Your Guide to Home Maintenance

Your Guide to Home Maintenance

Whether you just built a home for yourself or you have been cherishing your home for a couple of years, you cannot ignore home maintenance. Most of you may think of it as a tedious process, and rightly so because let’s be honest none of us have a solid checklist to follow. Every home demands different type of care and attention, depending on seasons, circumstances, and your area to keep it as fresh as it was on the first day.

While you can do repair and maintenance yourself, you might want to consider hiring professional help for tasks that are not your forte. First Energy Help is one such service that can help you out when you need professional maintenance. As for the things you could do yourself, here is a list you could follow:

Look for Ice Dams in Winter

This is an especially important task if you live in a place that remains cold most of the year. Snow may build ice in your gutters and lower roofs. Snow may also cause your hose bibs to get clogged. You need to take care of these in winter and management them if any blockage has occurred as it will eventually damage your home.

Look for Pooled Water in Your Lawn

While most of us love to have lawns in our home, we often forget the management they need at different times of the year. A lawn is one of the most important features of your home. It is essential because for any visitor it is the first impression of your home. During winters, make sure that it does not pool up with water and damage your plants. In the spring, you may want to ensure that the branches and plants are trimmed and not entangled with power lines. Ensure your lawn and yard has a good drainage system to prepare for monsoon.

Electrical Wiring

This is not only essential only to keep maintain the aesthetics of your home, but it may cause severe damage to people and property if not given the attention that it needs. It is essential to check whether the lines to your power pole are in a good condition. Keep an eye out for broken wires, confusing connections, electrical sparks etc.  and fix them as soon as possible. This way you can ensure that no one gets hurt and you do not have to bear unexpected power outages or electrical surges.

Keep your Basement Clean

Basement is an important part of a house, which often goes neglected. It is usually the area where we feel lazy to keep up with the maintenance. Winter is a great time to clean and manage your basement since you are mostly indoors to avoid freezing cold. Every three months ensure that sediment rings are cleaned in basement bathrooms, toilets are flushed and the sink taps are in working condition.

Fire Extinguishers

Nothing could be more disastrous than a fire engulfing your home and you running out on fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are an essential part of your home, so you have to ensure every month that they are pressurized correctly and work properly at the time of an emergency. Similarly, you should also take into account that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are also working correctly. If need be, replace their batteries. This is extremely essential, especially you have kids at home.

Avoid Flooding

Flooding can be a big risk, especially when living in a place like the US. This could be seen from the fact that the US drinking water infrastructure got a grade D in its report by The American Society for Civil since there were 240,000 water main breaks per year.

It is essential to keep your home safe from the after effects of flooding. During winters ensure that the ground next to your home is graded away so that water does not rush inside your house during heavy rainfall. You should also keep an eye on your water heater’s temperature valve if it is expelling water. If it is, then you should connect it to a relief tube as soon as you can to prevent flooding and damage to your home. In summers, you should flush your water heater to prevent any sediment collecting inside.

Take Care of Wooden Frames

It is important to take care of wooden frames, especially during monsoon. Use wood sealant to protect so they don’t rot away in hot and humid conditions. If you live somewhere near the sea this is something you should ensure every few months regardless of the season. It is also necessary to see which places need to be re-painted in your home. Window sills, outdoor deck may require your special attention every few years.

In Conclusion

While we have mentioned some of the most important points in this article, a few more minor ones include cleaning debris from window wells, using vinegar to clear sediment in sinks and shower heads, checking dryer vent to ensure it is working properly, checking water softener to make sure it does not require salt, and installing storm windows. These things can help in the maintenance of your house. Just like you, your home also needs to be taken care of. It is essential for a wholesome and healthy living.