You made the drive down, or the flight landed, and the key still turns. After months away, your Florida home has sat through the hottest, wettest stretch of the year. Before you unpack, give it one careful walkthrough. Most of what you find will be small — and small is cheap to fix on day one.

Start with the roof

Start outside. Walk the house and look up: missing or lifted shingles or tiles, debris piled in the valleys, anything sagging along the edge. Inside, check ceilings for fresh water stains — they usually trace back to the roof. A stain that is new since spring is worth getting eyes on now, not after the season's first hard rain.

Clear the gutters

Gutters that filled with leaves and roof grit while you were gone overflow against the fascia and pour water toward the foundation. Scoop them out, flush each run with a hose, and make sure the downspouts carry water well away from the house. A clogged downspout will show itself once the hose is running.

Check the screens

Next, the pool cage, lanai, and window screens. Look for tears, holes, and panels pushed loose by wind or debris — a summer of storms works on them, and one tear is all it takes for the insects to move in. Small tears are an easy repair; a cage full of them is a project worth scheduling soon.

Wake up the A/C

Your air conditioner sat idle for months — do not just set it and forget it. Swap the filter if it looks grey, then confirm air is moving at every vent. A musty blast on startup usually clears within a few minutes. If it does not, or the air feels weak in one room, that is worth a look before the first warm week, not during it.

Flush the plumbing

Open every tap and flush every toilet. Water that sat in the lines all summer needs a good run before you drink from it — let the hot run until it is hot all the way through. Listen for a toilet that keeps running or a faucet that drips; a flapper that dried out over the summer is a five-minute fix once you know about it. Finish under every sink and around the water heater, checking for dampness or slow drips.

Test the smoke and CO alarms

Press TEST on every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in the house. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends testing alarms monthly. Then read the date on the back. Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years, and carbon monoxide alarms every 5 to 10 years, per manufacturer guidance — the test button cannot tell you a sensor has worn out. If a date is past, replace the unit this weekend.

One more thing before the season ends

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so a November return still lands inside it. Keep your shutters, supplies, and plan in place until it closes — storms can still form late. When the season ends, restock the kit and note what you would do differently next year.

That is the whole list: roof, gutters, screens, A/C, plumbing, alarms. One afternoon, and the house is yours again for the winter.

If the walk turns up something bigger than a filter or a flapper — a roof that needs a professional look, windows that should have been replaced years ago — that is what Florida Safe Home is for. Tell us about the house at floridasafehome.com and get matched with a reviewed Florida contractor. Safety, Security, Peace of Mind.

Florida Safe Home is a private company. Not a government program.