You just bought a home; you’re cooling off from all the hustle and bustle of the transaction. You’re moving in and creating a space for you and your family to enjoy. It’s exciting, but one thing you might not be aware of right away is home maintenance. Your new home might be in great shape, but it’s worth taking the time to ensure it’s up to snuff.
A Home Warranty is Your Best Friend
Though a home warranty can protect homeowners when it comes to repairs and maintenance, you should actually do a check of these potential repairs yourself. You should do regular maintenance to avoid bigger problems which can lead to huge expenses.
When to Look
Look seasonally, monthly, yearly, and even further to make your home a safe place for your family. Check your appliances, security, electrical, heating, and cooling systems monthly. If any of these repairs go beyond your skill, ask an expert or a professional to check and fix it for you. Use our checklist to keep your home as safe as possible!
Home Maintenance to Perform Monthly
Inspecting your home monthly turns the whole exercise of maintenance easy to track and manage, and it doesn’t require a lot of work. You can easily implement a monthly home maintenance checklist which includes the following:
- Check that faucet and shower heads are clean to remove any mineral deposits.
- Test the smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, all ground fault circuits, and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they are functional in case of an eventuality.
- Inspect all home electrical cords for wear.
- Regularly check and unlock outdoor air vents.
- Check and remove all accumulated sediments from the water heaters.
- Clean the furnace filters which removes dust build-up and regulates your home’s temperature.
Home Maintenance to Perform in the Fall
The fall provides a great environment to perform outdoor maintenance. It’s not too hot, and it’s not yet too cold! Here are some of the home safety maintenance tips for fall:
- Seal all gaps and cracks in doors and windows with weather stripping.
- Check the roof and replace loose or damaged shingles and leaks.
- Remove all waste/debris from gutters and downspouts.
- Ask the help of a professional to inspect your home fireplace.
- Check and replace if necessary the batteries in carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
- Inspect and fix loose handles and locks.
- Check and fix worn out cords and wires.
- Check that the water heater is okay and has no leaks.
- Rake leaves and mow the lawn to maintain its quality.
- Ask a professional to inspect your home heating system in late summer or early fall before the onset of the cold season begins.
Home Maintenance to Perform in Winter
Winter can be pretty harsh for most homeowners. The extremely cold temperatures can cause a whole lot of problems including pipes breaks, roof damages, and frozen pipes, among others. To ensure safety at home during the winter season, be sure to check these items off your checklist:
- Inspect basements for leaks during ice thaws.
- Vacuum refrigerator and freezer coils and empty and clean drip trays.
- Be sure your air conditioning unit is covered.
- Check your roof, gutters, and downspouts for after storm damages.
- Clean drains in sinks, tubs, showers, and dishwashers.
- Vacuum bathroom exhaust fan grills.
Home Maintenance to Perform in Spring
As the ground thaws and trees begin to bud, you are sure that spring is around the corner. In addition to your spring cleanups in your home, there are extra spring home maintenance tips you can address in a few easy steps. Following this maintenance checklist will ensure that you are safe during spring from the basement to your rooftop.
- Check that your roof doesn’t have loose or damaged shingles and leaks.
- Inspect and replace if necessary the air conditioning filter.
- Dust light fixtures and polish wooden assets.
- Refinish the deck.
- Remove leaves and debris from gutters and downspouts.
- Inspect and replace in necessary the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Carry out an inspection for sinks, shower, bath caulking for tear.
- Vacuum lint from dryer vent.
- Insect home chimney for damage and carry out replacement or repairs.
- Check sprinkler heads and remove insulation from outdoor faucets.
- Service the home air-conditioning system.
- Drain or flush your water heater.
Maintenance to Perform in Summer
When the warm weather finally arrives, you’ll want to do another round of maintenance.
- Lubricate all door hinges.
- Check and remove lint from inside and outside washer hoses and dryer vents.
- Inspect and clean refrigerator and freezer coils.
- Empty and clean drip trays.
- Inspect and replace interior and exterior faucet and shower head washers.
- Trim tree and shrubs around the home.
- Check for leaks from kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
- Inspect kitchen exhaust fan filter and replace if necessary
- Trim trees and shrubs.
A Warranty Can Protect You
The best part about a home warranty, especially when getting it after moving into a new house, is that it can prepare you for anything that may come your way. It’s a very simple process to get a home warranty and you can expect it to be a positive experience, since they want to make sure all the wear and tear in your house costs you less money.
About the Author
Kristina Marshall is a stay-at-home blogger. After having kids, she began sharing some of her DIY tricks for around the house with people in the community. She initially started by answering some questions on Yahoo and Quora, and now she writes full articles on tips for around the house, lifestyle tips, and more.