A home maintenance calendar, season by season
Published October 26, 2026
What to check in spring, summer, fall and winter, with notes on how timing shifts between hot, mixed and cold climates.
Most expensive home repairs start as small, cheap ones that nobody noticed: a clogged gutter, a dirty filter, a cracked bead of caulk. A simple seasonal calendar is the easiest way to catch them. Below is a practical calendar you can adapt to your home and climate.
How to use this calendar
Treat it as a starting point. If you live somewhere hot and humid, cooling and pest tasks matter year-round; in cold climates, fall is the most important season because everything has to be ready before the first freeze. Only keep the tasks that apply to your home: no septic tank, no septic pumping.
Spring
- Service the air conditioner before the cooling season.
- Clean gutters and downspouts after spring pollen and seed drop.
- Inspect the roof from the ground and the attic for winter damage.
- Check exterior caulk and weatherstripping around windows and doors.
- Test sump pumps (cold and wet climates) and check for basement or crawl space moisture.
- Start or renew pest control; schedule a termite inspection in warm, humid regions.
- Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (a good habit at each daylight-saving change).
Summer
- Change HVAC filters every 1–3 months while the system runs hard.
- Keep 2 feet of clearance around the outdoor AC unit.
- Check decks and railings for loose boards, popped fasteners and soft wood.
- Clean the dryer vent from the dryer to the outside hood (a fire-safety task).
- Look for wasp nests under eaves and around play equipment.
Fall
- Tune up the furnace, heat pump or boiler before heating season.
- Clean gutters after the leaves drop, before freezing weather in cold climates.
- Disconnect hoses and shut off or insulate outdoor faucets where it freezes.
- Have the chimney inspected and swept if you burn wood.
- Seal gaps where pipes and wires enter the house to keep rodents out.
- Winterize irrigation systems in freezing climates.
Winter
- Watch for ice dams along the roof edge in snowy climates.
- Keep the furnace filter fresh and vents unblocked.
- Check under sinks and around the water heater for slow leaks.
- Flush the water heater (once a year, any season works).
- Test for radon while windows stay closed (retest every couple of years).
- Review the year: what was done, what it cost and what is due next.
Make it automatic
Writing tasks on a paper calendar works until life gets busy. A free Estodia account builds this plan for each of your homes, adjusts it to the features each home actually has, and emails you before tasks are due. When you want help, you can request quotes from the same place.
In-depth guides
Quick answers
What home maintenance should be done every year?
At minimum: an HVAC check, gutter cleaning, a roof look-over, smoke and CO detector tests, a water heater flush and a dryer vent cleaning.
What is the most important season for home maintenance?
In cold climates, fall, because heating, gutters and plumbing need to be ready before freezing weather. In hot climates, spring, before the cooling season.