Home maintenance is essential to ensure you and your family are living in a safe and healthy environment. The condition of your home can deteriorate over time. As a result, many problems that will both harm the dwellers inside and make the house inhabitable will likely crop up. These problems can be anything, from minor leaky plumbing pipes and molding to major pest infestation and gas leaks. That’s why it’s vital to follow a home maintenance checklist regularly.
Inspect Your House
In many cases, you won’t notice something is wrong unless you look for it. Work, family, social life, and other obligations can keep you busy and cause you to neglect your home. By the time you notice something is wrong, the situation may be too dire for you to handle.
To prevent a disaster from happening, it’s better to schedule an inspection routine every month. Look out for damages on your siding; cracks or erosion on your masonry stoop, steps, walls, and foundation; and/or signs of wear on your windows, doors, sill, and caps. Check your flooring for softness or instability, especially near exterior doors, in the bathroom, and in the kitchen.
Watch out for water that has collected over time in places where it’s not supposed to, like in your gutter and walls. Inspect your basement, crawl space, and ductwork for anything out of place. Finally, check the condition of the interior and exterior paint of the house.
You don’t need an expert eye to notice all these problems. All you have to do are to thoroughly examine every part of your house and to learn what to look out for. By inspecting your house regularly, you can be aware of and deal with certain problems before they get worse.
Repair or Replace When Necessary
After thoroughly inspecting your house, you’ve likely noticed some of the problems mentioned earlier. Whether it’s a damaged siding or a fading paint, fix the problem immediately to prevent it from snowballing.
Loose or cracked siding can cause water and pests to get into your walls, as well as encourage the development of mildew, fungus, and mold. This can damage your walls in the long run, costing you hundreds to thousands on renovation fees.
The same goes for leaking fixtures and malfunctioning electronics. Dripping faucets and phantom flushing toilets can waste a lot of water and add to your water bills, while damaged electronics can cause dangerous fires or blackouts.
You can prevent certain problems from arising by installing measures in your home. For example, insulating your attic can seal up cracks, preventing moisture and pests from coming in, and help keep the house warm, which saves energy from heating.
Installing an all-purpose grinding pump helps manage the wastewater flowing from all your bathroom fixtures (e.g., bathtub, toilet, sink, washing machine, etc.) to your sewage system or septic tank.
Preventing damages and problems is always better and more cost-effective than fixing them.
Change Air Filter
Keep the indoor air quality clean by regularly checking your air filters and changing them when necessary. Ventilators suck in dust and other particles to keep you from breathing them in, and most of these pollutants stick to your air filter.
A dirty air filter prevents not just your ventilator but also your whole HVAC system from working properly. It allows more pollutants to suffuse the air indoors, which can result in sudden bouts of illnesses in the family. It can also damage your HVAC system when left unchanged for too long.
Make sure to change your air filter regularly. If you’re using the cheap fiberglass kind, it’s usually recommended to change it every 30 days. High-end pleated filters can last longer for up to 6 months, but if there are children, elderly, and/or allergic, asthmatic, or sick patients at home, the filter should be changed every 6 weeks or so.
Insulate Plumbing Pipes
People love to use warm water to take a shower or bath, wash their hands, and do their laundry. Warm water is accessible in most homes, courtesy of water heaters.
From the heater, warm water travels through plumbing pipes before it reaches your faucet and your shower. As it travels, it can lose its heat because of the cold temperature of the pipes. Sometimes, the water also takes longer to flow.
Insulating your plumbing pipes can prevent this from happening. You can use insulating foam to cover your plumbing pipes so warm water can travel faster from the heater to the fixture while it maintains its temperature. Pipe insulation also prevents leaks from happening, so you get two benefits in one.
Keep Moisture and Mold under Control
Moisture, coupled with humidity, is a huge problem for homeowners. For one, exposure to damp environments can have a negative impact on your health, including respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies, asthma, and certain skin conditions. Babies, children, elderly people, sick patients, and immunocompromised persons are particularly vulnerable to these harmful effects.
Dampness can also bring about molding, which can also have its own adverse effects to you and your family’s health. As such, make sure to check for molding using a mold detection kit to properly diagnose and resolve the problem.
Solve the root cause of the problem by preventing moisture and humidity from building up inside. Fix leaky pipes and fixtures immediately, and seal any cracks in your home. Ventilate your bathroom and kitchen during and after use. Waterproof and insulate your home.
Clean Your House Regularly
Regular cleaning is the easiest way you can maintain your house. Vacuum your floor and carpets at least twice a week to get rid of dust and air pollutants that may cause you to get sick. Wipe and disinfect surfaces (e.g., tables, counters, vanities, sinks, etc.) for the same reason, as well as for maintaining the appearance and condition.
Wash your curtains, covers, runners, etc. to prevent the growth of germs. Maintain the cleanliness of your home in order to create a safe and healthy environment for you and your family.
Final Word
If you want to live in a clean environment and extend the life span of your current home, follow a home maintenance checklist regularly. Time, usage, and other factors can gradually cause a decline in your home’s condition, but maintenance can lessen the impact and restore its condition. Whether it’s cleaning regularly or inspecting your home, it’s your responsibility as the dweller to maintain your home.