…and we’re back!  Last week, we discussed the importance of home maintenance and how a proper maintenance routine can save you considerable money while also improving quality of life and boosting the market value of your property.

Now it’s time to take a look at how you can practically implement your maintenance strategy.

 

The Importance of Seasonal Maintenance

When it comes to implementing your maintenance strategy, you will want to focus on seasonal readiness. Like most things in life, your home’s upkeep needs change with the weather. This is why seasonal maintenance is one of the most reliable ways to ensure that you are saving money on utility bills, avoiding those big-ticket costs, and creating a comfortable and safe home for you and your family.

For that reason, Divvy has created a seasonal checklist that will help you organize and execute all your tasks to match each season’s specific needs. [1] Since spring has just sprung, let’s start there!

Spring 

• Inspect and clean your gutters
• Clear your landscape of dead trees and shrubs
• Replace the furnace’s air filter
• Inspect the home exterior to see if the winter weather affected it
• Blow out your sprinkler system and restart all outdoor water sources
• Uncover and check all exterior faucets for leaks or damages
• Repair cracked, broken or uneven driveways and walkways to prevent trips and falls
• Check the shutoff valve at the water main and every plumbing fixture to ensure they are without leaks
• Ensure your fire extinguisher is both accessible and operable. The average fire extinguisher should last for approximately five to fifteen years. If you do not have one, purchase one promptly. A fire extinguisher costs between $20-$40 depending on size and can save thousands of dollars in damage along with the countless irreplaceable items in your home
• Clean the lint building from the clothes dryer’s exhaust duct, damper and underneath your dryer to prevent fires

 Summer

• Inspect the foundations, decks, patios and exterior stairs for pests
• Ensure no vegetation has built around your foundation and windows to reduce critter and bug infestation

 Fall

• Flush your water heater and remove sediment
• Turn off and flush outdoor water faucets and remove hoses
• Inspect and clean your chimney to ensure it’s ready for winter use
• Inspect and replace furnace air filter at the onset of cold temperatures

Winter

• Inspect for ice dams and icicles weekly
• Inspect and replace furnace air filters monthly
• Clean/vacuum wall and floor registers and fans

 

 

Monthly Maintenance

While it is essential to maintain a specific seasonal strategy, you should also supplement those tasks with ongoing monthly maintenance duties. This ongoing monthly work is critical regardless of the season and therefore must be executed consistently to ensure you are getting the most mileage out of your maintenance duties.

 

Monthly To Do’s

• Check and test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Replace batteries or the entire unit when necessary.
• Snake and clean all drains as necessary, including tubs, showers, and sinks. This routine cleaning will help avoid costly plumbing problems in the future.
• Check heating, ventilation, air-conditioning or HVAC units and change filters when necessary to keep your system running at maximum efficiency. Checking your filters becomes especially critical if you reside in a warmer climate and run your AC unit throughout the year.
• Clean your dishwasher screen to get rid of trapped food particles that can block water flow and affect efficiency.

 

Why Home Maintenance Matters

Home maintenance is a critical ingredient to ensuring that your property is safe and comfortable, while also saving you from costly expenses and helping increase the value of your home.

We hope that this information has been helpful and can serve as a foundation for your own home maintenance routine. While it may seem like a lot of work, the benefits are enormous. You can’t afford not to invest in home maintenance.

Remember there are many ways to make home maintenance fun: listen to music or a great audiobook can make the time go by or consider making home maintenance duties a family bonding chore. There are countless ways to turn the above into a fun activity instead of just another dreaded item on your to-do list.  For how-to help, YouTube videos are great visual instructional guides on how to best perform some of the previously mentioned tasks.

So now that spring is upon us, there’s never been a better time to put on some fun work clothes, get out there in the sun and work hard to ensure that your home is the best it possibly can be!

[1] https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/seasonal-home-maintenance-checklist/

Photo credit: Royalty-free stock photo ID: 777733171, Bubbers BB