August is the Best Month to Tackle Home Improvement Projects
Clean Your Deck or Patio
After a long summer of outside barbecues, parties, and get-togethers, your deck or patio has likely taken a bit of a seasonal beating. Even though the leaves will soon start falling, taking time to give your deck or patio a thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of sealant will help to avoid developing stains or water damage over the winter. Autumn is also a great time to make updates to your deck. Whether you want to extend your deck or replace a cement patio with natural stone, this is the month to do it.
Paint the House
If your home’s exterior is looking faded or worn, you can revive it by applying a fresh coat of paint, and August is the best time of year to do it. The month’s warm, dry weather is ideal for painting outside because the paint will dry quicker and more evenly, resulting in a more professional-looking job.
Replace Your Air Filter
If you’re like most people living in the heat, your HVAC system gets hammered during the summer. All the time it’s pushing cooled air into your home, its filter has been collecting dust, debris, and other allergens. By August, your air filter can be so full that it can have detrimental effects on your HVAC system, your air quality, and your energy bill. So before fall begins and you start using the heater, replace your HVAC system’s air filter with a new one
Clean and Store Your Summer Gear
Now that summer is entering the rear-view mirror, it’s time to clean your summer gear and stow it away until next summer. This can include things like inflatable swimming pools, yard toys, patio furniture pads, etc. Cleaning your gear before you store it is essential because when next summer rolls around, you won’t have to clean it then. You can pull everything out of storage and use your things without having to wait.
On the interior of your home, you can start storing your summer clothes away and replacing them with clothing more appropriate for the cooler days of fall. Just keep a few summery clothing items out in case a heat wave decides to hit in September.
Clean the Gutters
Why clean the gutters in August when you’re going to be doing it non-stop in the fall? The answer is simple. After a summer of intense thunderstorms and strong winds, the gutters on your home can become cluttered with twigs, leaves, and all manner of debris.
You will want to remove all this before the leaves start falling or you’ll risk your gutters becoming clogged early in the fall season. It also gives you a clean slate that will make removing fallen leaves much easier down the road.
Do a Thorough Pre-Fall Cleaning
Autumn is a great time to clean areas of your home that often get missed during your routine cleanings. For instance, you can clean your range hood fan and filter, the bathroom’s exhaust fan cover, the refrigerator coils, the refrigerator’s door seal, the ceiling fan blades, the baseboards and door frames, and other easily forgotten areas.
These tasks and projects are just the tip of the iceberg as to what you can do in August to make your home look its best. Take advantage of the extra time you have in August to get these and other home maintenance tasks done. You’ll find it will make your fall and winter all the more comfortable and relaxing.
