March Home Maintenance Checklist: The Spring Ramp-Up Starts Now

March is when you find out what winter did to your house and get ahead of summer. Clear the gutters and check the downspouts, test outdoor faucets for freeze damage, book applicable cooling service before regular summer use, and review smoke-alarm power and replacement dates.

Our spring maintenance guide covers the whole season. This page is what to do this month, roughly in order of urgency.

Walk the house and test what winter touched

Start outside with a 20-minute loop around the house, looking for what freeze-thaw cycles changed: slipped shingles, split siding, caulk pulled away from window frames, and heaved concrete. Keep the hose disconnected and slowly pressurize each outdoor faucet. Watch the handle, spout, wall penetration, and accessible indoor piping. If water appears indoors, pressure drops, or a valve leaks, close the dedicated shutoff when safe and call a plumber. Do not keep operating a line that may be split behind the wall. The recurring reminder is excluded in zones 1, 2, 3C, and 4C, but any home exposed to a freeze should check before reconnecting hoses.

• Scope: keep this to a ground-level visual review and the installed faucet procedure. Ask for a local plumbing quote if a leak, pressure change, damaged valve, or uncertain arrangement needs assessment.
• Stop point: do not keep operating a line that may be damaged or assume one symptom establishes what failed behind the wall.

This walk is also where February's repair list turns into booked work. Contractors still have March openings; they won't have May ones.

Give the gutters their first pass of the year

Winter can leave debris, changed guard sections, sagging gutters, and disconnected outlets. Observe drainage from the ground and arrange qualified service for roof-edge access. Then check each downspout and extension from the ground. It should carry water to a stable location away from the building without creating erosion, ice, or a neighbor problem; the correct layout depends on grading, local requirements, and the drainage design.

• Scope: observe drainage from the ground, check every outlet, and arrange service when gutters, guards, or downspouts are restricted. Price depends on the roofline, access, guard system, and repair scope.
• If drainage is restricted: overflow can wet fascia or siding and concentrate water beside the foundation. Document where the water goes and correct the gutter, outlet, grading, or buried-drain cause.

Our gutter cleaning guide covers technique, guards, and what the debris tells you about your roof. In zones 5–6, wait until the gutters are actually ice-free; late March or early April is normal there.

Book applicable cooling service before regular use

If the home has central air conditioning or a heat pump, book qualified cooling service before regular summer use. ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist covers controls, electrical connections, airflow, coils, condensate drainage, and refrigerant charge where applicable. Internal components, wiring, and refrigerant work are not homeowner tasks.

• Time and cost: depend on the installed equipment, service scope, and local market. Ask the contractor what the visit includes and get a written quote.
• Call sooner when: cooling performance drops, the system cycles unusually, ice appears, or water collects around the indoor unit. A qualified diagnosis is more useful than assuming one component failed.

In zones 1–3, where cooling season is weeks away or already running, treat this as urgent. Our HVAC maintenance schedule covers the full year of filter changes and service intervals.

The 15-minute water damage check

Two quick indoor tasks, both aimed at the most common ways homes flood from the inside:

1. Inspect the washing machine hoses. Without pulling or straining the machine, check accessible inlet hoses for bulges, kinks, cuts, wear, corrosion, or moisture. Follow the washer manual for hose type and replacement interval. Many Whirlpool models specify five years, but that is not a universal instruction. Time: about 10 minutes.
2. Locate and check the main water shutoff. Make sure everyone knows where it is. Inspect the valve and surrounding pipe before operating it. Do not force a stiff or corroded valve. If its condition and instructions permit a test, close and reopen it gently, then check for normal flow and leaks. Time: about 5 minutes.

The second task exists because of the first: when a hose lets go, the damage bill is set by how fast someone stops the water, and a valve that hasn't moved in a decade may not move at all.

Change the clocks, change the batteries

Daylight saving time lands on the second Sunday of March, an easy anchor for two safety checks. Test every smoke alarm. Replace a removable battery at least yearly, when it chirps, or sooner when the manufacturer requires it; do not open a sealed long-life alarm. Then follow each fire extinguisher's label: confirm access, pressure, pin and seal, and an undamaged cylinder, hose, and nozzle. Some extinguisher models require monthly shaking and others do not.

• Time: 20–25 minutes for both. Cost: $10–30 for batteries; $15–35 to recharge an extinguisher.
• Skip it and: an alarm without working primary or backup power cannot warn the household during a fire or outage.

Review the dryer exhaust system

The U.S. Fire Administration recommends cleaning the lint filter every time you use the dryer and having the exhaust duct cleaned once a year. From a safe position, check the accessible transition duct and exterior hood for damage, crushing, lint, or restricted airflow. Follow the dryer manual for owner-accessible care. A long or concealed run, a damaged connection, unusual heat, or loads that take longer to dry calls for qualified inspection and cleaning.

• Scope: inspect only what you can reach without moving the dryer unsafely or opening concealed construction. Ask a qualified service provider to clean or repair the system when access, material, or condition is uncertain.
• Why it matters: lint and restricted airflow can create a fire risk and make drying take longer. The six-month SeasonKeep reminder is a condition review; it does not mean the full duct needs cleaning twice a year.

Review whether a structural-pest inspection is due

Spring can make termite or carpenter-ant activity easier to notice, but it does not create one inspection requirement for every home. Review prior pest reports, treatment or monitoring agreements, transaction requirements, local guidance, and new evidence such as mud tubes, discarded wings, damaged-looking wood, or recurring carpenter-ant activity. EPA's termite guide explains common signs and why termite treatment usually belongs to a trained pest professional.

Arrange a qualified inspection when an agreement, local requirement, prior infestation, or current evidence calls for one. Keep the report with the home record so the next review starts with the actual history instead of a generic annual claim.

Review trees before spring growth

From the ground, look for dead, broken, hanging, or rubbing branches; contact with the house; blocked paths or sight lines; and conflicts with overhead utilities. Pruning timing depends on the species, condition, and local pest and disease guidance. Photograph what changed and use current local extension guidance rather than assuming March is the last safe month nationwide.

• Homeowner scope: observation and small work that can be completed safely from the ground with the correct tool and species guidance.
• Use qualified help for: large, elevated, damaged, or uncertain branches. Do not climb, use a ladder or chainsaw, cut above shoulder height, or work within 10 feet of an overhead line. Contact the utility for line conflicts.

Review irrigation at spring startup

Start only after local freeze risk and the installed winterization procedure allow it. Follow the controller, valve, backflow assembly, and irrigation instructions to restore service. Run each zone and look for leaks, broken or tilted heads, clogged emitters, runoff, overspray, soggy areas, and dry coverage gaps. Do not force an unfamiliar valve or disassemble a pressurized or regulated backflow device. EPA WaterSense recommends checking for broken, clogged, or missing components and correcting spray that reaches pavement. Ask the local water authority which backflow inspection or testing rules apply to the installed device, and use a qualified irrigation professional when startup, repair, or testing is outside the owner instructions.

One more cold-climate note: if you skipped the sump pump test in February's checklist, do it first. In zones 5–6 the melt is arriving now, and the pump either works or your basement finds out.

Common questions

What's the single most important March task?

Gutters and downspouts, if you only do one thing. Spring brings the year's heaviest sustained rain, and every expensive failure downstream (wet basement, foundation settling, rotted fascia) starts with roof water that didn't get carried away.

Is March too early to service the air conditioner?

No, it's arguably the ideal month. The system should be serviced before its first real workout, and booking now means you choose the appointment instead of joining the June queue. In cold zones the visit itself may land in April, since some tune-up steps need mild outdoor temperatures.

My outdoor faucet drips even when it's off. How bad is that?

Stop using the faucet and investigate promptly. A leaking valve may need a local repair, while water appearing indoors or a pressure drop can indicate freeze damage behind the wall. Close the dedicated shutoff when safe and have a plumber identify the source before the line is used again.

Which of these your house actually needs depends on your climate zone and systems. SeasonKeep builds that month-by-month schedule from your zip code and home profile, free to start. When March's list is done, April's checklist carries the ramp-up into full spring.