Top 5 Tips for Preparing Your Seattle Home for Spring
Is that your home crying for your attention (your love) once again, to tend to those forgotten needs?
When’s the last time you did a real honest assessment of your home’s overall condition, so you can spread your LOVE to all the places your home really needs that TLC?
For now… smother your family and close ones with the Valentine’s Day Love. Then, use this guide below as a queue to get after taking care of your beautiful home this spring.
Think of this as an annual check up, something like you would expect from your annual doctor’s visit.
The reality is… your home in one sense is a living thing, which has aging parts which require tune ups, repairs or replacements time to time.
Staying ahead of the aging/replacement curve will give you not only added peace-of-mind but also a way less expensive maintenance plan for your home.
1.) Full Home Inspection. If you have not had your home inspected by a professional home inspector in the past 5 years, start there. The goal is to find out everything that is or could possibly be wrong with your home now, and, anything that will imminently be needing attention in the future.
Here are two great inspection services to consider:
2.) Roofs. For roofs subjected to the extremes of our Pacific Northwest weather, we see a majority of roof materials serve out a much shorter life span. Roof repairs, caught early, are simple and relatively inexpensive to remedy. Unexpected major roof issues, however, are the very last thing you want to experience. Be proactive in the mild seasons and have your roof inspected. A healthy roof is protecting all of your investment underneath of it. Keep in mind, this would be included in a full home inspection.
- See home inspectors above
3.) Gutters? Spring downpours are coming. Winter winds most likely added to the leaves and debris in your gutters. Having clean gutters and functioning downspouts and downspout run-off is critical to the health of your home.
The number one challenge with homes in the Pacific Northwest is moisture issues that develop in soffits and behind the siding, inside of exterior walls. Left untreated… this can lead to extensive dry-rot and mold issues which eventually can become an interior issue as well.
If/when moisture issues lead to mold issues… this can become a high-alert health issue for the interior environment of your entire home.
- See home inspectors above
4.) HVAC. If you have a circulating air heating/cooling system, now is a great time to have your air ducts cleaned (when’s the last time you did this?) and have your furnace and A/C unit inspected and serviced.
Waiting until there is a problem to do this leads to two likely challenges:
- All the HVAC service companies are busy when you really need them, and,
- It typically costs more and takes longer to fix an overdue repair.
Naturally, if you have not done so… replace your intake air filters at this time. Write the date on the visible side of the filter/s when you install them, and set a recurring calendar reminder to replace your filter/s every 90-120 days…. depending on your system requirements.
- Bob’s Heating and AC for Inspections, Service and Cleanings
5.) Clear the clutter. An seasonal clutter collection can be divided into 3 categories:
- Dump/recycle,
- Donation (Goodwill, Lifelong…etc.), and
- Undecided pile (which eventually ends up in pile one or two). Monte likes to say… “when in doubt, throw it out.”
Getting rid of clutter serves 3 purposes:
- Health of your home…. clutter attracts clutter which attracts unwanted debris (dust, dirt, critters), which undermines the health of your home’s environment.
- Peace of Mind… Ahhhhh!! Getting rid of clutter adds to the overall healthy balance and flow of life.
- The Magical energy!
Everyone underestimates the amount of freed up energy which comes from a more organized and streamlined environment. You and everyone in the home just plain feel better.
Woo woo? Maybe… just try it and experience it of yourself.
Don’t know where to start? Need some help de-cluttering and organizing your space/s? A great resource to consider is Nicole Kincaid’s Space Clearing, Organizing and Energy Work website.
These tips all add to the health, fitness and quality of your home. Being proactive and keeping your home in great shape is far easier than trying to play catch up with deferred maintenance issues down the road. After all… the whole appreciation of your home’s value depends on it.
As the season progresses into full blown spring when the landscape all starts coming to life, we’ll have another post more specific to landscaping issues around your home.
As Guides to Urban Living, we look forward to the opportunity to help you, guide you and support you in your home maintenance, buying and selling needs.
We provide free consultations, and we welcome your call, text or email anytime. Text always gets the fastest response.
Help us understand your home buying or selling goals, visions and needs. We’ll educate you on the current market as well as the near term future markets, and guide your path to a successful home-purchase and or home-sale in the Seattle and Eastside residential real estate markets.