Young woman cleans up the mess in the closet.

The calendar says it’s two weeks away but, judging from the heat, humidity and the beginning of afternoon thunderstorms, as Floridians, we know it’s been summer for a while.

And that means summer home-maintenance tips.

But because we are Floridians, unlike our neighbors to the north, we will emphasize a key point in our tips. They are mostly indoor activities.

We will start by repeating some of the suggestions we made a year ago.  This is a good time to oil your garage-door opener and chain, as well as other door hinges in your home. Clean out the lint from inside and outside of dryer vents. Check your appliances and plumbing for leaks. Clean behind the refrigerator and include vacuuming the coils. Inspect your tile grout to make sure it is all sealed.

Outdoors, check play equipment, inspect wood decks and concrete patios and do a general inspection of the exterior structure of your home. And it’s hurricane season. Think about projects that should be done before a big blow, and make sure you are ready if a storm comes our way.

And now, with a focus on doing mostly indoor work, here are some additions to the summer maintenance list.

Since the summer is a great time to look outside and stay inside, clean the windows. For this to be effective maintenance though, you must do half the work outdoors.

If you haven’t already done it, you want to have your HVAC system checked, the last thing you want is for the air conditioning to malfunction when it’s 95 degrees and humid outside.

This is a good time of year to clean out the faucet traps. Those are the small screens at the end of your faucets. That will help eliminate mineral deposits and other debris from clogging the faucet. This is a simple project. Unscrew the end of the faucet with a pair of pliers, remove the trap, flush out the debris and put it back together.

If you missed the opportunity for a spring cleaning, now is the perfect time to declutter. But fair warning, this is a bigger project then it seems. Start with one closet in one room and work your way through.

Finally, here’s an interesting one. Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan. Normally, ceiling fans run clockwise. Switch it to counterclockwise for the summer The result is the cooler air coming out of your a/c will push straight down. You do this by turning the fan off. When it comes to a complete stop, find direction switch, generally on the side of the fan above the blades. Flip the switch in the opposite direction and turn the fan back on.

You can do many of these and other maintenance ideas on your own. But as always, we caution you not to take on a project that is beyond your skills. The most important thing you can do in terms of home maintenance is know when you can do it or when you have to call in a professional. Have a great summer!