Exterior · 6 min read
Exterior paint maintenance: a seasonal checklist for Michigan homes
Paint lasts longer on a house that gets checked a few times a year. Here’s what to look for each season in Michigan, what you can handle yourself, and when to call a painter.
Key takeaways
- A few walk-arounds a year catch small failures, like open caulk joints, bare wood and clogged gutters, before water gets in behind the paint.
- Spring is for spotting winter damage, summer for gentle cleaning and airflow, fall for sealing and spot-priming, and winter for watching ice dams and interior moisture.
- Homeowners can handle washing, trimming, sprinkler adjustments and small touch-ups; widespread peeling, rot, high work and scraping in pre-1978 homes call for a professional.
- Keep a record of every Sherwin-Williams color name, number and sheen on the house, so touch-ups and future repaints start from the right place.
Exterior paint lasts longer when you check the house a few times a year and fix small problems before water gets in. In Michigan that means a spring walk-around for winter damage, gentle summer cleaning, fall sealing and spot-priming before the cold, and watching for ice dams and moisture through winter.
Here’s the year at a glance, with details below.
| Season | Check | Do |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Winter damage, caulk, peeling, mildew, gutters | Walk the whole house, list repairs, clean off mildew, fix gutters |
| Summer | Dirt and pollen, shrubs, sprinklers, mulch | Wash gently, trim plants back, aim sprinklers away from siding |
| Fall | Gutters, open joints, bare wood, storm windows | Clean gutters, re-caulk, spot-prime bare wood before the cold |
| Winter | Ice dams, signs of moisture indoors | Watch eaves and ceilings, keep snow off siding, find the source of leaks |
Why does exterior paint need seasonal care?
Paint is a thin film, and on a house it’s also the main barrier keeping water out of the wood. It rarely fails all at once. It fails at a cracked caulk joint, a patch of bare wood or an overflowing gutter, and water does the rest.
Michigan’s weather speeds that along. Freeze–thaw cycles work moisture into every open joint, humid summers feed mildew, and the exterior painting season is short, roughly late spring to early fall. Catching small problems early is the simplest way to stretch the life of a paint job. How long that life is depends on prep, exposure and upkeep; our guide to how long exterior paint lasts goes into the factors.
What should you check in spring?
Once the snow is gone, walk all the way around the house on a dry day and look closely, low and high. Winter is when water does its damage; spring is when you see it.
- Peeling, cracking and blistering. Note where it is. Peeling at the bottom of walls, under eaves or around windows usually points to moisture, and our guide to why exterior paint peels explains how to read it.
- Caulk. Look at joints where trim meets siding, and around windows and doors. Caulk that has cracked or pulled away is an open door for water.
- Bare and soft wood. Check sills, the bottoms of door frames, porch posts and the lowest siding boards. Wood that a screwdriver sinks into easily may be rotting.
- Mildew. Look for gray, green or black specks on shaded walls and under eaves. It’s easiest to deal with early; see our guide to mildew on siding.
- Gutters and downspouts. Look for sagging sections, loose brackets, overflow stains on the siding below, and downspouts that empty against the foundation.
What should you do in summer?
Summer is for keeping the paint clean and letting the walls dry.
- Wash gently. Dirt and pollen hold moisture against the paint and give mildew something to feed on. A garden hose, a soft brush on an extension pole and a mild detergent handle most of it. Rinse from the top down, and skip high-pressure spray, which can force water behind siding and gouge soft wood.
- Trim shrubs back. Plants pressed against siding hold moisture, block the sun and breeze that dry the wall, and scuff the paint. Leave room for air to move between leaves and walls.
- Keep sprinklers off the house. A sprinkler that hits the siding soaks the same boards again and again, which can lead to peeling, mildew and stains near the bottom of the walls. Adjust the heads to water the lawn, not the house.
- Keep mulch and soil down. Mulch heaped against wood siding or trim keeps it damp. Leave a gap between the bed and the bottom of the siding.
Summer is also the season for small touch-ups, on a dry day when the surface isn’t baking in direct sun. Check the label for temperature and humidity limits.
What should you do in fall?
Fall is about sealing the house before freeze–thaw season. Water that gets into wood now can freeze and thaw all winter, working paint loose.
- Clean the gutters once the leaves are down, and make sure downspouts run clear. Overflowing gutters soak fascia, soffits and siding, and clogged gutters can make winter ice problems worse.
- Re-caulk open joints at trim, windows and doors. Cut out cracked old caulk rather than burying it, and seal only the joints that should be sealed; the bottom edges of lap siding stay open so moisture can escape.
- Spot-prime bare wood. Scrape off anything loose, sand the edges smooth, and prime bare wood before winter. Primer protects the wood until it gets a proper topcoat, and if the weather allows, topcoat it now.
- Close up storm windows and doors, and keep their weep holes clear so condensation can drain.
What should you watch for in winter?
There’s little painting to do in a Michigan winter, but it’s a good time to spot the moisture problems that show up in paint later.
Ice dams
Ice dams form when heat escaping through the roof melts snow, and the water refreezes at the colder eaves. Water can then back up behind the ice, work under shingles, and get into soffits, walls and ceilings. Thick ridges of ice and large icicles along the eaves are the warning signs.
The lasting fixes, typically attic insulation, air sealing and ventilation, are work for a roofer or insulation contractor, not a painter. Some homeowners pull snow off the lower edge of the roof with a roof rake from the ground; stay off icy ladders and roofs. And pile shoveled snow away from siding and porch posts, where it can sit against wood for weeks.
Signs of moisture inside
- Water stains on ceilings or at the tops of exterior walls
- Paint that bubbles, blisters or peels on interior walls, especially near windows or under the roofline
- Plaster or drywall that feels damp, soft or crumbly
- Heavy condensation or frost on the inside of windows, which points to high indoor humidity
Any of these deserves a look at the source before spring painting. Covering a stain without fixing the leak only hides it until the next thaw.
What can you handle yourself, and when should you call a painter?
Plenty of maintenance is homeowner work:
- Washing siding gently and keeping shrubs, sprinklers and mulch in check
- Clearing gutters you can reach safely
- Re-caulking a few open joints within easy reach
- Spot-priming and touching up small areas with leftover paint
Call a painter when the problems outgrow touch-ups:
- Peeling across whole walls, or peeling that keeps coming back in the same place
- Bare, weathered wood on many boards, or paint that rubs off as chalky powder across entire sides
- Soft or rotted sills, trim or siding, which need repair before any paint
- Work that means tall ladders, steep roofs or high gables
In a home built before 1978, the paint may contain lead, so test or assume it’s present before any scraping; our guide to lead paint in older homes explains lead-safe work. When touch-ups stop keeping up, our list of signs your house needs painting can help you decide whether it’s time for a full exterior repaint.
Why keep a record of your paint colors?
A touch-up or a repaint is much easier when you know exactly what’s on the house. Write it down when the work is done, and keep the note somewhere you’ll find it years from now. For each surface, record:
- The surface: body, trim, doors, shutters, porch floor, railings.
- The Sherwin-Williams color name and number, such as Extra White SW 7006 on trim. The number avoids confusion between similar names.
- The sheen: flat, satin, semi-gloss and so on. The same color in a different sheen won’t look the same.
- The product name from the label, and the date.
Keep a labeled, tightly sealed can of leftover paint for touch-ups, stored where it won’t freeze, since freezing can ruin latex paint; check the label. Even with exact numbers, touch-ups on paint that has weathered for years may not match perfectly, so try a small, out-of-the-way spot first. And if you change colors later, remember that screens and chips mislead: test real samples on the house itself.
Questions
How often should you wash your house’s exterior?
Once a year is a reasonable rhythm for most homes, often in late spring or summer, with extra attention to shaded walls where mildew grows. A garden hose, a soft brush and a mild detergent usually do the job. Avoid high-pressure spray, which can force water behind siding and damage soft wood.
Can you touch up exterior paint instead of repainting?
Yes, for small, isolated spots, as long as you clean the area, remove loose paint, prime any bare wood and use the same color and sheen. Touch-ups may not match perfectly on paint that has faded, so test a small spot first. When peeling or bare wood is widespread, touch-ups stop keeping up and it’s time to plan a repaint.
What temperature do you need for exterior touch-ups and caulking?
It depends on the product, so check the label for the minimum air and surface temperatures and how long they need to hold while it dries. In Michigan, that usually means finishing fall touch-ups before nights turn cold. Avoid painting in direct, hot sun or when dew or rain is likely before the paint has set.