Home Maintenance Checks You Shouldn't Be Skipping

Home maintenance is not just a huge undertaking but a vital responsibility for any homeowner. It's about ensuring your home is in a good state of repair and providing a safe living environment. Neglecting to keep up with home maintenance not only poses a hazard to occupants and visitors but can also invalidate your homeowner insurance. To be covered in the event of damage, you must maintain a certain level of repairs. This proactive approach to home maintenance is a sign of responsible homeownership.

This post is going to take a dive into the kind of jobs you should be doing regularly or, at the very least, annually to ensure your home is habitable, safe, and well cared for.

Roof and Gutters

Ideally, you should clean out your gutters periodically or at least inspect for debris buildup and damage. Your gutters are instrumental in directing water away from the building safely. If they are unable to do this, then there is a high chance that water will infiltrate the building, causing massive amounts of damage if left unchecked or unrepaired.

Debris, such as leaves and other materials, when left, can provide the perfect breeding ground for plants to grow if seeds find their way into your gutters via the wind. These plants can cause massive damage to your gutters, rendering them useless and a massive headache to rectify. Likewise, damaged guttering won't repair itself, and the issues will only continue to worsen until you address the damaged, missing, or cracked gutters to restore functionality. You want to check your gutters seasonally to ensure nothing is building up in them or have a professional gutter cleaning service come out and check them over on your behalf.

The same goes for your roof. Damage to the roof allows water to penetrate the building and what was once your property's main source of protection is now a roof with damage and your home’s biggest enemy. From allowing water to enter as well as wildlife and debris, failing to address a roof in need of repairs can be costly and extremely hazardous to your home and health. Contact companies like Superior Gutters and Roofing to learn how they can assist you in maintaining, repairing, or replacing your damaged gutters or roof for comprehensive protection throughout the year.

Dryer Vents

Dryer vents are one of the leading causes of house fires in the country, and on average, there are 1,500 house fires stemming from clogged vents each year. As you use your dryer, the lint can build up in the vent, and if it's not cleared, it can result in a build of volatile gases. 

This gas can be highly flammable, and in the right (or wrong) circumstances, it can trigger a residential fire. Checking your dryer vent on a regular basis can help prevent this buildup; alternatively, you can have a professional service provider take care of this task for you. While it may seem like a thankless task, knowing that professional services are available can provide a sense of relief, making this essential task more manageable.

Warning signs that you need to check your vent include higher-than-usual dryer heat, a new odor from the dryer, washing taking longer to dry, or strange noises coming from the appliance. While not all of these issues are caused by clogged vents, it's worth checking just to be safe.

Exterior Repairs

Exterior repairs are those repairs that impact the functionality of your home from the outside. It can be the siding on your property, as well as the decking, brick, or wood aspects of the structure, including windows, doors, screens, chimneys, and pathways. The longer the damage is left unaddressed, the greater the risk it will become a danger or a hazard, especially during extreme weather scenarios.

Take some time to go outside and look at different aspects of the property. From your pathway to your structure and external doors, window frames, etc, and note any damage. Once you know the condition of everything, you can put plans in place for repairs. 

Landscaping and Fencing

You should take a walk around the grounds of your home on a regular basis, including all areas within your property line, to check for any issues. 

Damaged or diseased trees, for example, fence panels that are damaged or have missing parts, overgrown lawns, and so on. These tasks can build up quickly if not addressed on a regular basis, and you should regularly check your landscaping to maintain and upkeep it, ensuring it does not pose a threat to the property or your family. Fix any broken fences and safety features around pools or water features, mow the lawn, remove weeds that can be hazardous to pets, and so on. The more you pay attention to the small details, the fewer larger issues you will have to deal with.

HVAC Maintenance

Regular HVAC maintenance is not just about keeping your system in good condition; it's also a smart financial decision. Ideally, you will want to get your HVAC serviced annually, preferably when you don't rely on it the most. I.e., not the height of summer or when temperatures drop too much. Neglecting to carry out repairs or regular servicing can put more stress on the system, and this added strain can drive up bills, increase the risk of failure of the parts or the unit entirely, and leave you without any heating and cooling whatsoever. By investing in regular maintenance, you can avoid these costly scenarios and ensure the longevity of your HVAC system, making you a prudent homeowner.

Throughout the year, you can protect the health and performance of your HVAC by checking filters, removing any debris built from external units, ensuring vents are free and clear for maximum airflow, and paying attention to odd noises or changes in performance that might indicate damage or at the very least warrant a professional taking a closer look.

Electrical Circuits

Like your HVAC system, you need to have an annual electrical inspection to ensure that your circuit is functioning correctly and is not damaged or at risk of failure. Electricity can cause massive damage, and prevention is often better than cure when it comes to repairs for your electrical system. An annual service can inspect the entire system and identify any issues or potential problems. Practicing safe electricity usage and handling, as well as recognizing the warning signs of a problem, can help you avoid issues such as electrical fires or electrical shocks to people or pets.

Exposed wiring, constantly flickering lights, stripped switches, walls that are too close to touch sockets, and even strange smells that are hard to pinpoint are all warning signs that your electrical system is not healthy and needs further investigation and repairs.

Structural Checks

Structural checks are essential checks that help you assess the condition and stability of the frame of your house. Over time, structural integrity can be compromised in many ways, from the ground shifting to poor constriuction or materials to incorrect DIY or repairs or damage from other forces, and the last thing you want is to be living in a property that can potentially collapse at any given moment.

Signs of structural damage may include sagging floors or roofs, doors and windows that stick in their frames, uneven gaps around windows and doors, cracks in walls and ceilings, bulging walls, sloping floors, and chimney cracks, among others. Check for these signs on a regular basis, take note of any significant changes to how your home operates, and address any considerable changes or issues with the structure of the building as a matter of urgency.

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