Spring Home Maintenance Checklist: Is Your Home Ready for Spring?

After a long, cold winter, it is almost spring. That means thoughts turn to spending time outdoors. But first, you’ve got to get your house spruced up and ready to go. Follow Getzschman Heating and Cooling’s easy checklist to make sure your Omaha area home is ready for sunny days:

• Clean your gutters. April showers might bring May flowers, but it can also bring flooding and standing puddles. Make sure rain water drains away properly by removing leaves and other debris from your gutters. Also reposition downspouts so water flows away from your house, rather than pooling at your foundation.
• Check your sump pump. Those same spring rains can mean big problems for your basement if you’re prone to flooding. Don’t just leave it at inspecting the pump—install a battery backup in case your primary power source fails. Trust us, better to spend the money now than try to deal with a soaked basement!
• Inspect the roof. Winter winds may have wreaked havoc on your shingles. Be on the lookout for either missing shingles or those that are curled up at the edges. If you spot problems, time to call a roofer.
• Hook up the garden hose. You took your hose in last year, right? If so, it’s time to haul it back out and test to make sure the tap is still working. While you’re at it, connect your sprinklers and test your irrigation system so you’ll be ready for summer.
• Clean or change your furnace and air conditioner’s filter. You should be changing your filter every month (or as directed by your manufacturer—call if you’re not sure what your replacement schedule is), but if you’ve let it slide over the winter, this is the time to get back in the habit. A clean filter will help trap airborne allergens and help the whole family breathe easier.
• Clean and test your air conditioning unit. Brush away any leaves or other trash that might have fallen onto your AC for maximum efficiency. You can also lightly spray the air conditioner with a hose (make sure it’s off first!). Also, check your air conditioner to make sure it works. Nothing worse than waiting for the first hot day to find out you have a problem!
• Schedule your spring furnace and air conditioner maintenance. Your entire heating and cooling system needs a tune-up twice a year. Don’t wait until it’s too late to get yours. When you schedule a full air conditioner tune-up or maintenance call, the G-Force team will identify any issues in your system before they turn into big problems. Heating and cooling system maintenance can also help save you money in energy costs, and who doesn’t want that?