PROTECT FROM WATER
The rainy season is now here in Kansas City. Since water is one of the worst enemies of a house, its the perfect time to clean out those gutters and remove any limbs & leaves that have accumulated in the valleys on the roof. If you have a sump pump, check it to make sure its operating properly. Installing a battery backup for your sump pump is never a bad idea either.
Just in case you’re in the process of installing new gutters, we strongly recommend the 5″ seamless aluminum model for gutters and downspouts. 
Larger gutters allow more water to channel into the downspouts, with less spilling over and onto the foundation. And it is excess water around a foundation that sometimes causes cracking of the basement walls.
Also, another way to protect your foundation from water is to vent your downspouts directly into a French drain, which collects the water and disperses it underground 4-5′ away from the home. At minimum, you should install a plastic vent hose onto the downspout, instead of using a traditional splash block.
Finally, a good practice for keeping water from causing trouble is create a slight grade away from the home with a couple bags of dirt. Try and maintain a 1″ slope for every 12″ into the yard.
LAWN
Spring is the best time to prevent weeds by using pre-emergent weed control, which works by preventing weed seeds from germinating. If you haven’t already, this week is the time to get it down – that should stop crabgrass and other weeds before they have a chance to grow. The Grass Pad makes an excellent guide for lawn treatment that you can find here.
Once spring comes around, it’s time to recharge the sprinklers and prepare the system for the season. Sprinklers that have been properly winterized should contain no water, and a cap on the base of the vacuum breaker was probably loosened or removed. You’ll need to reverse these procedures to get your system ready for daily use. If you’re not sure how to do it, just check our list of experts below.
OTHER SPRING MAINTENANCE ITEMS
Spring is a great time to examine your chimney and siding. Winter weather can be hard on the exterior of your home and it’s always good to try to find any cracks, missing mortar, loose bricks or boards and signs of rot as soon as possible to make sure you can repair those items before they cause any major problems. Also use this time to make sure your windows are properly sealed and caulked to ensure you don’t run into any leaks as the rainy season progresses.
Before the air conditioning season, it’s also a good time to schedule your HVAC tune-up if you haven’t had one in a while. Also be sure to change your HVAC filter.
If you need any recommendations for professionals to help with any of these tune-ups or maintenance, check out the list below or check out our HomeKeepr app which you can download by texting LONGWAYHOME to 79564.
Lawn care, sprinkler system maintenance and mowing
Brian Lingner | Lingner Residential Services
913.424.6971 | [email protected]
General home repair and maintenance items
Lindell Clark | Clark Home Improvement
913.522.4423 | [email protected]
HVAC maintenance and repair
Scott Walden | Walden & Sons Heating & Cooling
913.461.5542 | [email protected]