Summer Home Maintenance Checklist for Shreveport Homeowners

1. AC System Tune-Up and Filter Changes

Shreveport averages 97°F highs in late July — and your air conditioner will run almost continuously from May through September. An HVAC system that hasn't been serviced since last fall is going to work twice as hard, cost you more on your Cleco bill, and likely fail on the hottest day of the year when technicians are already booked out three days.

What to do before summer:

• Replace your air filter now — and plan to replace it every 30 days during peak summer. Shreveport's pollen and humidity load filters fast. A clogged filter reduces airflow, strains the blower motor, and lets dust bypass into your ductwork.
• Schedule a professional AC tune-up in April or early May, before demand spikes. A tech will check refrigerant levels, clean the evaporator and condenser coils, inspect electrical connections, and confirm the system is operating at peak efficiency.
• Clear the outdoor condenser unit. Cut back any shrubs or vines within 2 feet. Clean debris off the top and sides with a garden hose (gently — those aluminum fins bend easily).
• Test the thermostat. If you have a programmable or smart thermostat, confirm it's set to raise the temperature while you're away — typically 78–80°F — to reduce runtime without causing humidity problems.
• Check the condensate drain line. Louisiana humidity means your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air. The drain line can grow algae and clog; a blocked drain will trip the safety switch and kill your cooling at the worst possible time. Flush it with a cup of diluted bleach every month.

If your system is more than 12–15 years old and struggling to keep the house below 78°F even after maintenance, start budgeting for a replacement before the next cooling season.

2. Humidity, Mildew, and Mold Prevention

Shreveport averages 75–80% relative humidity in summer. That moisture doesn't stay outside — it infiltrates through walls, crawlspaces, and any opening in the building envelope. In poorly ventilated areas, mold can establish itself in as little as 24–48 hours given moisture and a warm surface.

The two highest-risk areas in most Shreveport homes are the bathrooms and the crawlspace.

Bathrooms:

• Test your exhaust fan — hold a piece of tissue near it when running. If it barely moves, the fan isn't pulling enough CFM. Replace any fan that's more than 10 years old or clearly undersized for the room.
• Inspect grout and caulk around the tub, shower, and sink. Any cracking, discoloration, or soft spots need to be resealed before summer. Water behind tile is the origin story for most bathroom mold problems.
• Check under-sink cabinets for signs of slow leaks — water staining, soft wood, or a musty smell.

Crawlspace:

• Inspect your vapor barrier. A 6-mil polyethylene sheet should cover the entire crawlspace floor, seams overlapped 12 inches, edges running up the foundation walls.
• Confirm crawlspace vents are open and unobstructed. Cross-ventilation is the best defense against humidity buildup.
• Look for standing water after any rain. Standing water in a crawlspace is a structural emergency — address grading and drainage before summer storms make it recurring.

3. Storm-Season Prep: Gutters, Downspouts, Trees, and Roof

Northwest Louisiana is in the heart of Dixie Alley — Shreveport sees an average of 6–8 significant severe weather events per year, including tornadoes, hail, and straight-line winds that can exceed 70 mph.

Gutters and Downspouts:

• Clean gutters in early May before heavy rain season. A clogged gutter during a 3-inch rain event becomes a waterfall that runs straight down your foundation wall.
• Add downspout extensions so water discharges at least 4–6 feet from the foundation.
• Check gutter hangers — re-nail or replace hangers that have pulled away from the fascia.

Tree Limb Trimming:

• Walk your property and identify any dead, overhanging, or structurally compromised limbs within falling distance of the house, cars, or power lines.
• Have a certified arborist assess any large trees close to the structure — particularly pine trees, which are prone to toppling in saturated soil after heavy rain.

Roof Inspection:

• From the ground with binoculars, look for missing, lifted, or curling shingles.
• Check flashing around chimneys, skylights, and vent pipes. Flashing failures are the most common source of roof leaks.
• After any hail event, check for impact damage — dimpled shingles that have compromised granule coverage.
• Check your attic after significant rain for moisture or water staining on rafters.

4. Deck, Fence, and Exterior Paint Inspection

Shreveport's summer UV index regularly hits 10–11 (extreme) from June through August — same intensity as coastal Florida. Wood surfaces that haven't been resealed or repainted recently will gray, crack, and deteriorate within a single season.

• Deck: Walk every board. Look for soft spots (rot), raised nail heads, cracked boards, loose handrail connections. Apply water-repellent sealer if the wood is no longer beading water.
• Fence: Check posts at ground level — this is where rot starts. Posts that wobble or have visible soft wood at the base need replacement before the next storm.
• Exterior paint: Look for peeling, bubbling, or chalking paint on siding, trim, and window frames. These are moisture entry points. In Shreveport's humidity, unpainted wood deteriorates fast.

5. Irrigation and Outdoor Faucet Check

Shreveport averages about 4.5 inches of rain per month in summer, but it comes in bursts — heavy events followed by dry stretches.

• Walk each irrigation zone and verify every head is popping up fully, rotating correctly, and not spraying onto pavement or the foundation.
• Check the irrigation controller schedule — adjust for summer rainfall patterns. A rain sensor is worth the investment.
• Inspect outdoor hose bibs for slow drips at the packing nut — a quick, inexpensive fix before it becomes a water-wasting summer habit.

6. Pest Entry-Point Sealing

Shreveport's summer pest lineup: fire ants, carpenter ants, cockroaches (the flying kind), mosquitoes, and termites that swarm in May and June.

• Walk the exterior perimeter and seal any gap larger than ¼ inch with caulk, foam, or hardware cloth. Pay special attention to utility line penetrations.
• Check door sweeps and thresholds. A gap under a door that lets light through lets roaches through.
• Screen vents and weep holes in brick with fine-mesh screen.
• Address standing water within 50 feet of the house — mosquitoes breed in a bottle cap of water.
• If you find termite mud tubes or swarmer wings indoors — call a licensed pest control company immediately. This is not DIY and does not wait.

7. Garage Door and Weather-Stripping Inspection

A poorly sealed garage lets humidity, pests, and hot air into the living space if the garage is connected to the home.

• Test the auto-reverse safety feature. Place a 2×4 flat on the ground in the door's path and close it. If the door doesn't reverse on contact, get it repaired — this is a safety issue.
• Inspect the bottom seal. Cracked, compressed, or missing sections need replacement.
• Check side and top weather stripping. Light gaps around the door when closed let in hot air and insects.
• Lubricate the moving parts — rollers, hinges, and torsion spring — with a garage door-specific lubricant (not WD-40).

Torsion spring adjustment and replacement are not DIY tasks — have a technician handle these.

8. When to Call a Handyman vs. DIY

Most inspection items on this list are genuinely DIY-friendly: filter changes, caulk touch-ups, condensate drain flushing, gutter cleaning, garden hose work. These are weekend tasks.

But call a professional for:

• Anything involving electricity beyond standard outlets
• Roof repairs beyond caulking flashing
• Water damage behind walls or in the crawlspace
• Torsion spring replacement
• Anything you start and realize is bigger than expected

For everything else — the drywall screw pops, the door that won't latch, the exterior trim that needs repainting, the outdoor faucet dripping since March — that's exactly what a general maintenance visit is designed for. Blake shows up with the tools, knocks out the list in a few hours, and you stop living with the things that have been bothering you since winter.

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