Home Spring Maintenance Checklist for Mississauga Homeowners

When warm weather arrives and daylight hours lengthen, residents of Mississauga can't wait to throw open the windows to let all that fresh air and sunshine into the house. As we emerge from our winter hibernation, we tend to start noticing a lot of maintenance, repair and cleaning tasks around the house that could really use our attention. But what are the most important home spring maintenance tasks to focus on?

This home spring maintenance checklist for Mississauga homeowners lists 11 maintenance tasks that should be attended to (at least) annually to keep your home in excellent condition so it's looking its best and functioning perfectly all year round. There's a lot that needs to be done around a typical residential property, and it can feel overwhelming at times—especially for those who don't have much experience with maintaining a house or don't have the right tools and equipment to get the work done effectively. If you can't see yourself getting every one of these tasks done on your own, that's completely understandable. Luckily, there's a solution available! Count on local, reliable, experienced service providers such as the professional Mississauga plumbers at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Mississauga ON.

Check for Plumbing Leaks

This is something many homeowners never think to do unless they have a good reason to suspect a leak. But the truth is, plumbing leaks don't always produce blatant warning signs until it's far too late and a lot of damage has been done. The fittings where plumbing fixtures like sinks are connected to water supply pipes and drainage lines are typical places for leaks to appear. So one of the first steps is to simply go around the house and take a good look at any visible pipes around or underneath fixtures, looking for active water leaks and signs that water has been leaking, like rust, wood rot, or mildew growth.

But if most of your pipes are hidden away behind walls and buried underground, how are you supposed to check for leaks? While that's trickier with drainage lines, there's a simple way to check if you've got a water supply leak. Before you go to bed at night, make sure the water is turned off in all your fixtures and appliances, then check your water meter and note the position of the indicator. In the morning, before you flush the toilet or use any other fixtures, check the water meter again. If the indicator has moved or is currently moving, that could indicate a problem that needs to be checked out by a Mississauga plumber.

Drain Cleaning

Speaking of your drainage lines, they take a lot of abuse from wear and tear over the course of a typical year and that can leave them vulnerable to nasty, inconvenient, stressful problems like clogs and even more serious issues. Professional, annual drain cleaning service gives homeowners the peace of mind that comes with knowing they won't have to deal with stubborn clogs or worse, sewer backups. But it also maintains your drain lines and keeps them in great condition, which lessens wear and tear damage, so you can avoid needing a sewer line replacement for longer.

At Mr. Rooter, we use state-of-the-art technology such as Hydro Scrub® jetting to clear your drain lines quickly and effectively. Hydro jetting machines use high-pressure jets of water to blast away buildup inside your drainage lines, removing clogs and clearing away substances that could cause your wastewater disposal lines to malfunction.

HVAC Tune Up

Next up, let's talk about your HVAC system. Ideally, maintenance for your furnace or another type of heater should be handled in the fall before the freezing weather sets in. But it doesn't hurt to give it a good check in spring as well to make sure it survived the winter months in good shape. It's also important to make sure your air conditioner is well maintained so it's ready to keep your house cool and fresh all summer. That involves tasks such as:

• Changing air filters
• Checking air duct for leaks
• Straightening bent coil fins
• Cleaning your outdoor compressor unit
• Vacuum refrigerator coils
• Topping up refrigerant
• Cleaning flame sensor
• Adjusting thermostat settings
• Lubricating blower motor
• Checking fan belt for signs of damage or deterioration

Caulking

There are undoubtedly already numerous places inside and outside your house that are sealed with caulk. It's an important tool to seal up gaps, cracks and holes that could let in moisture, dirt or even pest infestations. But caulk doesn't last forever—depending on the type of caulk and its level of exposure to water and other damaging factors, you can expect it to last anywhere from a few years to a decade before it needs to be replaced. Part of your home spring maintenance should be carefully examining areas that are sealed with caulk to make sure they don't need re-caulking yet and also looking for unsealed cracks, gaps and holes that could benefit from a new caulk application. Common areas include kitchen backsplash and countertop, sink areas and around your bathtub. Other popular areas are around your window and door casings, where you might have weather stripping installed.

Water Heater Maintenance

No one wants to—or should have to—go without ample hot water. From cooking and cleaning to bathing and relaxation, it's an essential part of our lives. That's why it's so frustrating to deal with a water heater that is slowly deteriorating and can no longer provide adequate hot water or can't operate efficiently. The best way to avoid that is with, you guessed it, adding your water heater to your home spring maintenance list. Water heater maintenance in Mississauga involves draining and flushing the hot water tank to remove sediment buildup and checking the sacrificial anode rod to see if it's ready to be replaced. It's also a good idea to check the temperature settings—your water heater should be set to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 49 degrees Celsius so it's hot enough to kill off bacteria but not hot enough to cause accidental scalding.

Roof Inspection

Everyone thinks their siding is their home's first line of defense against harsh weather and other destructive elements, but really it's their roof. Roofing materials take a tremendous amount of abuse from harsh weather patterns, heavy snow, rotting leaves and pine needles, and even insect and rodent pests. It's built to withstand a lot, but it can't last forever—and problems like missing roof shingles can have a huge negative impact on the other parts of your house. It's a good idea to get up on a ladder at least once per year and take a good look at your roof, checking for broken or loose shingles, moss growth and other problems. But if you're not comfortable climbing a ladder or aren't able to do so safely, don't take the risk. In that case, this task is best left to a roofing professional.

Gutter Repair and Cleaning

In Mississauga and, well, pretty much everywhere else, gutter cleaning is one of the most neglected household chores. Not everyone is willing or able to get up close and personal with their roofline to scoop rotten muck out of their gutter trenches, and that's understandable. On the other hand, ignoring this particular task and hoping for the best is not an option. Gutters remove all the rainwater that falls on your roof before it has a chance to cause severe water damage to everything from your roof down to your foundation. If you aren't willing or able to clean and repair them yourself, that's perfectly okay—but make sure to invest in professional Mississauga gutter cleaning services once or twice per year, so you can ensure your house is protected against water infiltration.

Dryer Vent Cleaning

This is another home spring maintenance task that often flies under the radar, but not because it's being purposely neglected. Many homeowners just don't realize that their dryer vent needs to be cleaned out on a yearly basis—or that it can pose a serious safety risk if it's not. Your dryer needs to be able to vent out hot, humid air from your wet laundry in order to get it dry, and lint is supposed to get caught in the lint trap. But over time, lint filters into the vent and can partially or totally block it off. That causes your dryer machine to struggle, and it ends up costing you extra money on your energy bill. But the overworked machine can also produce an electrical spark that sets the highly flammable lint on fire, sending flames through the walls of your home. Needless to say, a house fire is capable of causing serious injury and major property loss. Including dryer vent cleaning on your annual maintenance list will dramatically reduce the risk of fire and keep your dryer operating at peak energy efficiency.

Organize Garage

Despite our best efforts, it's so easy for the garage to turn into a jumbled mess of recreational gear, hobby items, storage boxes, mechanical equipment and much more. Taking time at least once per year to get it cleaned out and properly organized can make all the difference in the world because it prevents next year's pile of stuff from just getting dumped on top of last year's pile until it becomes too overwhelming to cope with, and you can't even use your garage for its original purpose.

While you're in there tidying up, take the time to give your garage door a thorough inspection. Your garage door opener and the door itself go through a lot of wear and tear. The opener in particular is often the first part to break down because it's motorized and contains a lot of moving parts. If you notice warning signs that your garage door or the opener mechanism is in rough shape, consider preventative Mississauga garage door maintenance service to make sure you don't have to deal with the stress and inconvenience of a system breakdown.

Test Sump Pump

You may not even have a sump pump, but if you do, it makes sense to take a few minutes out of your day and test it to make sure it's working as intended. All you need to do is get a bucket of water and pour it into your sump pit. The sump pump should engage, pump out the water, and then turn itself off. If it doesn't do one of those three things, you know you've got an issue that warrants attention from a Mississauga plumber. It's important to get your sump pump back in good condition right away before there's a flood. The float switch is highly sensitive and blockages can frequently occur. If your system fails, your home will be susceptible to a basement flood and perimeter drain damage.

Deck Repair and Resealing

In the summer months, residents of Mississauga love to head outside to lounge on the deck, grill dinner and have fun chasing their kids or dogs around. But in order to fully enjoy your outdoor space, it needs to be properly maintained and free of hazards or unsightly damage. Any wooden structure that is outdoors and exposed to excess moisture from rain, snow and humidity is vulnerable to wood rot, which is a condition that only affects timber with a moisture content above 20% or so. Paint, solid stain and sealant protect your wooden deck from rot by locking out moisture, but of course they don't last forever. The sealant will wear away in a couple of years and need to be replaced. Spring is a great time to reseal, if necessary, along with taking care of smaller repairs, such as replacing a loose deck board or stabilizing a wobbly railing.

Ready to Get Started On Your Home Spring Maintenance Checklist in Mississauga?

Who knew spring cleaning could get so complicated? If you need help from a local, qualified plumber to maintain your plumbing system and ensure it's in perfect working order for another year, give the reliable experts at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Mississauga ON a call to schedule a maintenance appointment. Or chat with our friendly customer service representatives about other professional plumbing services we can tackle to take care of your entire plumbing system.