Spring Home Inspection: Clean, Maintain & Improve for a Healthier, Happier Home

Most people consider winter the season to keep a keen eye on your energy consumption. However, summer maintenance and cooling costs, if your home has air conditioning, can also be quite high if certain measures are not taken.

Tips to clean, maintain & improve your home in spring:

Cleaning
Typically, spring or early summer are the ideal times to give your home a good and thorough cleaning. As with any standard de-cluttering process, try to attend to one room at a time. If you aren’t sure how to go about it, do some quick research on ways to correctly clean each room in your home. Just remember, you might get your hands dirty! The good news, the reward will definitely be worth it. For further motivation, just think of how lovely it would be seeing your home spotless and properly organized. In addition to making your home more healthy and comfortable, there are added benefits to cleaning things like refrigerator coils and HVAC components which will assist you with energy efficiency as well as longer equipment life.

Also, if you wish to keep your cleaning momentum going, you can try adopting some easy but effective everyday cleaning habits to help keep your home tidy and prevent it from becoming a daunting task.

Maintenance
Most homeowners do not realize that they can save up to 30% on their energy bills by simply caulking gaps. Caulking gaps helps to keep your utility bills low by preventing outside air from flowing in as well as prohibiting bugs and moisture from entering your home. Establish whether gaps are present in the areas around your doors, window frames, plumbing fixtures, skylights, light fittings, vents, or any corners with siding joints.

Upgrades
If you own an AC unit, spring maintenance will go a long way towards saving money on energy costs. Always remember to clean or replace your filters to the manufacturer’s recommendations; you can save up to 5% to 15% on various cooling costs. You may want to consider installing a ceiling fan, as air conditioners often utilize as much as 19x more energy than a fan, which can go a long way to making your home more comfortable on hot days.

Growing plants in your house can also reduce your indoor air temperature. The magical science behind them is they use heat to release moisture through the process of transpiration, which has an indoor cooling effect. Not to mention that they help to remove indoor air pollutants and simply look nice. Another good option is to plant deciduous trees or vines in your yard in areas where the windows are facing the sun. The goal is to create shade to keep the hot afternoon sun from warming up your home in the summer months.

 Contact Home Guard for Thorough, Professional Home Inspections

HomeGuard Inc. is a Northern California home inspection; roof inspection, termite inspection, and NHD report company that can help you prepare your home for the summer season. For more information on our services, call us at 855-331-1900 and we’ll be happy to help!