Season-By-Season Home Maintenance Schedule

Home maintenance is about more than keeping your house and yard looking great. It conserves your property value and could prevent costly insurance losses. Every season has its challenges, so get ahead of the game with a solid plan.

Spring Home Maintenance Tips: Clearing the Way for Summer

Spring is nature’s signal that it’s time to clear up the clutter and take care of the home maintenance tasks that are less convenient in the colder months.

A brutal winter can leave your home’s exterior a little beat up, so hire a pro to look at your roof to inspect for leaks and loose shingles. Check your driveway, walkways and other outdoor areas for any cracks that need restoration or replacement.

Inside, spring cleaning should include vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning behind the fridge and other tight spots. Also, double check your fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they’re in working order.

And as you’ll be relying on climate control for most of the summer season, call an HVAC specialist in the spring to check your ducts and AC for any potential issues, and replace filters as needed.

Now is also a great time to spring clean your insurance policies and make sure you are still getting the most out of your coverage.

Summer Home Maintenance Tips: Tidying Your Lawn and Pool

Summer is all about leisure and relaxation, but you’ll still want to stay on top of upkeep to avoid problems down the road. At the start of your summer home maintenance schedule, make sure your pool is properly treated and filters are replaced, and clean your deck and grill.

One potential hazard during the summer is falling branches and trees caused by strong winds and storms. To stay on the safe side, hire a pro to remove any weak or dying trees or branches on your property, especially those that are close to the house. Aside from this, you’ll want to keep up with mowing and weeding, or hire someone who can do it for you.

Fall Home Maintenance Tips: Foliage and Winter Prep

Although we all love autumn’s beautiful foliage, there’s no question that those colorful leaves can quickly pile up. Although you want to rake periodically, leave some leaf cover under your shrubs and trees to provide beneficial mulch. You’ll also want to make sure to keep leaves away from your gutters.

This is also a good time to start winter prep. Have your boiler inspected by a professional for potential safety issues. Install new windows and replace caulking as needed for proper insulation.

As a member of AAA, you can save on home services like oil, heating, AC systems and more.

Remember, it’s always better to focus on prevention and take care of any potential home maintenance issues before problems occur.

Winter Home Maintenance Tips: Stocking Up and Ice Prevention

Be ready for extreme weather. Stock up on sidewalk salt and prevent hazardous driving situations by having enough canned goods and nonperishable foods on hand.

Make sure that all water pipes are disconnected, turned off and emptied if you are leaving your house for the season. Excess moisture can cause pipes to freeze, expand and burst, possibly leading to damages. That’s not a surprise you want to come home to.

“Often with these losses, families have to vacate their homes for several weeks as repairs are made, including the removal of drywall and insulation to get at damaged pipes,” said Raymond Eng, vice president of insurance sales at AAA Northeast.

When it comes to following your home maintenance schedule in the winter, ice damming is a particularly damaging condition to look out for. Eng recommends using a roof rake on areas that consistently experience buildup immediately after a storm.

Learn more about AAA Insurance for home, auto and more.

To make sure your house is ready for whatever the weather throws at it, go to AAA.com/HomeServices.