8 Maintenance Tips for Vermont Homes

After a long, cold, brutal Northeastern winter, you’re probably looking forward to the warm spring and summer months. Ensuring that your house looks its best and is properly maintained not only makes for easy living, but it further protects your investment, too.

As one of the largest investments you’re likely to ever make, your home should be a pinnacle of pride and a haven for you and your loved ones. By following these 8 easy steps, you’ll have your house in great condition and looking summertime-good in no time.

1.     Check Your Gutters

More than likely your gutters filled with pine needles, leaves and other debris over the winter. Avoid damaged roofs, broken gutters and clogged drains by monitoring your gutters and removing any buildup. Consider replacing any areas that look like they are buckling or sagging.

2.     Examine Your Roof and Chimney

After checking your gutters, use this opportunity to inspect your roof and chimney for any damages that may have happened over the winter. Look for loose bricks, rotting wood, missing shingles and rust. If you feel your roof needs tending to, don’t hesitate to call an inspector or other roofing professionals.

3.     Inspect the Exterior

Regardless of your home’s siding, a thorough inspection after a long winter is always a good idea. Keep an eye out for loose boards and leaky windows or skylights and make sure the soil surrounding you home’s foundation is sloping away from the house.

4.     Clean Your Windows

Though it’s a good idea to do this at the end of the summer, cleaning your windows at the beginning will allow for more solar energy to heat your home in the cooler months and will allow streak-free sunlight to fill your house during the summer.

5.     Clean Up Your Lawn

Perhaps one of the most important tasks to do when preparing your home for the summer is to remove any branches, twigs, leaves, rotting stumps, etc. Not only can wet yard debris smother and kill your lawn, but they also pose a fire hazard as temperatures warm up.

6.     Aerate Your Lawn

By aerating your lawn, you’ll punch small holes in the earth in order for water, fertilizer and oxygen to effectively reach grass roots. The soil should be damp but not completely saturated.

7.     Check The Attic

Attics often hide some very serious issues that should be addressed immediately, like a leaky roof, black mold, rotting beams, rusting hardware, etc. Because of the Northeast’s humid environment, these problems are not uncommon but should be assessed by professionals.

8.     Tune-Up Your AC

Contact a contractor to service your air conditioning. Inform him of any issues you may have had with your system last season and ensure that he completes a thorough check, including:

• Thermostat and control inspection
• Refrigerant level check
• Tight connections
• Lubricated parts
• Condensate drain check
• Coil and blower clean

While he is completing these tasks, take the time to change out any air filters and vacuum floor registers to ensure prime air conditioning.

After sprucing up your home and polishing up your investment, make sure you have reliable home insurance that has your back no matter what the Northeast weather throws at you. At Taylor Moore Insurance, we guarantee to protect your investment with world-class insurance plans, reliable coverage, and affordable pricing. Call us today to learn more about how Taylor Moore can help you protect what matters most.