Owning a home requires more than simply paying your mortgage and property taxes on time. In order to ensure the best ROI, or return on investment for your home, following a homeowners maintenance guide is highly recommended. Ongoing maintenance of your home will not only help you to preserve it in its original condition, but it can also help you to steadily increase your home’s market value over a period of time. Whether you intend to live in your home for a few years or maybe even a few decades, incorporating a homeowners maintenance guide can ensure you are on the right track every step of the way.
The Importance of Homeowner’s Maintenance
Understanding the importance of a homeowners maintenance guide is essential as a homeowner or even as a property investor. Property maintenance is imperative, whether you live in a mild climate region or if you experience all four seasons to the extreme. Maintaining all areas of your home will help to minimize the risk of a major repair or replacement, which can quickly add up in cost. If you want to avoid major expenditures that are preventable in most cases, ongoing maintenance is a must.
Monthly Home Maintenance
The right homeowners maintenance guide will not just include basic tips on how to maintain the home year-round. It should also include tips that are ideal for monthly maintenance. Monthly home maintenance tasks can help you keep track of various areas of your home to determine if there is any work that needs to be addressed and done as quickly as possible. Using a monthly home maintenance checklist will ensure that your home remains in proper working order.
Check Your Furnace Filter
Every month, it is highly recommended to inspect your furnace filter. You should inspect your filter to determine if it requires a new air filter and if it needs to be changed. Listen to your furnace regularly for odd sounds or noises that are unfamiliar to you, as these are likely indicators of a bigger issue that requires inspection.
Inspect Faucets and Plumbing
Take the time to inspect the faucets, sink drains, and the rest of the plumbing throughout your house. Inspecting the plumbing in your home will help you keep an eye on drains for potential slow-draining issues, clogs, or backups. If you notice that a drain is not quite draining properly or is draining too slowly, it may be time for a more thorough inspection. Inspecting your drains and snaking them is one possibility. You can also choose to work with a local plumber to maintain your plumbing year-round with regular snaking services.
Check Water Softener
Check your water softener to ensure it is in proper working order and that it does not require further tweaking or any additions.
Inspect Vents for Potential Blockages
If you have access to all of the vents throughout your home on your own, take the time each month to inspect them for potential blockages or buildup of dirt, dust, and debris. Removing blockages from vents can significantly improve your ventilation system while reducing the amount of stress and strain that is being placed on your HVAC system currently. Inspecting vents and removing blockages can also significantly improve airflow, allowing you to optimize your air conditioning or furnace system.
Inspect Electrical Cords
Each month, inspect the main electrical cords you use each day throughout your home. This will help you to identify potential tears, rips, or even bite marks on cords if you have pets in the home. Inspecting your electrical cords will prevent potential fires or other issues, such as electric shock, from becoming a potential risk. Whenever possible, hide electric cords from your visual field for a clutter-free environment and to minimize the risk of tripping or being shocked by the cord at any time.
Unclog Tubs and Sink Drains if Necessary
If you notice that one of your tubs or sinks is not draining properly, you may need to snake them or work to unclog them yourself if necessary. When inspecting the tubs and sink drains in your home, keep in mind how many of your drains are currently experiencing issues that include clogging and backing up. If you have more than one drain in the same room that is backing up or clogged, you may have a bigger issue at hand that involves your home’s main drain system. When this is the case, it is best to turn to a professional plumbing contractor or local company near you that you can trust and rely on.
Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Keeping your household safe at all times is possible by checking smoke alarms periodically as well as by inspecting any carbon monoxide detectors you currently have installed in your home. Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer, which is why it is so important to invest in carbon monoxide detectors alongside smoke alarms whenever you are investing in a new home. Regardless of the type of home or apartment you are living in, it is always best to ensure that a carbon monoxide detector is working and in place at all times.
Vacuum Heat Vents and Registers
Each month, it is also advisable to spend time vacuuming heat registers and vents in your home. This will help to prevent them from becoming too cached with dust, dirt, and debris. Keeping your heat vents and registers free from dust and debris will also reduce the risk of a potential fire in the home.
Home Improvement Maintenance Checklist
When it comes to using a homeowners maintenance guide, having a standard home improvement maintenance checklist is also advisable. A home improvement maintenance checklist will help you to keep track of potential projects around the home that can help add value to your property while ensuring your home remains in proper condition for years to come.
Inspect Your HVAC System
As a homeowner, having your HVAC system inspected semi-regularly is highly recommended, even if you intend to sell your home on the open market soon. HVAC system inspections can help you to determine just how efficient your system is and whether or not you are due for an upgrade. You can also learn more about potential issues you are experiencing with both your furnace as well as any air conditioning system you have in place.
Have Your Roof Inspected
A roof inspection is essential for a homeowner, even if your roof is relatively new. Regular roof inspections can help you to determine if you require new shingles, flashing, or if you should repair your entire roof completely. Roof repairs and replacements will depend on the type of roof you currently have in place as well as the age of the roof itself. Working alongside professional roofers is a way to quickly learn more about your options based on the type of roof you are interested in for your home.
Stain and Maintain Your Deck
Home improvement projects wouldn’t be complete without heading outside. If you have a deck or a patio, ongoing maintenance is imperative as a homeowner. Maintaining the deck or patio outside of your home will not only allow you to boost curbside appeal, but will keep your home from becoming a potential eyesore to those who live in and around your neighborhood.
If you are not familiar with the process of staining a deck or maintaining a patio, working with professional patio contractors will help to guide you every step of the way.
Summer Maintenance Checklist
When it comes to properly maintaining a home, focusing on specific seasons can help you prioritize what is most important. During the summer, there is a special maintenance checklist to keep in mind to ensure your home remains as visually appealing and as maintained as possible.
Prepare Your Lawn Ahead of Time
Preparing your lawn in the spring or summertime is a great way to maintain the exterior of your home. If you are interested in landscaping or lawn hydroseeding solutions, consider working with a local hydroseeding company. Hydroseeding solutions can help you to expedite your landscaping endeavors as well as any planting you need to have done around the yard.
Regularly Maintain Your Lawn Properly
Maintaining your lawn properly with regular cuts, trims, and landscaping is also essential for a homeowner. Investing in an electric fertilizer spreader is one way to streamline the process of doing so while saving time. Using a fertilizer spreader can also ensure the health of all of your grass and surrounding greenery, even during the spring and fall months.
Update Your Home’s Exterior Fence if Needed
The exterior of your home matters as a homeowner, especially if you intend to place your property on the market any time soon. Consider a brand-new fence installation solution to help transform the look of your home from the outside. Installing a new fence can drastically change the way your home appears from the exterior.
Install an Awning
Investing in residential awnings is another way to maintain your home, especially if you intend to install an awning to protect a porch, deck, or patio you have also built or installed. Awnings can help to preserve additions to the home while simultaneously changing the look of the exterior of your home altogether.
Consider Investing in Alternative Energy Sources
If you are looking for ways to reduce energy waste and costs, consider investing in alternative energy sources. One of the most popular alternative energy sources is the use of solar power. Solar power is one of the fastest-growing alternative energy industries that will help individuals and companies alike to free themselves from the traditional power grid. With solar solutions, you can generate energy from just about any location in the world by the use of the sun’s light and reflection.
Winter Maintenance Checklist
As the colder months begin to arrive, it’s important to prepare your home for snowfall as well as potentially freezing temperatures, depending on your location. Using a winter maintenance checklist will help you stay on track throughout the coldest months of the year.
Prepare Swimming Pools and Ponds
If you have a dip pool in your yard or if your property is home to backyard ponds, it’s important to properly prepare them ahead of time for the winter months. If your backyard ponds currently contain fish, consider how they typically survive during the winter and whether or not you will need to relocate them. If you need to close down your swimming pools or dip pools, you should do so with the proper chemicals and covers in place.
Cover HVAC Units and Systems if Located Outside
If you have any HVAC units and systems located outside of your home, you will need to cover and protect them before the winter arrives. Covering your AC units and HVAC systems will help you to preserve the actual equipment itself while minimizing the risk of potential water damage, leaks, or rusting.
Inspect the Basement for Potential Leaks
A homeowners maintenance guide would not be complete without recommending a complete inspection of your basement before the wintertime arrives. Inspecting your basement is a way to spot potential cracks in your foundation or even leaks, depending on the way your basement is currently set up. Inspecting your basement after a major storm or before the winter months begin to arrive can help you determine what type of services you will require in order to prevent sewage backups, flooding, or other water-related issues that are otherwise preventable.
Thoroughly Clean and Empty Drains
As the winter approaches, it is recommended to take some time to thoroughly clean and empty the drains inside your home. Conducting a complete drain inspection before freezing temperatures begin to arrive will also help you to maintain your peace of mind. Inspecting drains before freezing temperatures start will help pinpoint potential issues that need to be fixed immediately.
As a homeowner, having a homeowners maintenance guide handy at all times is essential, even if you have owned prior homes in the past. The right homeowners maintenance guide is not just useful for simple tasks, but it can help you conduct a complete maintenance check-up on your home year-round. Using a maintenance guide will ensure that your home is in the best condition possible at all times.
