May home maintenance checklist
Updated August 2026
Before the first 95°F day arrives, prove the air conditioner actually cools. That is the headline of a ten-task month that also covers the dryer vent, the screens, the grill, and the deck boards you walk on barefoot all summer. None of it takes long. The point is finding the broken thing while the fix is still a scheduled appointment.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Run the AC an hour and check the temperature split | Every spring | 20 min · DIY |
| Rinse the condenser fins with a garden hose | Yearly | 20 min · DIY |
| Put in a clean HVAC filter | Every 1–3 months | 10 min · DIY |
| Clean the dryer vent from hood to drum | Yearly | 1 hr DIY or $100–200 |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Open each hose bib and look for leaks at the handle | Every spring | 10 min · DIY |
| Walk the deck for soft boards and loose railings | Yearly | 15 min · DIY |
| Deep-clean the grill and check the gas hose | Every spring | 45 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Set ceiling fans counterclockwise for summer | Once for the season | 2 min · DIY |
| Repair or replace torn window screens | Yearly | $8–25 per screen |
| Put fresh batteries in smoke and CO alarms | Yearly | 15 min · DIY |
Why these tasks in May
Every task here is about the gap between finding a problem and needing the system. Test the AC in May and a bad capacitor is a $150–350 repair on a Tuesday. Discover it on the first 95°F afternoon and you are in line behind a hundred other no-cooling calls, at $150–400 for the visit alone, sometimes days out. The dryer vent follows the same logic: lint packed in a duct is a fire risk year round, and $100–200 for a professional cleaning is cheap next to the alternative. Screens, the grill, and the deck are simply easier to work on in mild weather. If April ran long, do the cooling checks first and let the rest slide a week.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
How do I know if my AC is cooling well enough?
Measure the temperature split. Run the system 15 minutes, then hold a thermometer in a supply register and again in the return grille. Supply air should read 16–22°F colder than the return. Under 14°F points to low refrigerant, a dirty coil, or a tired compressor. Over 25°F usually means airflow is choked by a loaded filter or closed registers. A $10 probe thermometer gives you a number to hand the technician, which shortens the diagnostic visit.
How often does a dryer vent need cleaning?
Once a year for most households, twice if you run several loads a day or the duct run is longer than 25 feet with multiple elbows. Drying time is the tell: when a normal load starts taking 60 minutes instead of 40, lint is restricting the line. Clogged dryer vents cause thousands of house fires a year in the US. A pro cleaning is $100–200, or pull the duct off the back of the dryer and run a $30 brush kit through it.
Which direction should ceiling fans spin in summer?
Counterclockwise as you look up at them, which pushes air straight down and creates the breeze that makes skin feel about 4°F cooler. That lets you raise the thermostat a couple of degrees without noticing. Fans cool people, not rooms, so switch them off in empty rooms; the motor adds a little heat to a space nobody is using. The direction toggle is a small switch on the motor housing, just above the blades.
Why does my AC smell musty when it first turns on?
Moisture left on the evaporator coil and in the drain pan grows a biofilm over the off season, and the first hour of airflow blows that smell through the house. It usually clears within a day or two. If it does not, the pan is holding standing water, which means the condensate line needs flushing before summer humidity makes it worse. A coil cleaning runs $150–300 and is worth it if the smell returns every time the compressor starts.