Three Things You Shouldn't Neglect When Doing Spring Cleanup On Your Property
Posted on: 23 February 2016
Now that spring is here, it's time to clean your home from top to bottom. However, it's important not to get so wrapped up in cleaning the home's interior that you forget about the outside. Following are three things you shouldn't neglect when performing spring cleanup tasks on your property.
Get Your Flowerbeds Ready for the Season
Early spring is the ideal time to get your flowerbeds ready for spring and summer growth and blooms. Remove all traces of annuals, leaving perhaps a few seed pods if you're hoping they'll reseed, but remove the pods if you're planning to replace the annuals with new seedlings from your local nursery. Take stock of your garden area and determine whether it's time to thin out flowerbeds and divide perennials.
- Cut flowering perennials to about five inches tall.
- If perennial beds are crowded, dig up and divide plants to use in other parts of the yard -- or give them away to neighbors and friends if you don't have room. Be sure to leave at least three stems on each divided clump.
- Always use sharp tools and soak them for 30 minutes in a mixture of one part bleach and nine parts water after use to prevent spread of pathogenic disease among plants.
- Thoroughly water the area a day before dividing perennials -- properly hydrated root systems withstand transplanting better than than those that have been allowed to dry out.
Clean Your Roof and Gutters
Chances are that vegetative debris as well as miscellaneous dirt and grime have built up on your roof and in your gutters during the course of the winter. Using a long-handled roof brush, carefully remove fallen leaves, conifer needles, and other debris from the surface of your roof. After you've cleaned it off, use a pair of binoculars to thoroughly inspect the roof for signs of damage, and call a professional if repairs are in order. Clean the gutters and downspouts thoroughly and make sure that the downspouts are pointing away from the house -- they may cause water damage to the foundation or even the basement otherwise.
Wage War on Algae and Lichen
Spring is an ideal time to give your home exterior a good pressure washing to remove any accumulations of algae and lichen that have occurred over the winter. You should also pressure wash cement, brick, or stone walkways to remove mosses, algae, and lichen because while these may look rustically charming on yard and garden pathways, they pose significant slip-and-fall hazards.
Once you get started on your outdoor spring clean up, you'll probably become aware of many other cleaning and maintenance projects that need to be done.
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