Creating A Gorgeous Garden

Six Essential Home Exterior And Landscape Maintenance Tasks For Spring

19 March 2018 by Tiffany Gonzales

Spring is in the air! Birds are chirping, butterflies are flitting about, and if you're like most people, there's something you are dreading: spring cleaning. Contrary to popular belief, spring cleaning does not have to be boring or time-consuming -- especially when it comes to your landscaping and home exterior. In fact, if you complete only the six tasks on this list, you'll be pretty set for the season.

1. Power wash your siding.

Your home's siding can get pretty dingy in the winter, especially if your municipality uses salt on the streets. The salt water can splash up onto your siding and lead to stains. Power washing is the best way to remove this debris and grime. You can rent a power washer if you do not own one. Use it on the medium setting, as this will remove grime without denting the siding. Start at the top of the home and work your way down, sweeping the water from side to side as you work. Also, remember to keep a slight downward angle to the power washer to avoid forcing water up behind the siding. You can also hire a power washing service, such as KANSAS CLEAN PROPERTIES. 

2. Check your gutters.

Climb up on a ladder so you can get a good look inside of your gutters. If there are any leaves or twigs inside, put on a pair of gloves and scoop them out. April showers are a real thing -- and if your gutters are clogged, the area around your home will quickly get wet and soggy when it rains. While you're up there, take a good look at the roof, and call your roofing company if you notice any peeling shingles or loose granules.

3. Wash the Walkways

Before the weather warms up, you really want to make sure any concrete walkways are clean. The sun will just bake any leave or other debris onto the concrete, leading to stains. You can clean the concrete while you have the rented power washer. Turn the pressure up to high, and spray away, working from side to side as you did with the siding. You can even add a concrete cleaning mixture to the water if you have a lot of mold or grime on your walkway.

If you do not have a power washer, you can clean the walkway by hosing it down, scrubbing it with a brush, and then hosing it down again.

4. Apply mulch. 

If you get at your garden beds early in the spring before weeds start popping up, you'll save yourself a lot of work later on. Have a load of wood mulch delivered, and apply it in a 3-inch layer over your garden beds. The mulch will keep weeds from popping up, and throughout the warm months, it will also slowly break down and add nutrients to the soil so you don't have to fertilize as often.

5. Rake up leaves.

Hopefully you raked leaves in the fall, but if your home is like most, some leaves have blown around and landed on your yard again. It's important to rake up and remove these leaves in the spring so they do not prevent your grass from getting the sunshine it needs to thrive.

6. Clean your air conditioner.

If you have an air conditioning system with an outdoor condenser unit, take a few minutes to clean it up. A dirty AC unit won't run efficiently and may not cool your home evenly. All you need to do is pull out any leaves and twigs, and then spray the unit down with a hose. (Turn the power off before you do this if it is not off already.) Do not use a power washer on your AC unit -- it will deliver too much force and may therefore damage the unit.

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