Any seasoned homeowner knows that home maintenance is an ongoing responsibility.
Over the course of a calendar year, all the different features and fixtures of your home will likely require some expert maintenance, prompting homeowners to book appointments with local electricians and plumbers.
But did you know that it’s common for Aussie homeowners to book specific home maintenance appointments at particular times throughout the year?
Homeowners tend to schedule home maintenance and repairs as a means of preparing for seasonal weather patterns. And it makes sense when you think about it. After all, who prioritises repairs for their home’s heating system in summer?
Larger repairs or maintenance tasks like inspections of your home plumbing system are actually more likely to occur in summer. Plumbers also experience a higher rate of calls from families who are hoping to assess the water efficiency of their home plumbing system.
This means that if you’re looking for a plumber in Victoria over this coming La Niña summer, it’s best that you book your appointments well in advance to make sure that you secure a time and date that works best for your family’s own summer schedule.
Read on for all the essential routine home maintenance tasks that homeowners should be adding to their calendars, as well as a little insight into how best to schedule these tasks.
Heating systems and fireplaces
Autumn calls for focusing on the health of your home’s heating systems.
This should include any ducted heating and split systems, as well as standalone gas heaters and even fireplaces. Ducted heating systems should be thoroughly cleared of dust and inspected for any blockages or other potential faults.
As for fireplaces, homeowners are encouraged to check their fireplaces for damage and clear out their chimney flue, to ensure that there are no blockages before the cold weather truly hits. Blockages in your chimney flue can actually be quite dangerous, with trapped smoke bringing elevated risks of family members developing respiratory problems or even experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning in the worst case scenario. Chimney flues can be cleared out by hand with protective gloves as well as a wire brush to efficiently remove any build-up of soot.
Be sure to enlist expert assistance for particularly tough build-ups. HVAC specialists are also likely to be a veritable godsend for families who require support with maintaining or repairing their heating systems.
Roof maintenance and storm preparedness
Roof maintenance is another home maintenance item that tends to be performed seasonally, usually in the lead-up to storm season.
It’s common for homeowners living along Australia’s east coast to schedule maintenance for their home’s roofing both nearing the end of autumn as well as in preparation for spring. This is because Victoria and New South Wales in particular are more likely to experience heavy rain closer to winter and spring than they are in other parts of the year. Choosing durable roofing materials, such as fibreglass or polycarbonate roofing, can also help enhance the structural integrity of your roof during unpredictable weather patterns.
Electrical storms are naturally also a major concern for Victorian and NSW homeowners. As electrical storms are most likely to hit in spring due to the season’s signature rapid fluctuations in atmospheric pressure in these regions, homeowners are advised to secure electrical inspections with licensed electricians during this period. Custom overhead storage or wiring should also be inspected for any potential damage from a storm and any damaged components should be replaced to prevent any further problems.
Spring cleaning = gutter cleaning
Of course, storm season is also always accompanied by plenty of moisture and perhaps even debris from trees hitting your home’s roof like a ton of bricks.
Thankfully, testing your roof and ceiling for leaks and reapplying roof caulk, if required, in the lead up to spring can help reduce the likelihood of your roof accruing damage during severe weather like thunderstorms or vicious winds.
But even if your home’s roof is in great condition, the issue of collected debris on your roof and your gutters must still be addressed. Early spring is the perfect time for homeowners to clear out their roof gutters after the winter weather has dissipated. Performing this particular maintenance task at this point will help make sure that your roof gutters are ready for all the fresh debris that may be generated by severe springtime storms.
It’s also a good idea to clear out your gutters again at the end of storm season and in the lead up to summer. This is a particularly important maintenance item in years where we can anticipate another La Niña summer, as the excess rainfall brought by the La Niña trade winds may also cause your gutters to fill with debris over the season.
Summer landscaping essentials
Summer weather finally heralds an opportunity to remove any excess plant matter and garden waste generated throughout spring. Select a dry day when looking to clear garden waste, to make sure that you’re not expending excess energy carting around waterlogged plant matter.
The same goes for your lawn maintenance following periods of heavy rainfall. While it may be tempting to pull the mower out as soon as the rains clear, mowing wet grass can result in a less than clean cut, which could disturb your soil and, in some cases, even open your lawn up to experiencing fungal outbreaks. Wet grass also has a tendency to clump together and get stuck in your mower, which could negatively affect its motor.
Summer is also the perfect time to give your home’s facade a little refresher by wiping down windows from the outside as well as hosing down your home’s exterior if it has received a little dust and dirt build-up from poor winter and spring weather.
Other tasks to perform periodically throughout the year
Alongside these seasonal home maintenance tasks, your household will also need to factor in annual items like:
- Inspections and battery replacements for smoke/carbon monoxide detectors
- Cleaning out home ventilation systems and kitchen/laundry/bathroom fans
- Scrub down showers and bathtubs
- Clean out oven, microwave, fridge, and other kitchen appliances
- Regular maintenance checks to ensure that your air conditioning is performing up to scratch
- Treat timber floorboards and steam cleaning carpets
- Oiling door hinges and treating timber doors to prevent wood warping
- Airing out rugs/carpet runners and mattresses
- Mowing lawns and tending to garden beds.
All of the above tasks must be performed either regularly throughout the year or annually without concern for which season they are completed in. Be sure to incorporate these items into your annual and seasonal maintenance checklists as they’re required.
It’s also important to note that all of the maintenance items outlined above may not be likely to cover all the essential tasks that your house requires. Every home is different, so it’s up to you and your household to develop your own ‘abode almanac’ and ensure that your home stays in tip top shape year-round.