Summer Season Home Maintenance Tips

The beginning of Summer is just a few days away and there's a few things that you should do around the house to avoid problems down the road. Here's a few things that we've had to do and a few things that, well I figure if I list them, maybe I'll find out if my husband actually bothers to read what I write on Associated Content.

I know where we are it is beginning to rain more often and that means time to make sure the gutters are cleaned out. The drier cooler air some of us desperately miss already has surely left some build-up of dead dry leaves in your gutters. The easiest way to deal with this is either a gutter cleaning tool such as the one sold at guttersense.com which is a long handled gripping tool to pick up the leaves while you stay safely on the ground. This is not a bad purchase for around $27.00. Of course there is also the u-shaped gutter cleaning attachments you can get for your pressure washer, though I would not recommend this for the klutzes out there. This would also apply for those of you who want to do it the old-fashioned way by moving a ladder a few feet at a time. Luckily iRobot Corporation has come out with a new little gadget that could just be your saving grace called the Looj. All you have to do is set this at one end of your gutter and let it do the work. It's safe because you clip it to your belt or pants when you climb the ladder, place it in the gutter and it sweeps the debris out for you. It's also rather affordable beginning at $99.99 up to $169.99. The only down side is the debris can get tossed a good distance, so you could end up cleaning quite a mess below as opposed to dropping the debris by hand in smaller piles. However you choose to clean your gutters, just remember to clean them.

Another easy item to check is the drain pan and drain pipes to your air conditioning unit. Make sure that all the power to the unit is off before removing any parts from the air handler. If you have an abundance of condensation accumulating around your air handler or water on the floor, then you possibly have a clogged pipe or drain pan. Even if you don't have these visible issues, it's still a good idea to check our the pipes and drain pan before you have a problem. You will find the drain pan located beneath the evaporator coils in the air handler and you want to make sure it is clean and draining properly. Also check the pipes for any build-up which usually a good set of lungs can clean out.

It is also very important to make sure your air condensing unit outside is free of debris. Make sure to trim weeds away for the surrounding area and that no other plants are growing too close. Having anything clog your coils outside could result in misery inside. If you need to get the outside panels off for cleaning, make sure to disconnect all power before doing so.

One last thing to do is if you have a water-softener you should make sure to clean it out once a year and this would be good time to add that to the list. An accumulation of silt can keep your softener from working properly, so you need to make sure that you clean this all out, wash the inside of your tank with a mild soap and refill with clean salt.

Once all the chores are finally done, pour yourself a Margarita and sit by the pool. Summer is here and it's going to be a hot one.