Asphalt pavement is a strong and flexible material that is budget-friendly for your property's improvement, but only as long as you know how to take care of it so it can serve your home and property for a long time. Here are some essential maintenance tasks you need to complete with your asphalt pavement to keep it from failing prematurely.

Complete Regular Inspections

As a homeowner, you should keep a regular maintenance schedule for your home and yard. Make repairs to the exterior of your home, maintain the landscaping, and also keep an eye out for problems with your asphalt's surface. Take some time every week or so to sweep off the surface of your asphalt, such as after you mow your lawn or complete other regular yard work. You can also clean it with your garden hose and a pressure sprayer nozzle or a pressure washer to remove residues, dirt, and stains that can collect on its surface. 

This regular cleaning will provide you the opportunity to visually inspect for damage to the asphalt, which can include cracks in the surface, crumbling areas, and sunken spots that collect water. Pooling water on your pavement indicates an underlying foundation problem and can lead to further issues as the pooling water seeps down through the layers of your pavement. Look for cracks that extend deep into the pavement or large chunks that have become loosened. And vegetation growing up through areas of your pavement is a sign of future trouble and needs to be pulled from the crack. The roots of vegetation in your pavement work similar to freeze-thaw conditions, which widen and exacerbate a small crack into a larger problem.

Follow Up With Repairs

Anytime you have found issues on your pavement that have led to cracking, crumbling, or other damage, you will need to make repairs sooner rather than later. The longer they go unmaintained, the worse the damage is going to become. And this will lead to serious damage and expensive repairs to restore your pavement back to its correct condition.

Where a crack has formed, it is best to clean out the crack of debris and fill it with an asphalt crack filler material. At the very least, your DIY patch repair will keep moisture and debris from getting into the crack to prevent it from growing larger. If you can, it is best to follow up with a professional asphalt repair and management to keep your pavement protected with sealcoating along with your patching repairs.

For more information, contact an asphalt paving company.