4 areas of your home you should inspect every summer

Your home, rather than being static, changes fairly dynamically throughout the year. This means that each new season brings with it unique challenges that you must address to protect your home’s integrity. The summer, with its high heat and heavy rain, poses particular challenges for homes of all types. Here are four areas of your home you should inspect every summer to ensure it stays strong throughout the year.

Gutters

During heavy summer downpours, your home’s gutters are a crucial element of protection. Rather than the water running down the sides of your house, gutters route the water away from your home, protecting your home’s foundation. Therefore, as the summer gets underway, you want to ensure that the harsh winter weather didn’t cause any major damage to your gutters, such as holes, cracks, or loose nails that could cause your gutters to fail.

Heating and Cooling

Before the weather gets too hot, it’s important to have your air conditioner inspected and maintained to make sure it can keep up with the heat. It’s also a good idea to have your furnace inspected to see if it needs any attention after working hard all winter. Typically, heating repair is easier to obtain in the summer since most people are focused on their air conditioners. This will help you prepare for the cold weather that will inevitably follow the long, hot summer.

Attic

During the summer, your attic can become quite hot since it has little to insulate it from the heat that’s absorbed by your roof. Therefore, it’s important to inspect your attic to ensure it can properly vent this heat before that heat affects the rest of your home. You’ll want to make sure that the attic vents aren’t blocked by leaves, sticks, or other debris and that there are enough vents to provide adequate ventilation. It’s also a good idea to make sure that the vents are protected by some type of wire to prevent squirrels and other animals from making nests in your attic.

Windows

Your windows are a key element in keeping hot air out during the summer. Therefore, as summer gets underway, it’s essential to check them and make sure that the seals around their perimeter are intact. Otherwise, cold air from your home could leak outside, and hot air from outside could leak into your home. It’s also important to add some tint to your windows, if it’s not already there, to help keep your home cool and protect your furnishings from harsh UV rays.

As you can see, inspecting your home for summer is about more than simply preparing your home for the warm weather ahead. In any way you can, it’s also important to have an eye to the future, keeping in mind the seasons that come after summer, to complete as many preparations as possible for all seasons. This will prevent you from having to do as much work when the weather is colder and it’s unpleasant to be outside.