Maintenance Tips for New Homeowners

If you are a first-time homeowner, you probably need as many home maintenance tips that you can get.

You worked very hard to save enough money for your dream home. Now that you are a proud homeowner, your primary concern is learning how to properly take care of your home. After all, maintaining your own home is a lot different than taking care of a rented apartment unit. 

Having said that, following is a home maintenance guide/checklist for the new homeowner:

Quarterly or Monthly

·      HVAC Filter Replacement – The frequency of changing your HVAC filter will depend on your household. If you take care of pets and you have household members with allergies, you should change filters monthly. Otherwise, changing filters quarterly would be fine.

·      Fridge Coil Cleaning – Your fridge has coils under or behind the unit that get dusty, causing the motor to work double time. By regularly vacuuming the gunk, you can save power and prolong the useful life of your appliance.

Bi-annually

·      Routine HVAC Maintenance – Have a professional HVAC technician perform a routine HVAC maintenance in your home twice each year. Have your furnace tuned up in early fall, and your air con in early spring.

·      Dryer Vent Clearing – Lint accumulates in the pipe from the dryer to outside your home. Over time, this creates a fire hazard. If you’re not confident about cleaning the vent yourself, you can hire a contractor for the job.

·      Checking CO2 and Smoke Detectors – To be sure your fire monitoring equipment are in good working condition, push the test buttons and replace batteries from time to time.

Annually

·      Having a Snow Plow Plan in Place – If it snows in your area, don’t wait until you’re stranded before figuring out how to get rid of snow in your driveway. As early as fall, schedule snow plow service or have a snow blower. This way, you’ll be ready for winter.

·      Having a Lawn Mowing Plan – Extremely long grass is an invitation for bugs and rodents to attack your yard. Get a lawn mower early in spring or schedule a lawn mowing service.

·      Checking Your Indoor and Outdoor Caulking – There’s caulking all over you home: in your doors and windows, and around your sinks and tubs. Caulking is important in protecting your home. Closely check your caulking every year, and whenever necessary. 

·      Touching Up Exterior Paint – House pain protects your siding, aside from making your home look good. Repainting your entire house may not be necessary; just scrape peeled paint and repaint exposed siding. 

·      Staining and Sealing the Deck – Your deck needs annual re-staining and resealing. Fall is the ideal time for the job as the weather is cooler. Your deck will also be protected in winter. 

·      Testing Your Sump Pump – Make sure your sump pump is in good condition all the time as it protects your home from floods. 

·      Draining the Water Heater – The sediment that builds up over time can shorter the useful life of your water heater. Annual draining can help prevent potential damage. More frequent draining may be necessary if you have hard water.

As Necessary

·      Cleaning the Gutters – Clogged gutters can be quite troublesome. They can allow ice dam buildup, pose threats to your house’s foundation, and allow mosquitoes to breed. Although fall is the usual time for gutter cleaning because of the falling leaves, cleaning more often may be a good idea.

·      Deep Cleaning of the Entire House – Grime and dirt can damage home appliances, mask odors that may indicate problems in your home, and hide required repairs. Depending on your household’s and home’s size, and if you own pets, you may need to clean your home more often. 

Homeownership and maintaining your home can be fun. But, not all maintenance tasks can be done DIY-style. Some tasks are best left to the pros.