Home / Home maintenance / Spring checklist
Spring checklist · find what winter broke
Spring maintenance is half preparation, half inspection: get the water-handling gear ready before the rains, get the cooling ready before the heat, and walk the house once to find what freezing quietly broke. In task order, below.
Snowmelt to first heat wave, top to bottom. Items with a sheet number link to the full guide.
| Order | Task | When | Why now |
|---|---|---|---|
| S-01 | Bucket-test the sump pump | BEFORE THE RAINS | The pump's worst day is a spring storm during snowmelt. Test it first. (Sheet Nº 04) |
| S-02 | Clear gutters & downspouts | AFTER THE MELT | Winter leaves grit, twigs, and ice-pulled hangers behind. Spring rains need the full channel. (Sheet Nº 02) |
| S-03 | Check downspout discharge & grading | AFTER THE MELT | Melt season shows you exactly where water pools. Fix splash blocks and low spots while the evidence is wet. |
| S-04 | Inspect outdoor faucets & hose bibs | FIRST WARM WEEK | Open each one and watch: a freeze-split pipe often leaks inside the wall only when the faucet runs. |
| S-05 | Roof check from the ground | EARLY SPRING | Ice and wind work shingles loose all winter. Binoculars from the yard, pro for anything found. |
| S-06 | Fresh HVAC filter in | BEFORE AC SEASON | A clean filter saves 5–15% of AC energy (DOE) — and summer is when that bill bites. (Sheet Nº 01) |
| S-07 | Schedule the AC tune-up | BEFORE FIRST HEAT WAVE | Same calendar math as fall: book before everyone else discovers their AC at once. |
| S-08 | Restart irrigation thoughtfully | AFTER LAST FROST | Open the system slowly and walk the zones — winter cracks announce themselves as geysers. |
| S-09 | Smoke alarm test + batteries | CLOCK CHANGE | The spring clock change is the other battery day. (Sheet Nº 06) |
| S-10 | Water heater flush | ANY MILD WEEK | The annual flush fits anywhere — spring's mild weeks are when nothing else is urgent. (Sheet Nº 03) |
Spring is when winter's bills come due — or don't:
What one inch of floodwater can do, per FEMA — the number the sump pump test is about.
Average water-damage & freezing claim (III, 2018–2022) — spring is when freeze-split pipes finally show themselves.
AC energy saved by a clean filter versus a dirty one, per the U.S. Department of Energy.
Average foundation repair (This Old House, 2026) — what spring grading and splash-block fixes prevent.
"Spring" is not a date either. Last frost in Atlanta and last frost in Minneapolis are two months apart; the first heat wave arrives in April in Phoenix and July in Seattle. The order above holds everywhere — the dates don't.
TextMyHouse times each reminder to your zip code's climate: the sump test lands before your rains, the AC reminder before your first heat wave.
Before the spring rains and snowmelt arrive — pour a bucket of water into the pit until the float lifts and the pump kicks on. FEMA puts one inch of floodwater at roughly $25,000 in damage.
Before the first heat wave, for the same reason as fall furnace service: HVAC calendars fill the week everyone else discovers their AC at once. A clean filter alone saves 5–15% of AC energy use (DOE).
Walk the house once: outdoor faucets and hose bibs for freeze damage, gutters and downspouts pulled loose by ice, roof wear visible from the ground, and erosion or pooling at the foundation line.
Completely. Last frost, snowmelt, and the first heat wave arrive weeks apart across the country — which is why TextMyHouse times these reminders to your zip code's climate rather than the calendar.
Reviewed 2026-06-12. Task-level detail lives on each linked sheet.
TextMyHouse texts you when each of these is actually due for your climate — not when a calendar says so. 30 days free, $5/month after, cancel anytime.
TEXT HOME