8 Crucial Summer Home Maintenance Tasks for Home Updates in Knoxville

Summer is a time of fun in the sun and enjoying outdoor activities with friends and family. Whether it's a trip to the beach or a weekend barbecue, there's always something to look forward to during the sunny season. But it’s also the time of year to give your home some crucial home updates and perform summer home maintenance in Knoxville. Yes, the beautiful weather outside means camping and games of baseball, but it also means it’s the perfect time to check your home's exterior for any needed repairs and give it a fresh coat of paint if necessary. Whether you’re doing your own maintenance work or are hiring a Knoxville handyman professional to do repairs, by taking care of these summer maintenance items, you are ensuring your home is safe, protected and looks good going into the winter months.

But what do you need to do when it comes to summer home maintenance in Knoxville? While there is no wrong area of your home to maintain—and even when it’s not summer, home maintenance should be done throughout the year—there are some areas of your home that will benefit from summer home maintenance more than others. Our team of experts shares the areas that will benefit most from summer home maintenance or home upgrades during the summer months.

1. Clean To Prepare For Home Updates

Spring cleaning may be on everyone’s checklist, but the same process applies in the summer. It’s important that you take care and clean your home, particularly any outdoor living spaces, as part of your summer home maintenance. This includes cleaning and organizing your outdoor furniture, sweeping and hosing down your patio or deck, cleaning your home appliances, checking for any signs of wear or damage from the winter months, and preparing for any home updates or future projects. Additionally, it will also allow you to go through and get rid of items you don’t need or use anymore. After all, summer is the right season for garage sales.

Cleaning out unwanted or unused items also gives you room to do cosmetic updates, such as painting a feature wall, hanging a new mirror, changing light fixtures, or putting up new artwork. These can go a long way with a small home update.

2. Bathroom Update

With summer being in full swing, now is the time to consider a bathroom update in Knoxville to get your dream bathroom. The warmer weather brings a refreshing change of atmosphere, making it the perfect opportunity to revamp your bathroom space and create a serene and inviting retreat. Installing new floor tile, painting bathroom walls or your double vanity, replacing LED lights, installing new cabinet hardware, and replacing your shower curtain or shower head are all small things that can make it look like you underwent a major bathroom remodeling project, rather than a small bathroom update, as well as address moisture issues and mobility issues in your space.

Yes, you can do bathroom updates throughout the year, but they’re on our summer home maintenance list because the warmer months allow for better ventilation and faster drying times for any paint or adhesives needed for your bathroom update.

3. Vents & Fans

Summer is the prime time for handy homeowners to ensure your home’s vents and fans are in good shape. This includes your dryer vents, roof vents, kitchen vent hoods, exhaust ducts, bathroom vent fans, and ceiling fans. This not only ensures these systems are clear of dust, lint, and other debris, but this summer home maintenance also helps prevent potential fire hazards and maintains the efficiency of your home's ventilation systems.

This summer home maintenance step can also help improve your home’s energy efficiency. For example, a clogged vent can cause your air conditioning system to work harder, consuming more energy and increasing your utility bills. Likewise, if you don’t set your ceiling fan to spin counterclockwise during the summer, it won't effectively circulate the cool air, leading to a higher reliance on your AC and elevated energy consumption. It may seem like a small thing, but by ignoring these crucial summer home maintenance steps, you can expect to see higher energy bills or even costly repair or replacement services for your overworked systems.

4. Windows & Doors

Window and door maintenance and repair are a must for any type of summer home maintenance. Not only do the warmer months allow you more opportunities to open these entrances to enjoy the breeze and natural light, they also provide an opportunity to test them for leaks of both the air and water variety. This allows handy homeowners to address these issues by installing new weather stripping or replacing worn-out seals. The hotter weather also allows for faster drying times should you decide to do a home update with a fresh coat or a new paint color, or want to clean window screens with soapy water. You can also make it look like you installed new windows or doors by replacing hardware, handles and locks, or new window treatments for a simple home update in Knoxville.

5. Exterior Repairs

The outside shell of your home plays an important role in protecting it from Tennessee’s unpredictable weather conditions and potential damage caused by high winds, heavy rain, hailstorms, pests, and other unwanted intruders. That’s why things such as roof repair, chimney repair, siding repair, gutter repair, gutter cleaning, and soffit and fascia repair are crucial summer home maintenance tasks.

If you don’t perform these summer home maintenance tasks, your home’s cladding will quickly become riddled with holes, cracks and gaps that outside forces can exploit. Your property and home are then at risk of extensive water damage, wood rot and mold growth, pest infestations, and decreased energy efficiency, all of which will have a serious impact on the overall health and structural stability of your home. But, by inspecting these systems and getting repairs as part of your summer home maintenance, you can ensure your home stays protected and well-maintained even when it’s not so pleasant outside.

6. Decks, Porches, & Patios

With the amount of use your outdoor living spaces receive in summer, home maintenance is crucial to ensure you can keep enjoying them. Whether it’s fixing a step, washing a concrete patio with hot water to eliminate mildew buildup, painting your porch banister, or replacing a deck floorboard, taking the time to address these issues will not only improve the appearance of your outdoor spaces and your home’s overall curb appeal; this summer home maintenance will also help prevent further damage and premature replacement services down the road.

Maintaining these structures can also allow you to perform small home updates in Knoxville. Changing around deck furniture, painting, and adding new decorations or plants can give your outdoor living spaces a fresh look and create a more inviting atmosphere for entertaining or relaxation. With this summer home maintenance task for your outdoor areas, you can make the most of your summer season and create a space that you and your loved ones can enjoy for years to come.

7. Driveway Sealing

As part of your summer home maintenance, inspect your driveway for signs of cracks, potholes, or uneven surfaces, and schedule repair services as needed. Additionally, giving your driveway a good pressure washing is a quick home update in Knoxille, as it revitalizes your surface and clears away any dirt and grime that has accumulated on it.

Your driveway may also require sealing, depending on its material, as part of your summer home maintenance checklist. But remember: sealing your driveway without doing the needed repairs beforehand may result in the sealant being less effective and not properly protecting the driveway. Therefore, a crucial step on your summer home maintenance checklist is to thoroughly inspect your driveway and address any necessary repairs prior to applying sealant.

8. Fence Repair

Summer is a great time to address any maintenance issues or repairs needed for your property’s fences. That’s because everything will be in full bloom and out, making it easier to identify any damage or wear and tear that may have occurred during the colder months. The nicer weather also makes it easier to apply a fresh coat of paint or otherwise seal your structure, allowing you to check another item off your summer maintenance to-do list. By taking advantage of the summer season, you can ensure that your fences are in good condition and properly maintained for the rest of the year. Plus, with the vibrant backdrop of your yard, it can be an enjoyable home update to improve the aesthetic appeal of your fence line.

Keep Your Home in Shape—Call Your Local Handyman for Your Summer Home Maintenance in Knoxville

Whether it’s a standard summer home maintenance task or you are looking for cosmetic updates but don’t have the tools or technical know-how, our reliable handyman service professionals can handle every room in your home, regardless of the season. Whether you live in Alcoa, Powell, or Knoxville, by contacting our Knoxville handyman services, you can leave all the hard work to us, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing your home is in good hands. For reliable appliance repair, contact our experienced partners at your local Mr. Appliance of Knoxville.