Start the New Year off right by committing to take the necessary steps to avoid expensive repairs in 2014. Performing routine maintenance on your home will save you from future headaches and wasted money. With this being said, the New Year is the perfect time to thoroughly clean and care for your home’s interior while taking a few precautionary measures on the outside. I have put together a list of, what I believe to be, the most essential home maintenance tasks.
Interior:
- Clean kitchen appliances inside and out, including refrigerator coils.
- Maintain clean drains by adding one-half-cup of baking soda ollowed by one-half-cup of white vinegar. After 10 minutes, flush with boiling water.
- Lubricate squeaky door hinges with lightweight machine oil. Free sticky doors by trimming edges or shimming hinges with thin pieces of cardboard.
- Have your chimney checked and serviced by a licensed contractor at least once a year to guard against chimney fires.
- Check smoke detectors, fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and replace batteries to ensure they are operating properly.
- Make a room-by-room inventory of everything in your house. In the event of fire, flood or other disaster, it will be important in filing an insurance claim. Photographs or video of your possessions can also be helpful.
Exterior:
- Remove all debris from gutters.
- Maintain your steps and handrails.
- Inspect your roof for damaged or loose shingles; gaps in the flashing where the roofing and siding meet vents and flues; and damaged mortar around the chimney.
- Inspect exterior walls, looking for possible weather-related damage such as cracks and loose/crumbling mortar.
- Double-check insulation around exterior pipes that are exposed to freezing weather to be certain that water cannot seep under the insulation.
Whether you prefer to perform regular maintenance on your home yearly, quarterly, or monthly, doing so is sure to pay off! Last but definitely not least; in addition to maintaining your home, homeowners should get a comparative market analysis on their home every 2-3 years. For help with your comparative market analysis, please feel free to give me a call!
**photo courtesy of https://homeprosgroupedmonton.com**
