Spring home maintenance checklist

Keeps it cooling through the worst of summer.

Water at the wall is how foundations crack.

Lint is the top cause of dryer fires.

Clogged gutters send water into the foundation.

Catch a small leak before it rots the deck.

Pulls out the damp before it grows mold.

Gaps let water and drafts straight in.

Get it swim-ready before the season.

Find winter-cracked lines before you rely on them.

Furred-up coils make it cool less and cost more.

Spills and old food breed bugs that grow in the cold.

Grilles fur up with gray dust and puff it back into the room.

Slats hoard dust until the room sneezes.

Lose the joint sand and the pavers start to shift.

Grit clogs the weep holes and rot follows the water.

Ground-in grit wears the fibers and voids the warranty.

Caked grease flares up and blocked burners hide leaks.

Body oils and grit grind into the weave and wear it out early.

Thick thatch blocks water and air from the roots.

Grass creeps the border and mulch spills the gap.

Feeds the lawn so weeds get less room.

Thin mulch lets weeds in and dries the soil out.

Grime and algae age the siding early.

Limbs on the roof mean damage in the next storm.

Miss the spring window and crabgrass owns the summer.

Bare wood grays, splits and rots.

Sealed cracks don't grow into potholes.

Old oil and a fouled plug make it a pig to start.

Stale fuel gums the carburetor and won't start come spring.

A dull blade tears the grass and leaves it ragged.

Bare timber grays, warps, and rots years early.

Left alone they go leggy and bare at the bottom.

Food residue draws flies that hatch maggots in a day.

Curtains are dust and allergen traps that quietly fill up.

Grime and algae rot the boards and turn the deck into a slide.

Clear views, and bugs kept outside.