Spring home systems checklist

Air conditioning, before you need it

The worst day to discover your AC does not work is the first hot one, when every HVAC company in Colorado Springs is already booked. Test it on a mild spring day when a repair can be scheduled without urgency.

• Pull the winter cover off the outdoor unit if you use one, and clear leaves, cottonwood fluff and winter debris from around it.
• Give the condenser two feet of clearance on all sides. Cut back shrubs that grew in last season.
• Rinse the condenser coil gently with a hose from the inside out, with power off at the disconnect. Low pressure only — fins bend easily.
• Turn power back on at the disconnect and leave it on several hours before starting the system, so the crankcase heater can work.
• Run a cooling cycle and confirm cold air at the registers, no unusual noise, and no ice on the refrigerant lines.
• Check the condensate drain line for clogs and confirm it is draining where it should.

Ice on the lines, warm air, or a unit that hums without starting are all reasons to stop and book AC repair rather than keep trying.

Hose bibs back in service

If you winterized properly, your exterior spigots were shut off at the interior valve and drained. Bringing them back is simple, but do it carefully, because a hose bib that cracked over the winter will not announce itself until you pressurize it.

Have someone stand at the interior shutoff valve while you open the outside spigot. Open the interior valve slowly. Watch and listen for water inside the wall or in the basement ceiling. If anything drips, close the valve immediately — that is a split pipe, and it needs a plumber before you use that spigot.

While you are out there, check for frost-free hose bibs that drip after shutoff, which usually means a worn stem washer, and inspect hoses for UV damage. High-altitude sun is hard on rubber, and a hose that looks chalky will split mid-season.

Drainage and grading after snowmelt

Snowmelt is the best diagnostic tool you get all year. Walk the perimeter of the house while water is actually moving and watch where it goes.

• Clean gutters of winter debris and confirm downspouts are connected and clear.
• Extend downspouts so they discharge several feet from the foundation, onto ground that slopes away.
• Look for pooling or soft ground against the foundation. Soil settles over winter and creates low spots that direct water inward.
• Check window wells for debris and standing water, and confirm their drains are open.
• Test the sump pump with a bucket of water before monsoon season arrives.

Negative grading is the root cause of most basement water problems, and it is far cheaper to fix with soil than with a drainage system.

Filters, water heater and electrical

Replace the furnace and air handler filter at the end of the heating season — it has been working all winter, and the AC runs through the same filter. Most residential systems suit MERV 8 to 13; higher is not automatically better, because a filter too restrictive for your blower reduces airflow.

Spring is also a good anchor for the annual water heater flush. Hard Front Range water leaves a sediment layer on the tank bottom all year; draining it once a year keeps the burner heating water instead of heating a crust. Test the T&P relief valve while you are there.

Then run the monthly electrical pass: press Test and Reset on every GFCI receptacle in kitchens, bathrooms, garage, basement and outdoors. Exterior GFCIs take the most abuse from weather and UV, and they are exactly the ones protecting you while you are using tools on wet ground.

The rest of the spring pass

A few smaller items round it out. Reverse ceiling fans to blow downward for summer. Vacuum dryer vent lint and confirm the exterior flap opens. Check that attic and crawlspace vents are unblocked. Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and change batteries if you do it seasonally. Look over exterior wiring, outdoor light fixtures and outlet covers for UV cracking — intense high-altitude sun degrades insulation and plastics faster here than at lower elevations.

And resist the urge to declare winter finished. A late wet snow in Colorado Springs is ordinary, so keep the heat available and leave winter gear accessible until the pattern really breaks.

What a licensed technician does that you can't

A homeowner spring pass confirms systems run. It does not confirm they run correctly.

On the AC, a licensed technician measures refrigerant charge against superheat and subcooling targets — the only way to know whether the charge is right, and you cannot do it without gauges and certification, since handling refrigerant is federally regulated. They check compressor amp draw, test capacitors and contactors that are beginning to fail, measure temperature split across the coil, and confirm airflow is adequate. At 6,035 feet, equipment performance and airflow targets differ from sea-level assumptions, which matters for correct setup.

On the plumbing side, they test incoming pressure and the pressure-reducing valve, and evaluate the water heater's anode and venting. On the electrical side they thermal-scan the panel and torque connections. Booking AC maintenance in spring rather than July also means getting the appointment you want.

Frequently asked questions