If your mother or grandmother were avid spring cleaners, you might remember hearing them bemoan how “one thing always leads to another.”

Now that you have a home of your own, you might realize just how spot-on their forecast was and how it applies equally well to spring home maintenance. This home “check-up” is important because it probably represents the first time you've taken a good, hard look at your home after the long fall and winter months.

Heed the “Expert Help Points”

Allow Experts In Your Home to guide your efforts. After all, we not only have nearly 70 years of experience in helping northern California homeowners with home repairs, we had mothers and grandmothers, too. So begin your home maintenance check-up knowing:

• It's more important to be thorough than speedy. You probably won't finish your check-up in one day, so consider doing your indoor check-up one day (just as we outline here) and your outdoor check-up on another (just as we will cover in a future article).
• You will find problems. In fact, you want to spot problems so that you can fix them before they get out of hand.
• Which repairs you can undertake yourself and which ones you should leave to the plumbers, electricians and carpenters at Experts In Your Home. Assess your aptitude and confidence and whether you have the proper tools for a repair. You probably want to handle as many repairs yourself as possible, but you could actually do more damage – to your home and your personal safety – by trying to tackle a repair that is beyond your capability. We all have limitations; don't take unnecessary risks when you don't have to.

Begin With Your Central Air Conditioner

• Schedule your annual air conditioner tune-up with Experts In Your Home as soon as possible. A thorough cleaning will do wonders for its efficiency. Ensuring that this big-ticket item is in good shape now ought to ensure that it makes it through the season, problem-free.
• Form good habits now for checking and replacing your filter. Check it once a month, perhaps by pairing it with a task that will serve as a reminder, such as paying your electric bill.

Move Throughout Your Home

Try a top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top approach to moving throughout your home, one room at a time. Keep a list as you go so that you have to make only one trip to your favorite home improvement store for the items you need.

• Replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Check all your electrical outlets and cords for potential fire hazards, being vigilant about frayed wires and loose-fitting plugs.
• Check your fire extinguisher – or buy one if you don't have one – and make sure that everyone in your home knows how to use it.
• Methodically check every faucet, drain and pipe in your home for leaks and repair them. Look for water stains or signs of water damage around the pipes and on nearby walls and ceilings. Don't forget your washing machine and dishwasher; the hoses should be structurally sound and devoid of cracks.
• Check your clothes dryer's exhaust duct to ensure that it is secure. Remove lint and dust.
• Inspect your water heater for leaks and especially corrosion. Call Experts In Your Home immediately if you spot rust; this is a condition from which no water heater recovers.
• Open and close every door and window in your home and check the seals. Install the screens after washing and repairing any rips or holes. Sand and repaint cracked or peeling paint or apply a fresh coat of varnish to worn areas.
• Check the whole-house fan in your attic to ensure that it works properly. While there, check all vents and pass-through points for proper sealing.
• Inspect your basement floors and walls for signs of dampness, which could signify a need for added ventilation, insulation or a dehumidifier. Experts In Your Home can help you determine the proper remedy.
• Move your refrigerator as far from the wall as possible and vacuum the floor and the coils thoroughly to improve your refrigerator's efficiency.
• Adjust your ceiling fans to run in a counterclockwise direction so that you feel that wind-chill effect that will help you feel cooler in the summer.

A Word about Spring Cleaning

Spring is a great time of year to clear out clutter, dust and vacuum cabinets and walls from the top down, wash and polish floors and shampoo carpets. But if you're too tuckered out from your home maintenance check-up, contact Experts In Your Home for home maintenance. We, too, know that “one thing leads to another,” and we're ready to help in any way we can.