Adulting 101: Six essential spring home maintenance to-dos

With longer days and warmer weather, it's time to tackle your spring to-dos. If you're looking for a place to start, we'd suggest these:

1. Avoid a sneaky leaker. Turning on your garden hose for the first time since fall? Pay close attention when you open the tap. A pipe that froze and cracked during winter may show itself as a sluggish (or nonexistent) hose stream as water escapes into your wall or garage. If something seems amiss, turn off the water and investigate right away.
2. Replace rubber washing machine hoses with reinforced mesh type. They don't cost much more but are much less likely to burst and flood your home.
3. Check for signs that rodents may have made themselves at home during the winter (as many as one in five of us may unwittingly host rats!). Tipoffs include unexplained dark smudges low on the wall, odd little mounds of dirt by your foundation and noises coming from the attic.
4. Clean gutters. Recommended twice a year, only about one-third of us do it that often, according to a PEMCO Poll. Since climbing a ladder is dangerous work, we urge you to hire a pro unless you're experienced. Here's how to stay safe.
5. Prune winter-damaged trees. Now's a great time to get rid of dead wood or broken branches. You'll also want to rake back any mulch that got pushed up against your siding. Both steps will deter insects looking for a spot to nest later in the season.
6. Uncover the patio furniture. You can get rid of winter griminess with dishwashing liquid and warm water for most patio sets (a heavy coating of crud might require an algae/mildew remover; just follow manufacturer's instructions, use protective clothing and minimize overspray), while wicker furniture does best with an oil-based wood soap.