A seasonal maintenance rhythm for a Durham house

Durham's climate makes specific demands on a house: long humid summers, a heavy fall leaf drop, and a small number of genuine freezes that arrive with little warning. This is the rhythm a Durham house needs. On a home we manage, your lease sets out which of these are yours and which are ours — if you are not sure, ask us, and report anything you notice.

Spring

Have the cooling system serviced before you need it. Late March is a sensible time; by June every HVAC company in the Triangle is booked out. Follow the servicing interval the equipment manufacturer recommends — annually is common, but it varies by system.

Check the crawl space now that the ground has dried out. You are looking for standing water, a displaced vapor barrier, or anything that smells wrong.

Clear gutters of what the winter put in them, and check that downspouts are still discharging away from the foundation.

Summer

Watch the humidity indoors. A house that sits above about 60% relative humidity for weeks will start to grow things. If a dehumidifier is running, check it is actually draining.

Keep vegetation off the siding. Things grow fast here, and a shrub touching the wall is a path for moisture and insects.

Check HVAC filters regularly and replace them according to the filter and equipment manufacturer's recommendations. During heavy use, some homes may need more frequent changes — pets, dust and a hard-running system all shorten a filter's life.

Fall

This is the big one in Durham. The leaf drop is heavy and prolonged, and gutters need clearing at least twice: once mid-drop, once after it finishes. Clearing once in October and calling it done means clogged gutters all winter.

Have the heating system serviced in October. Same logic as the spring cooling service.

Check weatherstripping on doors and the seals on any storm windows.

Winter

The freeze protection routine matters here precisely because freezes are infrequent — houses and people are not set up for them.

When a hard freeze is forecast: disconnect and drain hose bibs, open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls, and let a faucet on the most exposed run drip overnight. Know where the main water shut-off is before the night you need it.

If you lose heat during a freeze, report it immediately, at any hour. A house without heat in a freeze is not just uncomfortable, it is a pipe risk.

Year round

Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly, and replace batteries following the manufacturer's guidance for the device — or sooner if one starts chirping at three in the morning, which is when they always start. Sealed ten-year units work differently from battery-swap models, so check what is actually installed.

Report small things early. Almost every expensive repair we have seen started as something that would have been cheap to fix six months earlier.