April Maintenance Tips for Your East Texas Home

 
April Maintenance Tips for Your East Texas Home

April Maintenance Tips for Your East Texas Home

It’s April home maintenance time! Spring has sprung and summer is quick on the horizon. Are you ready? Before your busy summer begins, be sure you’ve kept up on your Spring maintenance with these quick tips:

1. POW POW POWER WASH –Houses need occasional baths too. Give your house, porches and driveway a quick power wash and say goodbye to the depressing grime of winter in one quick step!
2. DOUBLE, DOUBLE, COIL AND TROUBLE —The days of running your air conditioning 24/7 are almost here. Clean your A/C coils now so you’re ready to chill when the real heat hits. If you have no idea what a coil is, consider calling your favorite HVAC company or check out a “how to” video online. It is not difficult to DIY and also not expensive to have professionally serviced. Cleaning the coils will add years to the life of your unit and keep it running at peak performance.
3. SPRING CLEANING – Don’t overthink this and make it scary.       The name alone strikes fear and dread in many, but if you start in little steps, it isn’t too bad! (Okay, it’s not great, but it’s a big to-do item!) Open up the windows and air out the house while you’re cleaning. It’s amazing how energizing the fresh breeze can be when paired with some 80’s dance music to get you in the cleaning mood! You know how to Spring clean, you just have to make yourself do it (easy for me to say, right?). One of my top priorities for Spring cleaning is to clean out the pantry and refrigerator—trash all of the old and expired food and organize it so you can get to your goodies quickly. Also, pull out your appliances and sweep and mop underneath them—these are prime places for the dust bunnies to make a nest.
4. TERMITES – It’s termite-swarming season, so do a perimeter check to look for any signs of termite activity. While you’re looking, check for other pests too (fire ant hills, wasp nests, bird nests, etc.) If you believe you have termites, they need to be treated as soon as possible. Also keep an eye out for holes leading into your home—the squirrels and critters will setup squatter’s quarters in the attic, if left to their own devices.       Don’t let them call your attic home. Squirrels in an attic can chew through electric lines and eat a myriad of materials in the attic—it’s dangerous and can be expensive, so evict them ASAP!
5. SOMETHING FUN – All work and no play makes anyone a grumpy little helper. Take a trip to the garden center and pickup some fun Spring plants! You don’t have to spend a fortune—even a single brightly colored flower planted in a pot by your door will do the trick!

Home maintenance isn’t fun (for most people). I get it, believe me. However, keeping up with the “small things” really does help maintain your home’s value, saves money on future repairs and will make you more money when you decide to sell. Maintenance for the win!
Lisa E. Priest is flip-flop ready and is an East Texas Area REALTOR® with Picket Fence Realty, Inc. You can reach her via phone or text at 903-948-3343 or read more at BuyPalestine.com.