CLEVELAND — Spring is here, which means a time to clean for many.

What You Need To Know

  • Spring cleaning is important to avoid problems with dust allergies 

  • Avoiding home upkeep can lead to costly problems

  • Make sure to check HVAC filters, gutters, the roof and more

Protecting the value of a home can mean getting a head start on repairs or tidying up around the house.

Yerik Hardy, owner of The Maintenance Man, helps provide some of that maintenance.

“Service. I love providing service,” Hardy said.

Various projects are critical parts of taking care of a home.

“Start from your roof. I always tell homeowners to do a visual roof inspection and you can get your phone, take a video, look for any imperfections, any missing shingles, slate, any imperfections that can compromise the integrity of your roof, and of course, make sure your gutters are clean,” Hardy said.

Inspecting the foundation of the home is just as important, Hardy said.

“You can check your windows and doors, make sure they’re sealed. If they’re not sealed, you can caulk them,” he said. “You want to check your foundation for any cracks or any holes from critters that may have burrowed under.”

If homeowners avoid regular upkeep, Hardy said costly problems can arise. 

But there is more to spring cleaning than just keeping up with the outside of your house.

“Walls, windows, baseboards, vacuuming out your furniture,” said Richard Pacheco, owner of JAC Cleaners.

Pacheco cleans homes for a living and has a checklist of spring cleaning tasks. 

“Maybe scrubbing the tile and grout get some of the calcium and lime build up within the bathrooms, and always making sure that you get to the backsplash, the stovetop, the cabinet fronts, cupboards fronts in the kitchen to make sure it’s easy to upkeep after that,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco said avoiding spring cleaning can be harmful to some people’s health. 

“A lot of customers are allergic to dust. So if you’re sneezing, coughing, even have a little bit of trouble from breathing going up and down the steps, that could just be a nice dust build up within the home that you just don’t necessarily see at eye level,” Pacheco said.

Along with air quality, Hardy had one more piece of advice. 

“You want to make sure that your HVAC system is working properly. You want to change your filters, that’s the most important thing that I recommend for a homeowner to do,” Hardy said.