Spring Cleaning Guide for the Exterior of Your Home

MAKE AN ACTION PLAN

Now that winter is officially over many homeowners start to think about spring cleaning. The nice, warm weather and time outside with your friends and loved ones brings a new level of excitement for people. Cleaning is usually pretty low on the list of enjoyable experiences one can engage in, but taking the time to plan and clean the inside and outside of you home will allow you to take a greater sense of pride in your home and lengthen the time the products you have installed on your house last. We are going to focus on exterior spring cleaning in this blog.

TAKE A WALK

Walk around your property and take note of its condition. While you are walking around, pick up branches and remove any plants that did not make it through the winter. Inspect outdoor structures for damage and take note of any necessary repairs, such as missing shingles on the shed, a screen that fell out or ripped, loose fence boards, and anything else you may notice. Check your stock of lawn and garden equipment as well. Saving yourself the time of a one-off trip for a bag of fertilizer will allow you to finish up your chores faster and get you outside relaxing that much sooner.

CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS

You should clean your gutters twice a year, once in the fall after the leaves have fallen off the trees and once in early spring. Cleaning your gutters is one of the most dreaded tasks homeowners take on, but it is critically important to stay diligent when it comes to cleaning your gutters. Not everyone feels comfortable jumping on to their roof or climbing up a ladder to get better access to the gutters. Fortunately, there are a few products on the market that allow you to clean the inside and outside of your gutters from the ground. Toro is one of the many brands that offers a gutter cleaning kit. This will allow you to blow out any leaves you missed, or that fell after you cleaned out your gutters in the fall. You can also purchase a gutter cleaner attachment, like this one from Generac to rinse out the inside and clean the exterior of your gutters.

CLEAN YOUR SIDING

After a long and harsh New England winter, your siding may enter the spring looking a little worse for wear. You can purchase or rent a power washing machine or use a HYDE PivotPro that attaches to your hose to spray and scrub your siding at the same time.  Make sure you use the appropriate cleaning solution for your siding. That way you know your siding is going to look great and function properly for years to come.

WASH YOUR WINDOWS

Window cleaning may be the quintessential spring upkeep task. The trouble is that if you're only washing the interior side of the glass, you're only completing half of the project. Hopefully, you have newer windows that tilt in so you can clean the interior and exetior of your windows from the inside. If you don't have windows that tilt in, you can finish the job with HYDE PivotPro. Simply add soap to the tool's built-in mixing reservoir and set your soap-to-water ratio, then point and pivot the nozzle to control its cleaning spray.

PREP AND CLEAN PAVED SURFACES

Somewhere down there, under a grimy, salt-speckled haze, is the paved surface of your driveway, front walkway, or backyard patio. Wash away the effects of winter, not only to restore the aesthetic appeal of these areas, but also to promote their longevity. You can use a power washer, or the PivotPro that was mentioned earlier. Make sure you use the appropriate cleaning solution for the product you are cleaning, or you will be doing more harm than good.

CLEAN OFF YOUR PATIO FURNITURE

No one wants to sit on a chair that is covered in spider webs, grime, or mildew. It does not matter if you have patio furniture that is metal, glass, wicker, or vinyl upholstery, taking the time to clean your outdoor furniture will keep your friends and family coming back to your next get together without any hesitation.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT YOUR DECKS, FENCES, AND RAILINGS

Before hosting your first barbecue of the season, give your deck a thorough cleaning. While the structure's many crevices may have presented a practical challenge in the past, there are a variety of tools you can find to help give your deck, railing, and fence a renewed sparkle.

REMOVE OLD DYING PLANTS WITH FRESH NEW SHRUBS OR FLOWERS

The last thing you want is a beautiful, freshly cleaned home that has dead or dying plants around it. Give your home some additional curb appeal with some new shrubs or flowers. Pick colors you like, but make sure they also compliment the color of your siding. You don't want to spend a bunch of money on new plants only to have them fade into the siding because they are similar colors.

ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR

Now that you have taken the time to clean the exterior of your home, don't forget to enjoy your time outside with the ones you love most!