Summer maintenance checklist

Article by Amy Thomas Marketing Coordinator 11 October 2024

With summer just around the corner, life in Australia means long days, beach trips and sizzling heat. While we cherish those sunny moments, the season can also place extra demands on our homes — from bushfires to sweltering days with no relief in sight. To help you safeguard properties this summer, we’ve put together a handy checklist of essential home maintenance tasks to tackle before the heat sets in this season to avoid any unnecessary callouts and maintenance requests from tenants. 

Chill out and check out AC systems

If your property has air conditioning, it’s essential to ensure proper maintenance is carried out annually. This not only helps prevent unexpected issues but also ensures all systems are running smoothly. The most critical aspect of air conditioning maintenance is checking the filters. Dirty or clogged filters can severely impact the efficiency of your system. While it may seem minor, over time, clogged filters can lead to increased energy bills, poorer air quality, and even overheating problems. Next, make sure to check and clean any outdoor components of your unit. The buildup of twigs, leaves, and debris can restrict airflow and, if left unattended, may lead to breakdowns and costly repairs. Plus, this accumulation can pose a bushfire risk during the hot months. Finally, it’s important to ensure your ductwork and vents are clean, with no blockages preventing airflow to different rooms. Regularly dusting around vents and moving any furniture or curtains that might obstruct airflow can make a significant difference.

Spot the gaps 

You might be wondering how fixing a few holes and sealing some gaps can make a difference in the long run. It turns out, it’s quite significant! A handful of gaps and holes could be putting pressure on your home’s energy efficiency, leading to long-term damage if left unchecked. This summer, we recommend some essential maintenance checks, such as sealing holes, fixing roofs and patching screens. Small cracks around windows and doors can let heat seep into your home on those scorching summer days. Sealing these gaps will improve insulation, helping your home stay cooler. Roofs are your first line of defence against water damage, UV rays and energy loss. A post-winter inspection is a great way to identify any issues, ensuring there are no cracked, damaged or missing tiles. This proactive approach can reduce the risk of leaks during summer storms, improve the structural integrity of your property and conserve energy. Another important area to maintain is your flyscreens. They provide ventilation while keeping pesky insects at bay, and they also help reduce sunlight glare, keeping your home cooler. Regular maintenance of flyscreens is crucial — this includes replacing any holes or punctures, cleaning off dust and dirt and making sure they fit snugly without gaps.

Keeping the termites in check 

Termites are paled-coloured pests that can do quite a bit of damage if left unchecked and untreated. Although small, the impact they can have is mighty, termites impact the structural integrity of your homes. During the start of summer, when it’s hot and humid termites start their little nests. We highly recommend getting a termite maintenance check every season, as by the time the telltale signs are apparent to tenants, it’s usually too late and very expensive to fix. Areas to be sure to look at during these maintenances is the “wet”  interior structures of the home must be evaluated, this includes bathroom, kitchen and laundry. Subarea floors looking at flooring timber and if there are drainage access is available and roof voids. External areas of properties, this is for possible entry points for termites and surrounding areas such as trees, stumps, retaining walls or any other outbuilding or structures that could hold these little critters. It’s important to ensure those who are performing termite checks are licensed professionals as they are trained to see warning signs and early signs of termite infestations. 

Stay fire smart 

The summer months also mark the onset of bushfire season. Each year, Australia experiences around 45,000 to 60,000 bushfires, with impacts ranging from devastating environmental damage to significant property loss. While we can’t prevent bushfires, there are steps we can take to prepare our homes and minimise damage. A well-prepared home not only aids firefighters in protecting your property and your neighbours but also enhances your safety if a fire breaks out with no escape route. To help you prepare, we’ve compiled a list of straightforward maintenance tasks you can tackle this spring to better equip your home for bushfire season. Some simple preparations include scheduling gutter cleaning, trimming back overgrown trees and shrubs that may hang over buildings, sealing any gaps in the external roof and wall cladding, and inspecting the roof for damaged, cracked or missing tiles. You can easily complete These few maintenance tasks before bushfire season. For more detailed information, check out the bushfire preparation list from the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Home sweet home (and everything in between) 

Your home is where the heart is, and it’s important to ensure not only the structure of your home is covered under the right levels of insurance but is equally important to check the coverage of the contents of your home. Our final tip for our summer maintenance checklist is to check the coverage of your home and contents insurance. Home and contents insurance covers the property from both external damages, but also internal damages, such as blinds, electronics and furniture depending on the plan and level of cover from the insurance company. When summer breezes in and weather phenomena such as fires, floods and summer storms are upon us it’s important to make sure that you are fully protected, both inside and out. 

So, while summer is just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get on ensuring your home is properly protected and all your summer maintenance needs are out of the way. Have any more tips that you think we missed, reach out by emailing [email protected] or reach out to any of our social media channels.