So you have bought a new home and are now officially a homeowner. Congratulations! Whether you purchased and brand new build or a pre-owned home, there are some maintenance tips you should follow to ensure your home stays in tip top shape.
1. Keep It Clean
First, it is important to keep a clean home. Weekly cleanings and monthly deep cleanings will ensure your home stays fresh and clear of health hazards. Making sure you keep up with vacuuming your home so that you clean up any dirt, pet dander, food debris, and dust. Pet dander and dust can add up and really affect people with asthma and allergies.
2. Hire Professional Pest Control
Another reason to keep your home clean is to keep away pests. This brings us to tip number two. Call a professional pest control expert to inspect your home. You can set up monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly visits to keep pests away from your home. If you leave dirty dishes in the sink for too long or don’t vacuum up food debris you can find yourself with a very intense pest problem.
Pest control experts will inspect the outside of your home, inside your home, including attics and crawlspaces. They may even spot a problem you did not realize you had before purchasing your new home.
3. Know Your Home
The third tip is to familiarize yourself with your home. Make sure you know where the water supply, electric, or gas supply shutoffs are. In the case of an emergency this is vital information to have. Make sure you know where the breaker box, water heater, and HVAC system are located. Give these items a once over about twice a year to make sure everything is working properly.
4. Proper Home Maintenance
The fourth tip to ensure proper maintenance of your home is to change the filters in your home regularly. This includes the filter on your HVAC system. Most manufactures suggest replacing filters every three months, but this depends on various factors. If you have family pets, or live in a more rural area where there is dirt and dust, you may need to change out the filters more often.
If you do not keep up with changing out your filters it can cause the system to overload and not work effectively. This could cost you hundreds if not thousands in HVAC repairs. Another filter to change out is the refrigerator filter. This filter cleans out the water coming from the water line in the wall to your fridges water dispenser. Fridge manufactures usually suggest replacing these once every six months.
5. Don’t Forget About Your Dryer Vent Line
The fifth tip is to clean out your dryer vent line often. This does not mean just the lint trap, which you should clear out after every cycle, but the whole line. Depending on if your dryer vent goes straight out to the wall or if it curves up and out the second floor depends on the service you may need.
Most appliance repair companies can clear out your dryer vent line going from the dryer to the wall. To clear out a vent line that curves or makes turns and goes out the second floor, a professional HVAC technician will be needed to complete this job. If you ignore the dryer vent line and never have it cleaned it can cause a serious fire within your home.
6. Check Washer Hoses & Replace Every 3 Years
The sixth tip is to check the hoses that supply the water to your washing machine. If one of them busts a leak or comes detached it can cause tremendous damage to your walls and floors. A simple maintenance check twice a year can prevent such damage.
7. Check Smoke Detectors
The seventh tip could possibly save your life one day. The most important maintenance tip is to check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors monthly. It is easy to do. Just press the test button and listen for the beep. This way you know they are working well. Experts suggest replacing the batteries twice a year during daylight savings time.
8. Fix Leaky Faucets Fast
Tip eight is to ensure you have no water running unnecessarily. Whether it is coming from your faucets or toilet, running water can cause damage to your pipes, walls, and floors. It is also a tremendous waste of water. These issues can usually be fixed easily by running up to the local home improvement store. If not, look into hiring an expert to get these problems fixed.
9. Gutters!
Tip nine is all about gutters! If you do not currently have gutters on your new home it is highly suggested that you spend the money to get some. Gutters are extremely important in protecting your home from water damage. Gutters redirect water away from your house. Without gutters your foundation, siding, windows, and doors can be utterly destroyed by water damage over time. Gutters also protect the exterior of your house from mildew and mold, paint damage, and from water staining. This is why it is so important to check your gutters regularly. Make sure they are clear of leaves, sticks, and any other debris. Verify that water is flowing freely and not clogging up at any point. There should be no gaps or holes in your gutters and they should be secured, not sagging.
10. Inspect Windows & Doors For Cracks & Gaps
Finally tip ten is to inspect all of your windows, doors, or any part of your home where you may find cracks or gaps. If you happen to run across any it is important to address them immediately. Bugs like wasps can make their nests in the smallest of cracks. Also, water can seep into gaps and cracks and cause severe damage. If you run across gaps in your doors and or windows make sure to caulk them or add weather-stripping. These gaps allow air to escape and can bring your AC bill way up. It also allows for small critters to enter your home. These maintenance tips are easy to do if you remember them. It is suggested to make a checklist that you keep on the fridge, or anywhere else you may look often. It does not take much time to complete these maintenance tips and it could possibly save you in the long run.
