As the snow clears away and the ground begins to thaw, take several walks around the home. Check the lower courses of siding and the foundation for any damage that may have occured during the winter. Freeze-thaw cycles can cause damage to paint, some types of siding, and some foundation coatings.
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If your home has central air conditioning, check the condition of the compressor and condensor unit outside. Clear away any debris from the unit. Leaves, brush, and litter can make for a good nesting area for mice or other pests. They can also clog the heat dissipation fins on the outside of the unit. If the fins are dirty or blocked, the unit cannot discharge the heat as intended, resulting in less efficient operation when needed.
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| Take a look at all the outside electric receptacles or outlets. First, are they ground fault protected? Are they GFI outlets, or are protected by a GFCI circuit breaker in the electric panel box? GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlets do save lives. If the outdoor receptacles are not GFI protected, now is a good time to have them replaced with GFI outlets. If they are already GFI outlets or circuit breakers, test the protection feature by depressing the button which says "test". If properly working, the other button will pop out (or if a circuit breaker, the lever will move into the half-way position). There should now be no electric current in the outlet. Next press the "reset" button back into position (or re-set the circuit breaker lever to the on position). This function should be easy to perform, and should bring electric current back to the outlet.
If one or all of these functions do not work correctly, replace the GFI outlet or circuit breaker before using it. It is important to test these functions more often than just in the spring time. They do occasionally fail.
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