What home maintenance should I do in August?

August home maintenance at a glance

The weather sets most of this month's jobs: squalls, haze and the rainwater a storm leaves behind. None of the work is heavy, but the timing matters. If you plan jobs across the year, add these to your home maintenance calendar next to the bigger yearly tasks.

1. Latch and clear. Close and latch every window before bed, and move pots, poles and loose items off ledges.
2. Plan for haze. Choose one room to keep closed up and make sure its aircon filters are clean.
3. Hunt for still water. Tip out pot plates, pails and anything a storm filled.
4. Look at the aircon. Wash the filters and check the outdoor unit and its brackets for rust.
5. Clear the drains. Check floor traps, balcony outlets and, in landed homes, the roof gutters.

Sumatra squall home prep

The Meteorological Service Singapore says the Southwest Monsoon runs from June to September, and that occasional Sumatra squalls bring lines of thunderstorms with wind gusts of 40 to 80 km/h between the predawn hours and midday. Many squalls arrive while you are asleep or on your way to work, so the evening before is the safest time to prepare.

Start with the windows. In an HDB flat or condo, a casement window left open on its stay can swing hard in a gust, so shut each one fully and turn every latch. On sliding windows in older flats, engage the lock rather than just pushing the panel closed. If a handle feels loose, a stay looks bent or a rivet has rusted, book a window safety inspection before the next storm.

Next, deal with anything the wind can carry. Bring in laundry poles from the brackets outside the kitchen window, lift potted plants off ledges and planter boxes, and fold or tie down light chairs on a condo balcony. In a landed home, check the roof terrace, porch and side passages for loose tarps, sheets and empty pots.

Haze readiness

According to the Meteorological Service Singapore, slight to moderate haze is common during the Southwest Monsoon and can reduce visibility. It follows no fixed schedule, so the aim is to be ready, not to guess.

Pick one room to keep sealed on hazy days, usually a bedroom with an aircon, and check that its windows close tightly with no gaps at the frame. Wash the aircon filters now, so the unit is not pulling air through dust when the air turns smoky, and keep the doors between rooms shut. For how to run the unit once haze arrives, read our guide on using your aircon during haze.

If someone at home has asthma or another breathing condition, ask their doctor about hazy days now, while things are calm.

Mosquito checks after storms

Heavy rain fills every hollow around the home, and some of that water stays for days. NEA advises removing water from plant pot plates and changing the water in vases every other day, scrubbing the insides. Plants you brought in from the ledge are easy to forget, so tip out their plates each time you water them.

The aircon is a less obvious spot. NEA says not to place trays or containers beneath or on an aircon unit, as they can let mosquitoes breed. If you need a tray, it points to HDB's patented air-conditioner tray and asks you to check it so the drain point does not choke and hold water.

After each storm, walk round the home: pails in the toilet, the tray under the dish rack, children's toys on the balcony and any furniture cover that sags and collects rain. Our guide on how to prevent mosquito breeding at home lists more places to check.

Aircon and drains

If you skipped the filters during haze prep, wash them now and look at the outdoor unit. HDB warns that an improperly installed or maintained aircon can fall and cause serious injury or death to people below. Flat owners are responsible for maintaining their units and face penalties if a unit or its supports fall for lack of maintenance. If the casing or brackets look corroded or rusty, ask your aircon serviceman whether the unit needs replacing.

After a squall, scoop leaves and grit out of balcony and yard floor traps so the next downpour drains away instead of pooling at the door. In landed homes, blocked roof gutters overflow down walls and windows and hold pockets of still water. Our roof gutter cleaning guide covers what to check and when to call someone in. Quotes for that work depend on the job, so ask a company to see the gutters before it names a figure.

Carry on to September

Most of this list carries into next month, since the monsoon is still running. Keep up the evening latch routine, the pot plate tip-out and the floor trap check until the weather pattern changes. The July home checklist covers any earlier jobs you missed, and the September home checklist continues from where this one stops.

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