Essential Home Maintenance Projects Not to Forget

As a homeowner, you’re ultimately responsible for the comfort and functionality of your home. To ensure that, you must take maintenance seriously. Maintenance projects like cleaning the gutters or servicing the HVAC system are easy to notice and remember. However, some tasks are not as easy to see; and as a result, the problem gradually accumulates until severe damage erupts. This post explores five essential home maintenance projects not to forget.

When was the last time you checked your water pressure? It’s probably been working for years, and you assume it’ll continue to do so. It’s important to periodically check the pressure reducing value near the main water supply because it ensures that water is supplied to your plumbing fixtures at a manageable pressure.

Value failure can result in damage to internal components, blockages, and incorrect pressure settings. Try to inspect your value every six months to ensure that it’s working properly.

If you have a basement, you’ve probably had to use a sump pump. Just imagine you get back home one day to find your basement completely flooded because the sump pump failed. Aside from the damage caused to electrical appliances, you’re left with the gigantic work of drying the basement, furniture, and carpets. Every three months, pour water into the sump and test to see if it is working correctly. This way, you can quickly resolve any issues before actual damage is done.

No one remembers to check the back of their refrigerators. However, as time progresses, specks of dust begin to collect on the coils, which affects the cooling efficiency as the retained heat is unable to escape. When this happens, the compressor overworks itself and that can shorten its life. That’s why it’s essential to clean your refrigerator coil, at least, every three months.

If you’re using sliding windows in particular, you’ll notice tiny holes at the base of the frame facing outwards. This hole serves as a conduit for the liquid inside the frame to get back outside.

However, as time progresses, dust, debris, insects, droppings, and all other tiny materials accumulate inside the base of the frame and may clog the hole. As a result, water inside the window frame becomes trapped and may overflow inside your house.

Every six months, use a small piece of wire to pull out all debris and spray your window with the garden hose to test that the drain holes are working correctly.

While many homeowners know that it’s crucial to inspect the roof, many ignore it mainly because it’s not easily accessible. Once a single slate becomes faulty, it quickly escalates to other slates. You only start to notice after you have a wildlife pest problem in your attic or leaks become more prominent. This problem will mainly be bats. This will cause many issues, as bats are challenging to get rid of and can carry diseases. Not only that, but they can be noisy and will poop in your attic.

Please ensure that you have your roof inspected, at least, every two years. It’s better just to fix a few slates than to have to replace your entire roof.

One helpful strategy for home maintenance is to create an annual maintenance plan, and then divide it into seasonal sections. This makes it more manageable to handle and more importantly, you will not neglect any area of your home for too long.

Published in: Home advice | Author: Laurel