Spring home maintenance Q&A
It’s hard work, maintaining your home to keep it looking and performing great, especially in the spring. Where do you start, and what do you need to know about caring for a Minto Communities’ home?
From what to clean first to keeping pesky critters out of your eavestrough, our Warranty Team is here to answer all your spring cleaning questions and guide you to a beautiful looking home inside and out.
What are the benefits of performing spring maintenance on my home?
From protecting your investment to identifying minor issues before they become major repairs, maintaining your home in the spring has a variety of benefits:
- Safeguards your home—helps defend against unpredictable weather and other threats such as invasive wildlife.
- Saves you time—frequent cleaning means it takes less time to maintain your property as the seasons change.
- Routine maintenance and the odd renovation maintains the resale value of your home.
For in-depth information on how spring maintenance can protect the value of your property, check out Must Read Tips to Preserve Home Value.
Does the transition from winter to spring present unique challenges to maintaining my home?
As the snow melts, it can reveal damage to your home caused by Ontario’s harsh winters. This includes pressure on your foundation from ice dams, torn shingles and loose siding; not to mention, sliding ice from your roof is notorious for harming your eavestrough.
Here’s what to look out for:
- Obvious damage to the exterior features of your home such as ripped window screens, cracked foundation, and missing shingles.
- Moisture in your basement or attic pinpointing leaks that aren’t apparent from the outside of your home.
- Debris clogging your eavestrough, downspouts, and air exhaust vents such as leaves, sticks, and bird’s nests.
- Blocked window wells, catch basins, and drainage swales which can lead to costly repairs not covered by your Warranty.
How do I prevent wildlife such as mice, squirrels, and birds from nesting around my home?
Keeping pests from nesting in and around your home is an ongoing battle. But you’ll save time, money, and the headache by being proactive and addressing areas of concern early in the spring.
- Inspect your home and auxiliary buildings such as a shed for holes of any size—no hole is too small; a raccoon can squeeze into a crack no bigger than a baseball!
- Customize exterior features if necessary—consider adding a guard to ridge vents, reinforcing exhaust vents, and applying a specialized screen over your eavestrough.
- Practice cleanliness around your property—overflowing garbage bins and overgrown bushes will attract wildlife to your home.
I’m short on time, what maintenance should I prioritize?
Cleaning inside is just as important as it is outside, but if push comes to shove, inspecting the exterior of your home and being proactive about keeping wildlife out offers more long term benefits.
However, cleaning your Heat Recovery Ventilation unit, replacing air filters, cleaning vent covers, and doing annual maintenance to your air conditioning system are the priorities indoors.
Protect your home (and your health), get yourself prepared for summer with this Warranty resource on how to get a handle on humidity.
Aside from what’s in the Seasonal Maintenance Checklist, what else should I consider for spring cleaning?
The Seasonal Maintenance Checklist is a great guide for Minto Communities’ homeowners. It provides a list of items to check and maintain during each season including the spring.
In addition to the checklist, new residents must pay special attention to a freshly sodded lawn—sod takes approximately two years to establish consistent, low-maintenance growth. Despite “spring showers,” it’s likely you’ll need to supplement with manual watering during the evening or early morning.
The spring is also the time to examine your front porch, back deck, handrails and other wooden items outside your home. Replace rotted boards, hammer exposed nails, and as the weather warms up, reapply sealant or varnish if necessary. And don’t forget to recaulk windows if you notice cracks or peeling around the frame.
Finally, beyond standard cleaning inside your home—sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping—be sure to properly wash and dry winter wear and accessories before placing them in storage.
If you’d like to share your spring cleaning tips or need more information about what’s covered under your Warranty, contact your specific Warranty Coordinator.