Regardless of whether or not you’re looking to sell your Pittsburgh home, spring is a popular time to revisit that annual home maintenance checklist. This guide can help you prioritize.
As winter comes to an end in the U.S., spring months have everyone in Pittsburgh looking ahead to warmer weather and longer days. Higher rainfall feelings can also help user in that feeling of spring as a season of renewal — with flowers starting to bloom again and animals coming out of hibernation.
Traditionally, spring has also been a popular time for home maintenance, with the long days and pleasant weather providing a conducive environment for cleaning up around the home.
In this post, let’s take a closer look at some annual home maintenance tasks that you can do as springtime rolls around, as well as some seasonal preparation that you can do to get your home ready for the season.
Annual Home Maintenance Checklist
Some important tasks that should be on your annual home maintenance checklist , and that you can check off in spring, include:
1. HVAC System Maintenance
After heavy winter use, it is highly likely that the filters in your HVAC system will be clogged with dust, dirt and other potential allergens. This can reduce airflow and affect the efficiency and performance of the HVAC system as a whole. Moreover, if your filters aren’t able to effectively capture pollen in the air, you and your family members might face a higher risk of pollen allergies as spring comes about.
So, spring can be a good time to get your HVAC system professionally tuned and maintained for the year.
2. Checking Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
You should also take the opportunity to replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as to test them to ensure that they are in good working condition. Keeping these devices well-maintained can enable you to detect gas leaks and fires early, giving you peace of mind for the year to come and ensuring your home’s safety.
3. Plumbing Maintenance
Spring is also a great time to inspect your home’s plumbing system and ensure that it is not leaking or damaged. If you live in an area with cold winters (like anywhere in Western PA, really), the freezing temperatures might lead to repeated expansion and contraction of your pipes, potentially causing damage to your plumbing that might not be noticeable until spring comes around.
So check for any leaks or signs of water damage in and around your plumbing, and address any issues before they develop into major problems that require costly repairs.
4. Deep Cleaning
If deep cleaning is not already part of your annual home maintenance checklist, it can be a good idea to include it as well.
Deep cleaning differs from the routine cleaning you do regularly — it instead focuses on areas that might otherwise be overlooked during regular cleaning. This can include washing your windows inside and out, cleaning the spaces behind heavy furniture, shampooing carpets, as well as scrubbing grout to remove any mold or mildew that might have built up over time.
Exterior Maintenance
Beyond annual maintenance tasks, it can also be a good idea to work on exterior maintenance tasks such as:
1. Repairing Your Roof and Gutters
Heavy snowfall can lead to damage to your roof due to the weight of the accumulated snow, which may lead to leaks. At the same time, debris and leaves might accumulate in your gutters over the winter months, potentially causing clogging and leaks.
Check your roof and gutters to see if there are any sections that might be clogged, leaking or sagging and schedule repairs before summer storms arrive to prevent these issues from worsening.
2. Resealing Driveways and Walkways
At the same time, repeated freeze thaw cycles can also cause damage to your driveways and walkways, especially if water seeps into any cracks and causes these cracks to widen. As spring rolls around, it is important to check your driveways and walkways for any such cracks and reseal them to prevent further deterioration and ensure their safety.
Maintaining Your Home in Preparation for Selling
Spring is also a great time to sell a home because of various factors including higher buyer demand. The warmer weather can spur many potential homebuyers on to attend more open houses and families tend to prefer to move in summer, making spring an ideal time to purchase a home.
At the same time, homes also tend to show better in spring, as green lawns and blooming flowers can significantly increase curb appeal and attract higher offers from potential buyers.
If you’re looking to sell your home, maintaining it and ensuring that it is in good condition becomes even more important. Preparing your home for sale allows you to increase its overall appeal and can generally entail:
- Repainting or touching up both interior and exterior walls to help the home feel fresher and less worn, making rooms feel more inviting to potential buyers
- Performing simple repairs to attract buyers who are looking to purchase a well-maintained home in move-in condition
- Decluttering and getting rid of any unwanted or unused furniture to make your home feel roomier and more spacious
- Deep cleaning your home to remove any debris, dust or potentially offensive odors that might turn away potential buyers
Avoid the Hassle by Selling to a Professional Homebuyer
If you’re looking to sell your home but are put off by the hassle of having to maintain and prepare your home for sale – not to mention the potentially lengthy negotiations with buyers and high realtor fees – you might be better off selling to a professional homebuyer instead.
Here at Homebuyers of Pittsburgh, we specialize in buying homes in Pittsburgh in as-is condition, meaning that you will not need to do any maintenance at all for us to buy your home.
We can also close on your home sale in as little as 21 days and we do not charge any hidden fees, meaning that the offer we make you is the full amount you will receive when you sell your home to us. To get a fast cash offer on your home or if you simply want to find out more about the process, leave us a message today and one of our home buying specialists will be in touch!
