Being a homeowner means that you’re also responsible for all the little (and not so little) tasks that need to be done to keep you home in good condition.
You probably want to live in the space for a while, and when it’s time to sell you home, you need to know that you’ve kept it up well enough that it won’t cost you a fortune to list it. Home maintenance is a foundational key to being a good homeowner.
Take some time now to look through a few regular home maintenance tasks every homeowner should know, and consider making your own home maintenance schedule for the year.
Take good care of your HVAC unit
Completely replacing your home’s HVAC unit is a very expensive fix that a little regular maintenance can easily retard. If you want to get the most life out of your HVAC unit, you’ll take the time to change the internal air filters once per month.
Proper HVAC maintenance goes a bit further than just changing the filters, though. You should have professional HVAC specialists service your system once per year to make sure it’s working at its max efficiency.
Landscaping is important
Landscaping and lawn maintenance may seem secondary to maintaining your home, but the wellness of your yard can have a huge impact on the wellness of your home. Overgrown bushes and trees can make way for pests to feel comfortable invading your home.
Good upkeep of your yard will help to keep rotting or mildewed wood away from the base of your structure, and you may be lucky enough to avoid attracting termites or ants.
Keep tabs on the roof
Your home’s roof is what protects everything else from being damaged by the weather outside. It’s easy to see why the state of your roof should be a priority in home maintenance.
Take a look at the state of your shingles from time to time, and make small repairs to loose or missing shingles as they come. Repairing the shingles over the years will help your roof last a little bit longer.
Clean the coils on the back of your refrigerator
It may not occur to you that the back of your refrigerator could morph into a fire hazard without proper upkeep. The coils on the back of your refrigerator are notorious for gathering dust and buildup.
When you don’t clean that build up, it has the potential to stunt the performance of your refrigerator. It also has the potential to become a fire hazard.
Clean out the dryer exhaust
Just like the coils on the fridge, your dryer exhaust accumulates excess lint over time. Lint buildup in the dryer exhaust can be a terrible fire hazard. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty every couple years, and clean the excess lint from the dryer exhaust leading outside of your home.
