Preparing for Spring

Spring is in the air. Flowers are blooming, trees are budding, the grass needs mowing. With the arrival of spring, it's time to clean up our homes. Though there is no clear historical background for the seasonal cleaning urge, people around the world respond to it and houses become the cleaner for it. So what items should be taken care of as the seasons change?

Fire detectors and carbon monoxide detectors should definitely be checked. Detectors have a roughly 10 year lifetime before they should be replaced. They should also be cleaned regularly to ensure they are working properly, and have batteries tested. We all know how annoying it is to hear that incessant "beep beep beep" when the battery dies, but sometimes they just quit working. If we don't individually test them periodically, they may not work should we ever need them. At our house, we like to test ours about once a week or so on our family pizza night. Kidding. The oven tends to smoke and set off the alarm near the kitchen, which sets off the whole house. But it's always a good reminder to me and a good way to check them out too.

Furnace filters need to be changed regularly. If you have an HVAC unit (a heater and air conditioner in one), the filters need to be changed all year round. Depending on the type you prefer to buy, you need to change them monthly or every few months. With pollen and other airborne allergens hitting their high points for the year, changing filters can help alleviate any allergies your family members may experience. It's always a good idea to give the furnace a once-over when changing the filter also. Does everything look normal? Does it look dirty? If you ask questions of your furnace technician when they come out to inspect it yearly, than you know what to look for and can spot and potential problems. I'm not sure what's a worse situation- losing the heat on the coldest day of the year or losing the air conditioner on the hottest. Regular furnace and air conditioning inspections can help spot problems before they become major.

Inspect the exterior of the building. You should be looking for any damage that may have occurred during winter storms- missing roof shingles or loose siding. Also check the rain gutters and clear out any debris. April showers bring May flowers after all, but April showers plus clogged gutters can cause a mess and problem for your home if the rain is pooling somewhere and not draining properly. Now is a good time for clearing out any debris that may have blown into the flower beds or up against the foundation as well. Piles of leaves are very attractive to critters and pests of all sorts. If these piles are near the home, the pests may decide your home is even better than the leaves.

As your property management company, Provident can address all of these maintenance issues for you. We offer quarterly inspections of the property as well as coordinate any maintenance needs that are beyond our expertise (HVAC for example). A well maintained property saves money in the long run because small problems can be addressed before becoming huge headaches. Please contact us today to see what we can do for you!