Summer Home Maintenance Checklist

Living that sweet summer life usually means two things: sunshine and relaxation. We’d like to add a third to that list—home maintenance. Better weather makes it far easier to start tackling home projects, but it adds some pressure, too, especially if you want to rent a property out for the season.

Seasonal maintenance is a proactive measure that preserves the aesthetic appeal of your property and ensures its safety and functionality. Proper upkeep during the summer months can prevent costly repairs and maintain your home’s value over time. This might be the season of backyard BBQs and pool parties, but there are also heatwaves and bugs to prep for. In this article, we’ll help you manage all of it.

Preparing for Summer: Initial Home Assessments

Keeping your home in top shape during the summer months is crucial for its longevity and comfort. A proactive approach to maintenance can prevent small issues from becoming costly repairs. Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of key assessment tasks to help you stay on track:

June: Getting Ready for the Heat

• Inspect HVAC Systems: Before temperatures soar, check your air conditioning unit and replace filters if needed. A professional tune-up can ensure efficiency and prevent breakdowns.
  • For Example: Imagine enjoying a cool home during a heatwave because you had your AC serviced in June. Without this, you might face an uncomfortable, sweltering home with expensive emergency repairs.

• Examine Exterior Paint and Siding: Look for cracks, peeling, or signs of damage from winter weather. Addressing these early prevents moisture from seeping in, which can lead to mold and structural issues.
  • For Example: A fresh coat of paint or repaired siding not only boosts curb appeal but also protects your home from water damage. Skipping this step could mean dealing with rot and mildew later in the season.

July: Mid-Summer Maintenance

• Check Windows and Doors for Leaks: Inspect the seals around windows and doors to ensure they’re airtight. This not only keeps your home cool but also reduces energy costs.
  • For Example: By replacing worn weatherstripping in July, you’ll enjoy a consistently cool home and lower utility bills. Neglecting this could lead to air leaks that make your home less comfortable and more expensive to cool.

• Clean and Repair Gutters: Clear out any debris that could clog gutters and downspouts. Proper drainage prevents water from damaging your foundation or flooding your basement during summer storms.
  • For Example: Picture a heavy July rain where water flows smoothly away from your home because you cleaned the gutters. In contrast, neglecting this task could result in water damage and costly repairs.

August: Preparing for Transition

• Inspect Roof and Chimney: Check for loose shingles, moss, or any signs of wear. Early detection of roof issues can prevent leaks during summer storms and prepare your home for the fall.
  • For Example: Spotting and fixing a missing shingle in August could save you from a leaky roof when autumn rains arrive. Ignoring this might lead to significant water damage and the need for an entire roof replacement.

• Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Ensure all detectors are functioning properly and replace batteries if necessary. Safety checks are crucial, especially as we prepare for a new season.
  • For Example: Knowing your smoke detectors are in working order gives you peace of mind, especially when using summer appliances like grills or fire pits. Skipping this step could mean missing a critical warning in case of an emergency.

Outdoor Home Maintenance Tips

The best part about rising temperatures is that outdoor spaces can finally get more use. Before you set up the patio furniture and invite people over, you can do a few outdoor projects to help ensure that your place looks great and safe for guests.

Here are some essential summer home maintenance checks to do on your outdoor areas to ensure your home is ready for summer rentals or gatherings:

Wash Driveway and Sidewalks

The winter and spring months may have had you using a snow blower to clear your driveway and sidewalks, but now it’s time to wash it down. Driveways and sidewalks can become covered with mold and algae if not cleaned regularly. Not only will this take away from your curb appeal, but it can also make areas slippery or hazardous to walk on.

The next step up from that is pressure washing. You can buy or rent a pressure washer or get an attachment for your garden hose that can mimic one. If you’re inspired to do more, we recommend using a degreaser for stubborn tire marks and rust stains.

Mow Lawn and Maintain Landscape

The most common mistake people make with their lawns is thinking they need to water more frequently as the temperatures increase.

Here’s the summer home maintenance checklist you need to follow instead to get your landscape looking good:

• Water your lawn more deeply rather than more often, and try to ensure that your grass gets at least one inch of water per week (depending on the type and your climate).
• Don’t let the sun steal all that good hydration you’ve added to your garden by watering in the middle of the day. Aim for morning or evening watering sessions.
• A drip irrigation system is also great for the warmer months, as it water plants slowly enough that the water doesn’t evaporate or run off.
• Check your sprinkler heads to see that their filters aren’t clogged and preventing water from getting out.
• Make sure to have a solid mowing routine to keep your lawn looking fresh.

Some other aspects of adding to your lawn maintenance and landscape care are de-weeding, clipping back dead parts that didn’t survive winter, and adding a little fertilizer to keep the soil healthy.

Summer is the growing season of most species, so now is a great time to add new plants and trees to your space if your exterior areas need sprucing.

If maintaining your lawn and landscape feels overwhelming, consider hiring a lawn care professional who can help ensure your yard stays healthy and beautiful all summer long.

Maintain Your Pool

No one wants to swim in green, muddy water, so if you’ve got a pool you’d like to use over the summer, these are the things you need to be doing regularly to keep it clean:

• Trim the Trees: If you have any trees near your pool, cut back any overhang that may grow over the summer to avoid added leaves ending up in it.
• Use a Skimmer to Remove Dead Leaves and Debris:  Scooping debris off your pool’s surface daily is much easier than removing it once it’s already sunk to the bottom.
• Brush Your Pool Walls: Use a brush to clean the sediment off your pool walls weekly, preferably aiming the dirt toward the man drain so it’s easy to vacuum.
• Vacuum the Pool Floor: An automatic vacuum makes this job more accessible, but whatever machine you have, vacuum up the accumulated sediment from the bottom of your pool at least once a week.
• Clean Out the Mechanics: Another weekly task is checking that your pools’ skimmer and filter are clean and free of anything that may clog them. Backwash your filter every week if the pool is being used a lot or when you see that your filter gauge’s reading is higher than usual.
• Test the pH and Add Chemicals: When your pool is used frequently, the water’s pH levels must be tested at least weekly. Add chemicals as needed to keep the algae at bay.

Bring on the pool parties!

Ensure Your Porch and Deck Are in Good Condition

The same basic washing guidelines we mentioned regarding driveways and sidewalks can also be applied to the summer maintenance of your porch and deck. The only significant difference is that a wooden porch needs to be resealed every few years, and if the color has dulled, it may need to be stained again.

Our last big summer home maintenance tip for your porch and deck is safety: check that any necessary railings are secure and repair or replace them as required.

Clean BBQ and Outdoor Cookers

We wouldn’t dare write a summer home maintenance checklist without mentioning the importance of caring for your BBQ and outdoor cookers. Cleaning a gas grill versus a charcoal grill is a little different, but here are the main points to check off:

• Make sure your grill is cool to the touch, and if it’s a gas grill, completely disconnect it before you start cleaning.
• Now it’s time to disassemble and clean. Charcoal grills need to remove the ash first, but both grill types need to have the grates removed and cleaned.

You need a grill brush and warm, soapy water to wash them. If the grate needs a deep cleaning, you can always leave oven cleaner overnight before scrubbing it down with the grill brush.

• Wipe down the interior and exterior of the grill with hot water and soap.
• Replace the grate, get the heat going, and start planning those backyard BBQs for the summer!

Inspect Roof and Clean Gutters

Regular roof and gutter maintenance is vital to preventing water damage and ensuring your home remains safe and secure throughout the summer. Start by inspecting your roof for any loose, damaged, or missing shingles, and check for signs of wear around chimneys, vents, and skylights.

Cleaning your gutters is equally important—clear out leaves, twigs, and other debris to ensure proper water drainage. Clogged gutters can lead to water overflow, which may damage your roof, walls, and foundation.

Indoor Home Maintenance Tips

As much time as we spend outside over the summer, your indoor areas still need to be in top shape to survive the bugs, heat, and other less fun parts of the season …

Clean Air-Conditioning Filters

There’s a point every year when the summer heat goes from being delightful to straight-up sweaty. When that happens, you will want as much cool air in your home as you can. However, you don’t want your air conditioner or central air systems blowing dust and other allergens into your home.

Once you’ve reinstalled the filter into your air conditioner, your air will be cleaner, and you’ll be helping to ensure that the whole unit functions better for longer. As with many maintenance tasks, the payoff is usually worth the effort.

If you prefer to have a professional handle this task, consider hiring an HVAC contractor. They can thoroughly inspect, clean, and maintain your system, ensuring optimal performance and air quality throughout the summer.

Prevent Bugs and Other Pests in Your Home

We’re not the only ones who love a bit of warmer weather. Plenty of bugs and other pests tend to come out of the woodwork over the season – both figuratively and literally. Here is your summer home maintenance checklist for keeping them out of your home:

• Lower Points of Entry: The fewer places that bugs can sneak through, the better. Seal your doors with weather stripping and inspect your home for any cracks in door frames and walls that need repairs or gaps around pipes that need filling with caulk or sealant.
• Manage Your Trash: This is an extensive summer maintenance must as your garbage disposal system hugely affects pest problems. Exterior garbage bins should be well-sealed and have self-closing lids, making them less likely to stand open and attract unwanted guests.

Your garbage disposal should also be done regularly so that nothing is left to rot inside where it could attract flies, etc.

• Don’t Let Water Collect: Mosquitoes are usually the enemy of the summer months as they tend to breed in warm conditions. They lay their eggs in and near water, so make sure that outdoor faucets or irrigation systems aren’t leaking and that water isn’t gathering in your yard or near the foundations of your property.
• Install/Repair Window Screens: Those with window screens installed already need to inspect them each summer for any gaps that might have developed. If you don’t have them but struggle with bugs, they’re a highly effective addition worth considering.

Test Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

No matter what time of year we’re dealing with or what the weather looks like, your maintenance checklist must always include a point to inspect and test any smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Depending on the state, especially if you’re looking at renting out a summer home, there may be legal implications for not doing proper inspections.

All detectors have a “test” button that you can press to check that it beeps or lets off a siren as guided by the manufacturer.

You can also “crisis” test your smoke alarms by placing something smokey beneath them to see that they go off appropriately. Regarding fire administration and health risks, smoke and carbon monoxide aren’t things to be ignored.

Plan for Heat Waves

According to a recent report from the EPA, heatwaves are occurring far more frequently in US cities, lasting longer and becoming more intense over time. What that means for your summer home maintenance checklist is that planning for heat waves is now a must.

>> MORE: How to Keep House Cool in Summer: 25 Tips and Tricks

If your home isn’t adjusted to these extreme instances of heat, it can expose the people in it to health risks, especially those with heart issues. To be more proactive about heatwaves, pay attention to these maintenance tasks:

• A nice breeze won’t be enough to cool you down in a heat wave. Inspect ceiling fans, air conditioning units, fridges, and freezers to ensure they are in good working order. Both you and your food must be kept cool through intense temperature spikes.
• Make sure your ceiling fans turn counterclockwise to move the cool air downward and not up. However, if temperatures rise above 90 degrees, your ceiling fan could simply be dehydrating you rather than lowering your body temperature.
• Have curtains or some cover ready for any windows that get sun. The darker you can keep your home during the day, the cooler it will stay.

Wash the Exterior Windows

One of the best home maintenance tips we can give is also the most obvious: clean your windows. Clean exterior windows and glass sliding doors make a world of difference to your home, especially in summer. What’s the point of nice weather and getting your garden in order if you can’t see out to enjoy it?

A bit of water, soap, and a good microfiber cloth or mop can get your exterior windows sparkling.

Maintain Your Bathrooms

This isn’t necessarily a summer-specific maintenance task, but it is one that you have to pay added attention to as things get warmer, as it’s likely to inspire the growth of mildew and mold in bathrooms.

For that reason, inspect your exhaust fan to see that it still works, and then clean any grime collected with a damp cloth so it can function correctly. Those fans do a lot to keep moisture at bay and should make your life far more accessible by minimizing how often you have to deal with mold issues.

If you’re experiencing terrible water pressure in the shower, it’s usually a sign that either the water heater needs to be replaced or the shower head needs to be cleaned. A toothbrush and vinegar typically work best for cleaning out mineral deposits in a shower head that could be plugging water flow.

Keeping Your Home Safe and Efficient All Summer Long

The bottom line is that the more you do to keep your home in order, the less likely costly damage will occur or the look of the place will degrade. It doesn’t matter if you want to keep your house looking great for summer parties or if you want to attract renters; ticking everything off your summer home maintenance checklist is a worthwhile investment.

Another great investment? Renting out your home for the season. You can opt for a short-term lease agreement ready to go or explore other real estate-related templates to help take tedious legal tasks off your checklist.

Legal Considerations for Significant Home Improvements

While the tips in our summer home maintenance checklist can help you keep your property in top shape, some projects, especially those involving significant structural changes like roof replacements, new HVAC system installations, or major remodeling, may require more than just elbow grease. These projects often need to comply with local building codes and regulations.

Consulting with legal professionals can help you navigate these requirements and ensure that your improvements are both safe and legally sound. This is particularly important if you’re planning to rent out your property or sell it in the future, as compliance with regulations can affect both the value and the marketability of your home.

Frequently Asked Questions