As winter ends, the beginning stages of spring can provide an exciting fresh start. Birds chirping, plants growing, and pollen permeating signify that it’s time to prep your home for the warmer months ahead.
This time of year can be overwhelming as a Virginia homeowner, but at Northern Neck Insurance (NNINS) Company, we are here to help give you structure and peace of mind through our springtime home maintenance checklist. Completing our household to-do list not only helps protect your home from inevitable seasonal changes, but it can also keep you safe from the unexpected.
While spring sparks a sudden urge to spend leisurely time outdoors, its arrival also comes with duties for homeowners. A little bit of effort inside and out can go a long way, and we’re committed to making sure you know what to do to help prevent avoidable and costly home maintenance issues and avoid home insurance claims.
We encourage you to use our spring maintenance checklist for homeowners outlined below, which can help you stay one step ahead of possible issues that may negatively impact your home’s well-being if neglected. Also, it's important to remember the severe weather that comes with warmer weather can damage your home. Always check your home following any severe weather event, especially your home's roof.
One of the first steps of home maintenance in spring should be to inspect the plumbing fixtures throughout your home, including sinks, toilets, bathtubs, showers, and faucets. Plumbing issues that develop in your home can lead to flooding and potentially costly water damage so you should always know how to turn off your home's water in an emergency. Consider adding water leak detectors to alert you quickly so you can avoid costly damage.
When you fail to remove and replace expired air filters, you can contaminate the air quality in your home and damage your HVAC system. Spring is just the start of warmer weather to come, so an absence of air conditioning with increased temperatures can pose a significant threat to your health and home. This is the perfect time for an annual inspection and tune up your HVAC system up as well.
Perhaps one of the more overlooked suggestions on our spring home maintenance checklist is to periodically clean your laundry ducts. As you continuously cycle through laundry, your dryer vents can become dirty with lint. This can create a serious fire hazard, as lint is flammable and can easily ignite.
If you have tall trees in close proximity to your house, you may want to prune any overhanging branches that may have been damaged over winter or could be impacted during inclement springtime weather. You should also inspect your trees for rotting, which can cause them to topple over because of disease, a lightning strike, or high winds. Even consider the health of your neighbor's trees and how they may impact your property. Before attempting to remove a tree yourself, assess whether it is safe to proceed.
Caulk loses its potency over time, so it’s important to examine its condition throughout your house during the spring. Areas that protect your interior home from the outside may need caulk reapplied. If your doors and windows aren’t sealed properly, humidity can enter your home and cause structural damage or a buildup of mold and mildew.
Throughout fall and winter, your roofing system can experience damage as well as wear and tear and accumulate debris such as leaves and twigs. Loose shingles can contribute to interior water damage and a weaker overall protective barrier, while clogged gutters may prevent rainwater from properly draining away from your home’s foundation. Ensure gutters and downspouts are free of debris to prevent water from pooling around the foundation. Make sure the ground is graded to slope away from the foundation to channel water away from the walls. Spring is the perfect time to solidify the integrity of these exterior components, helping to prevent flooding and excessive structural damage.
Check your home's crawlspace and basement for signs of moisture, mold or mildew. Apply hydraulic cement, epoxy, or alternative waterproof sealants to fix cracks in walls and floors. Ensure your sump pump is functioning properly by pouring a bucket of water into it and observing if it can drain effectively. Installing a portable dehumidifier can help tremendously with Virginia's humid climate and come in handy if you experience a basement flood. Take measures to prevent your basement from flooding.
Check your home's crawlspace vapor barrier to mitigate and prevent mold growth or structural problems. You can also remove any debris or obstructions that could be holding moisture. If you are not comfortable with these steps, consider hiring a professional crawl space waterproofing service. A professional can repair any cracks in the foundation walls with waterproof cement and seal any gaps where pipes and wires enter the crawl space.
Finally, our home spring maintenance checklist concludes with insect and rodent prevention. Where termite colonies can eat away at your home’s lumber if not addressed, mice and rats that find a way inside your house can chew electrical wires and cause a fire hazard. We recommend annually inspecting and sealing your home to help to keep unwanted pests away.
Even though completing our spring home maintenance checklist can help make your property less susceptible to problems, there is always a chance that uncontrollable factors could present themselves when you least expect them.
At NNINS, we provide the dependable insurance you need to protect your property and belongings in case of an emergency. After a major event, our coverage for homeowners is designed to help you repair or rebuild your home, replace your destroyed or stolen possessions, pay for injuries, and cover your expenses if you’re no longer able to live in your home. Get a personalized quote today to learn more about our homeowners insurance from one of our local experts.