Spring Home Maintenance Checklist: Inspect, Clean, Repair

Winter is hard on a house, even a mild one. Ice, wind, and freeze-thaw cycles loosen shingles, clog gutters with debris, and wear down everything outside — and you will not notice most of it from the couch. Spring is the season to find that damage while it is still cheap to fix, get your cooling system ready before the first heat wave, and wake up the yard systems you shut down in the fall.

Work top to bottom, outside first. If you'd like these tasks on a year-round schedule you can follow without re-planning every season, the Kanti Press book First-Time Homeowner's Maintenance Calendar (paid link) lays the full year out month by month — everything below stands on its own either way.

1. Inspect the roof and gutters

Roof problems are cheapest when they are found from the ground in spring, not from the attic during the first summer thunderstorm. Work through this on a clear day:

• Scan the roof with binoculars from the ground. Look for missing, cracked, or curling shingles, dark patches of granule loss, and gaps or rust in the flashing around chimneys, vents, and skylights — the most common source of leaks. Never climb onto a steep or wet roof yourself.
• Clean gutters and downspouts completely. Scoop out leaves, shingle granules, and winter sludge, then run a hose through to confirm water flows freely and downspouts discharge several feet from the foundation.
• Look for gutter sag or separation. Sections pulling away from the fascia or pooling water usually mean a bracket or hanger fix now — ignore it and it becomes a fascia repair later.
• Glance into the attic if you have one. Daylight through the roof boards, water stains on the sheathing, or damp insulation all mean a roof issue needs a pro's eyes soon.

Gear note: gutter cleaning tools — telescoping gutter scoops, gutter-flush hose attachments, and sturdy gutter brackets are the categories most spring checklists point to. See our gutter cleaning tools guide for specific picks.

2. Give your AC a head start

HVAC companies get slammed with emergency calls during the first heat wave of the year — almost all of them preventable. Give your system a spring shakedown before it has to work hard:

• Replace the air filter. A fresh filter is the single cheapest way to protect airflow and efficiency. The house rule: check it monthly and replace it every 1–3 months — the DOE says to clean or replace filters monthly during seasons of peak use, and ENERGY STAR's floor is every three. At minimum, start the season with a clean one. Our guide to HVAC furnace filters explains MERV ratings in plain terms.
• Clear the outdoor condenser unit. Pull away leaves, mulch, and debris, and keep vegetation at least two feet back on all sides so air can move freely (Consumer Reports' long-standing maintenance guidance).
• Gently rinse the condenser coils. With the power off at the outdoor disconnect, spray the coil fins with a garden hose to wash off dust and grime — never use a pressure washer, which bends the thin aluminum fins and permanently chokes airflow.
• Check the condensate drain line. The pipe that carries moisture away from your indoor unit can clog with algae over winter. A slow trickle of water or a wet spot near the air handler means it needs clearing.
• Run a test cycle. Switch the thermostat to cooling and let it run 15 minutes. Listen for grinding or rattling, check that air coming from vents is noticeably cool, and confirm the outdoor fan spins. Anything odd — call for service now, not in July.
• Consider a professional tune-up. ENERGY STAR recommends an annual pre-season check (refrigerant charge, electrical connections, blower, drain), which catches the failures a DIY pass cannot — it matters most if your system is older than about 8 to 10 years or you skipped service last year.

3. Walk the whole exterior

Spring is also siding, foundation, and hose-bib season. Walk the perimeter slowly and look for what winter did:

• Wash siding and trim. A garden hose and a soft brush remove most winter grime; if you reach for a pressure washer, keep it on a low, fan-wide setting — high pressure drives water behind siding and etches wood.
• Touch up caulk and paint. Probe the sealant around windows, doors, and where siding meets trim. Cracked or missing caulk is a top source of drafts and water intrusion — and a five-dollar fix.
• Check the foundation and grading. Soil should slope away from the house so rain runs off, not toward it. Hairline foundation cracks are usually cosmetic, but anything wide enough to fit a coin or running stair-step through block deserves a professional look.
• Test outdoor faucets and hose bibs. Turn each one on and check for leaks at the handle and where the pipe enters the wall — a bib that froze over winter often leaks inside the wall, which is exactly how spring water damage starts.

4. Inspect the deck and fence

Wood structures take a beating from winter moisture. A spring inspection adds years to their life:

• Look for rot and soft spots. Press a screwdriver into posts, stair stringers, and boards near the ground. If it sinks in easily, that section is rotting and needs repair or replacement.
• Tighten what moved. Walk every board listening for creaks, tighten popped nails and loose screws, and — most important — check that railings and stair rails are solid. A wobbly railing is a safety issue, not a cosmetic one.
• Wash it down. Sweep off grit (it grinds the finish under shoes), then wash with a deck cleaner. Let it dry completely before deciding whether it needs resealing — water beading up means the old finish is still working.
• Fence check. Push each post to find loose ones, look for boards the wind lifted, and confirm gates still latch.

5. Start up the lawn and irrigation

Spring startup done right means you use less water and get a better lawn all summer:

• Service the mower first. Disconnect the spark plug wire before you touch the blade, then sharpen or replace it (a dull blade tears grass and invites disease) and confirm the pull cord and safety bar work.
• Run the irrigation system zone by zone. Watch every head as it runs: look for geysers (broken heads), misting (cracked nozzles), and heads spraying the driveway or the house. Adjust the aim so water lands on plants, not pavement.
• Check for leaks and winter damage. Walk the line paths while a zone runs and look for soggy spots that suggest a cracked pipe or fitting — a single broken head can waste thousands of gallons over a season.
• Seed bare patches and feed the lawn on a schedule suited to your grass type, and test the rain sensor so sprinklers don't run through rainstorms all summer.

6. Test the sump pump (before you need it)

Spring rains are the sump pump's busy season, and a pump that sat dry all winter is the one most likely to fail. This test takes five minutes:

• Slowly pour a bucket of water into the sump pit. The float should rise and the pump should kick on, pump the water out, and shut off cleanly.
• Listen for grinding or rattling, which can mean a worn impeller.
• Confirm the discharge pipe outside is clear of mulch, ice, and debris, and that it empties well away from the foundation.
• If you have a battery backup, check the battery's charge and age — batteries typically last 3 to 5 years, and a backup with a dead battery is just decoration during a power outage. No backup at all? Our sump pump guide compares primary pumps and battery backups.

7. Windows, screens, and doors

• Wash windows and check operation. Open and close every window; ones that stick or won't latch need the track cleaned or the hardware adjusted before you want that summer breeze.
• Repair or replace torn screens. Small tears patch cheaply; shredded screens are worth replacing outright.
• Refresh weatherstripping. Spring is the time to replace the worn strips around doors you'll be opening all summer — it matters for cooling bills just as much as for heating.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I start up my sprinkler system?

After the last hard freeze in your area — in cold climates that is usually April or May. Open the water slowly, check the backflow preventer and valve box for leaks, then run each zone and walk it to find broken or tilted heads. Rushing the startup before a late freeze is how backflow preventers crack.

How do I know if my roof has winter damage?

From the ground, with binoculars: missing, curled, or lifted shingles, shingle granules piling up in the gutters, flashing that has pulled away from the chimney or vents, and any sag in the roofline. Do not climb up. Anything you spot is a roofer call.

Should I have my AC serviced every spring?

ENERGY STAR recommends an annual pre-season tune-up. You handle the homeowner side yourself — a fresh filter, a clear condenser, a flushed condensate drain — and book the technician for the refrigerant charge, electrical connections, and blower, which need gauges and a license.

How do I test a sump pump?

Pour a bucket of water into the pit until the float rises: the pump should start, drain the pit, and stop. If it hums without pumping, runs on, or does not start, fix it before the rainy season, not during it. Full steps are in our sump pump test guide.

Bottom line

Spring maintenance is mostly inspection with a little cleaning: roof and gutters first, AC before the heat, then the exterior, deck, yard systems, and sump pump. Catch the small, cheap problems now — the loose flashing, the cracked sprinkler head, the tired sump pump — before they become the expensive ones. For the rest of the year, see our summer guide and the fall checklist, or follow the full year in our month-by-month maintenance calendar.

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