8 important late-spring home maintenance tasks

Ready to get your hands dirty? Now that winter is behind us and summer is on the horizon, it’s time to get your home and exterior ready for some outdoor living. Follow these steps — including spring cleaning, home maintenance or landscaping — to spruce up your property before temperatures really start to go up.

1. Take care of your lawn

Prepare your yard for summer by cleaning up the lawn, and flower and garden beds. Take care to get rid of all debris and prune any dead hedges, plants or branches. Consider hiring a pro to aerate your lawn, which allows grass room to breathe and roots to grow deeper.

2. Check your roof

Maintaining your roof throughout the year can help prevent damage or expensive repairs, but heavy rain in the winter and spring can still cause significant water damage. If you see or suspect damage to your roof, contact a reputable roofing company to perform an inspection as soon as possible. If you have problems, contact your insurance company to learn what and how much they’ll cover.

3. Inspect your deck

If you have a deck, this is the time to inspect it for safety issues. Composite decks will last for decades, but wooden decks can deteriorate over time. Inspect all the fasteners, railing, banisters and boards for any points of weakness, and repair any damages before you use it. It’s also a good time to stain and seal wooden decks to enhance their appearance and extend longevity.

4. Get the garage in shape

Garage doors have many moving parts that can fail over time. Have a professional inspect them for problems. Many companies offer a tuneup service, which includes a full inspection and lubricating of all moving parts.

5. Clean your gutters

Gutter care is a vital part of home maintenance. Leaves and muck that build up in gutters and downspouts can block water flow and damage your roof, foundation, basement — even yard soil.

6. Repaint your interior

Painting is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to dramatically change the look of a home, and spring is the opportune time to freshen things up. Painting is also one of the more accessible DIY projects for the homeowner, though a pro can offer advice on what paints to use to ensure it lasts as long as possible.

7. Prepare for pests

Ants, rodents and other pests will arrive in spring and stick around through the summer. To keep them away, empty your trash bins regularly, seal openings around doors and windows, and keep food supplies (including pet food) in airtight containers. If you already have an insect infestation, call in a professional extermination service. A good pro will both eliminate the pests and take care of the issues that originally allowed them in.

8. Get your HVAC serviced

Heating and air conditioning should be serviced twice a year — once before the weather gets hot enough to use the A/C regularly, and again before it’s cold enough to run the heater. Servicing will lubricate moving parts, ensure smooth usage, improve efficiency and catch small problems before they become big ones.