Summer will officially start this coming Friday, June 21st at 12:04am Central time, and the daylight hours will then start becoming shorter. Now is a great time to utilize the extra daylight to catch up on the home maintenance projects you may have been putting off, or just need to do.
Here are five ideas for you to consider:
- Change your air filter. When it is hot the air handler works more often and the filter accumulates more dust and dirt. A dirty filter can cause your air handler to not work as efficiently as a clean one, which ends up causing you to pay for more electricity.
- Look the exterior paint over. Look for cracking caulk, warped wood, dry rot and oxidizing paint. Make the repairs while the air is nice and dry—this helps the caulk and paint stick better than against even slightly damp surfaces. If your home looks like it kinda needs a paint job, have it done now! It is amazing how fast a house will deteriorate once the paint and caulk start failing.
- Clean out the garage. I did this one myself this past weekend. I hauled off items that I’ve had for over two decades and haven’t used. I’m enjoying the orderliness and additional space. Make sure you dispose of hazardous items properly, and check your garage floor for grease spots that may be caused by fluids leaking from your car.
- Clean your dryer vent. We recently cleaned a dryer vent on a house we are remodeling, and I was shocked at how much lint was in there. Dryer fires from dirty dryer vents are one of the main causes of home fires.
- Lawn Maintenance. Make sure your sprinklers aren’t wasting water, and remove any vegetation that is against the house. Be sure to check the oil in your mower and top off or change as needed to protect the engine from the summer heat.
Have a great summer!
Mike
