Home Maintenance Tips for Spring - Protect your home - and your investment!

Canada - If you're like most Canadians, your home is probably your most important investment. A regular schedule of seasonal maintenance can help you protect that investment for years to come, and help keep your home and your family healthy and safe all year round.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has the following list of spring maintenance tips that can help you put a stop to the most common and costly problems before they occur, in as little as a few minutes a week.

Tips

- Have your furnace, filter, air exchanger, and air conditioner checked by a qualified service technician.

- Have the temperature of your hot water tank checked and adjusted if necessary. Also have the pressure relief valve tested to ensure it isn?t stuck.

- Check and clean your range hood filters on a monthly basis.

- Make sure there is water in the basement floor drain trap. If not, pour a cupful of water into the drain.

- Make sure outdoor air vents for exhaust fans, heat recovery ventilators, clothes dryers, furnaces and hot water tanks are clear of debris. Check that dampers operate freely and close properly.

- Test ground fault circuit interrupter(s) each month by pushing the test button, which should cause the reset button to pop up. These are typically located on electrical outlets near sinks or outdoors.

- Shut down and clean the furnace humidifier, and close the furnace humidifier damper on forced air systems equipped with central air conditioning.

- Have your fireplace or woodstove and chimney cleaned and serviced as needed.

- Clear all drainage ditches and culverts of debris.

- Clean any debris from eavestroughs and downspouts, reattach any sections that are loose, and make sure they are securely attached to your home and that the flow of water discharges away from your foundation.

- From the ground, check the roof for damaged shingles and detached flashings, and have them repaired if necessary.

- Check smoke, carbon monoxide and security alarms, and replace their batteries. Check the date of manufacture on smoke alarms. If a smoke alarm is older than 10 years, replace it.

- Clean all windows, screens and window hardware. Repair any holes in screens, or replace them if necessary.

- Pull your refrigerator out from the wall and gently vacuum or dust the coils.

- Open the valve to the outside hose connection once any danger of frost has passed.

- Examine the foundation walls for cracks, leaks or signs of moisture, and repair them if required. Repair fences as needed. Inspect the exterior of your home to identify repair work to be done during the summer such as painting, caulking or siding repairs.

- Make sure your sump pump is operating properly before the spring thaw sets in, and ensure the discharge pipe allows water to drain away from the foundation.

- Re-level any exterior steps or decks that may have moved due to frost or settling.

- Have well water tested for quality, and test for bacteria every six months.
v - Carry out any spring landscaping and, if necessary, fertilize young trees.