get your lawn mower serviced (oil libricate moving parts, replace spark plugs, fuel filters, air filters) before it's time to mow your lawn. Perform routing maintenance on outdoor cooking equipment. Update – Upgrade to a higher efficiency, more environmentally friendly mower.
			Well Water Inspect – Check water pressure, signs of hard water, calcium buildup and other known problems. Maintain – Test well water periodically as many contaminants have no taste, odor or color. The EPA (see reasons why you want to test) recommends private well water be tested every year. Use a state-certified laboratory. Update – Some well water problems can be solved with water filtration systems.
			Septic System Inspect – Look for signs of septic trouble: odors near the leach field, sewage or wet areas surfacing, house drains flowing slowly, gurgling noises or plumbing backups. Maintain – Keep trees from growing on or near leach fields. Don't allow cars to park on top of leach fields and never pave over them. Get your tank pumped out every three to five years, depending on house size and number of people living there. Update – Ask your septic service provider to give you an assessment of your tank and leach fields on each visit, to plan for any major repairs before they're needed.

Preventing Water Damage with Your Summer Home Maintenance Checklist

As we're focused on your home's exterior, summer is a great time to look for problems stemming from excess water, moisture and the pests that are attracted to these moist environments. Where moisture levels approach 20% and there is a source of food like wood, the chances of finding mold, carpenter ants or other problems increases. You want to address these problems quickly as they can continue for years undetected, that result in costly repairs.

Inspect	Maintain	Update	Homeowner Tasks to Keep Your Family Safe
			Pests: Termites, Carpenter Ants, Bees, Woodpeckers, Squirrels & Other Critters Inspect – Look for evidence of carpenter ants, bees nests or termites – damaged wood, piles of sawdust, termite shelter tubes (used to travel between wet spots). Areas will be wet/damp to attract these pests. Woodpeckers go after pests they can hear in your wood trim and squirrels make homes in attics. Maintain – Call an exterminator to get rid of pests or animal control for squirrels. Repair damaged wood and caulk cracks/gaps letting water and pests inside your home. Eliminate wood that touches dirt. Update – Replace wood (food source) with composite materials to reduce pest problems, i.e. my handymen frequently replaced fascia boards on gable ends where woodpeckers kept leaving holes.
			Foundation Plants & Mulch Inspect – Review foundation plants for adequate ventilation. You want good air circulation to insure water evaporates. Check mulch to make sure water is running away from your foundation (6 inch slope for the first 10 feet). Maintain – Prune shrubs too close to the house and move mulch that may cause problems. Update – Use shredded rubber mulch or crushed rock if termites are common in your area. These mulch alternatives cost more but last longer, saving you time in the future.
			Standing Water Inspect – Walk around your foundation and yard after an average rain. Identify standing water which needs help draining. Make sure water from downspouts is draining away from the house Maintain – Downspouts may need french drains buried underground to move water at least 10 feet from your foundation. Update – If you have excess water, consider planting trees, shrubs or plants that use and thrive with excess water.
			Mold, Mildew & Musty Odors Inspect – Check moist areas inside your home to see if you have a mold problem (review EPA Guide to Mold, Moisture & Your Home). Maintain – Mold requires professional cleaning and removing moisture sources (vent bathrooms & dryer vents outside, address moisture in crawl spaces, concrete slabs, etc). Update – Use a de-humidifier to remove excess moisture. Invest in a humidity tester (available at hardware stores).
			Satellite Dishes & Antenna Inspect – Check satellite dishes and antenna to make sure they're secure and water tight. Maintain – Secure and caulk to make sure no water is getting into your home from these openings. Update –Consider more creative solutions to attaching these fixtures.