Preventive Home Maintenance Tasks You Should Get Done

As a homeowner, you want your home to last. It’s probably the biggest type of purchase you’re ever going to make in your life, so it makes sense to want to get good use out of it. A house isn’t going to last and stay in good condition all on its own though. It needs some help from you. To keep your house in good repair, you must keep up on preventative home maintenance tasks.

Roof Repair

The roof of your house is one of your home’s first lines of defense against the elements. It shelters you and your belongings from the sun, wind, rain, snow, and whatever else nature feels like throwing your way. Eventually, it all takes a toll on the roof. If you don’t want to suddenly find water coming through your ceiling, it’s important to take the time to make sure your roof stays in good condition. Ideally, you should have your roof inspected yearly. The best time is during the fall before winter weather sets in. That will notify you of any issues that need your attention. Be aware that when it comes to roof repair unless you are comfortable on a roof and are sure you know what you’re doing, it’s best to call a roofing professional to handle maintenance and repairs. Your safety isn’t something to gamble with.

Upgrade Your Plumbing System

Water is powerful. When properly channeled via your plumbing, it handles laundry, dishwashing, baths and showers, and tons of other tasks all day, every day. If something goes wrong, though, you could be in for quite a mess. It’s important to check your plumbing system regularly to make sure it’s in good working order. Check for leaks and consider whether or not it’s a good idea to insulate your pipes . Beyond that, consider upgrading your plumbing with water-efficient toilets, faucets, and showerheads. This will help you conserve water, simultaneously reducing your impact on the environment and your utility bills.

Install a New HVAC

HVAC systems typically last around 15 years . Their lifespan can be extended through regular care and maintenance tasks, such as regularly replacing the filter and scheduling regular tune-ups. If you pay attention, you’ll notice signs that indicate when it’s time to replace your old system with a new one. Such signs include things like funny noises or smells, poor air quality, increased utility bills, more dust throughout your home, difficulty maintaining comfortable temperatures, and increasingly costly repair bills. At a certain point, your old system will become more trouble than it’s worth, meaning it’s time to have a new one installed.

Driveway Repair

Driveways are commonly made from gravel, concrete, or asphalt. Regardless of what material it’s made from, it’s important to keep it in good repair. This helps keep your home looking nice and helps protect your car from damage over time. For gravel driveways, that can be as simple as raking and leveling the gravel periodically. It gets a little more complicated for concrete and asphalt. Both are subject to cracking and pitting that can quickly grow into bigger problems, so it’s important to stay on top of driveway repairs. You should sealcoat your asphalt if you want to prevent major damage from occurring. For concrete driveways, you can use a concrete mix to repair cracks.

Test Your Sprinkler System

Before the weather becomes cold and winter sets in, you know it’s important to winterize your sprinklers . This empties the water from your system so it doesn’t freeze, expand, and burst the piping. If all goes well, you should be able to turn your sprinklers back on in the spring and be good to go. Even if you’re sure you did everything right though, it’s best to test the system before setting it for the season. Make sure all your sprinkler heads are working properly and that you don’t have water leaking out of the system somewhere. You’ll avoid unnecessary water waste that way and make sure your lawn is getting the water it needs.

Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

If you’ve ever heard an obnoxiously loud beep go off somewhere in your home, seemingly at random, you’ve probably found yourself grumbling about annoying smoke detectors whose batteries seem to die at the most inopportune times. As frustrating as hunting down which detector has the dead batteries can be, making sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functioning properly is an essential safety task. It can take as little as five minutes for an entire house to be engulfed in flames. The fact that a lot of materials within the house are synthetic and burn quickly doesn’t help anything. You don’t have a lot of time to get out of a burning house, so your smoke alarms greatly increase your chances of survival. So do your carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide doesn’t have any taste or odor, so you aren’t likely to notice it without the detector. Make no mistake - carbon monoxide poisoning is deadly. If your detector goes off, it’s time to get out.

Trim Any Trees

Returning to your exterior property, if you have any trees on your property, it’s important to keep them trimmed. This can help protect the health and strength of the tree, keep your property cleaner, and prevent overhanging branches from falling and crushing your property. Falling branches can cause major roof damage, so it’s especially important to remove overhanging branches. Most people don’t have the knowledge or tools to properly remove large branches without harming the tree, so if that’s what you’re dealing with, call for professional help.

Regular home maintenance is the key to ensuring that your home stays standing strong for decades. There are a wide variety of tasks that need doing, and as the homeowner, it’s your responsibility to see that they get done. Your home is one of the most significant investments you’re likely to make during your lifetime. Take good care of it so it can take good care of you.

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