With all the celebrations during the holidays, it’s not surprising that many homeowners may have forgotten about taking care of their homes. But as we welcome the new year, it’s time to get down to it and ensure your home is in tip-top condition by doing some maintenance work. Doing so will save you from the headaches of dealing with more expensive repairs if and when minor problems worsen.
Home maintenance work can be daunting for many, especially if you have no idea where to start. Fortunately, we have articles like this to help homeowners with this necessary task.
The Perks of Maintaining the Home
Most homeowners hire a cleaning crew or avail of home maintenance services to help them with the house cleaning work. However, doing the cleaning yourself has been found to be highly therapeutic. Other than that, you can enjoy the following benefits:
1. Increased Property Value
House hunters are picky when looking for a home to buy, which is understandable since it’s a huge investment. If you’re planning to sell your property now or in the near future, having a home maintenance checklist can guide you through the process of inspecting your home for any signs of damage and do the necessary repairs before a potential buyer visits your home. As we all know, awell-maintained homewill attract more buyers, thus, allowing you to sell the house at a higher price.
2. Reduced Energy Consumption
Home insulation plays a crucial role in providing comfort for your family. If your home is not properly insulated, the heat or the cool air can escape, necessitating your heating and cooling devices to work doubly hard to maintain a comfortable temperature inside, which naturally will result in higher utility bills.
That’s why ensuring that your home’s insulation is in great shape is important. Aside from the insulation on your walls and ceilings, schedule an inspection of the windows, doors, and other openings and make sure that there aren’t any cracks where air can escape. Adding these to your home maintenance checklist will not only make your home more comfortable throughout the year but will save you money from lower energy consumption as well.
3. Improved Home Safety
A poorly-maintained house is susceptible to damage which can lead to disasters like fires. A2014-2016 reportshowed that 39% of home fires during the covered period were due to electrical failure, resulting in the death of more than 400 people and over 1,000 injuries. The numbers imply that maintaining your home not only prevents fires but, even more importantly, it can also save lives.
4. Less Stress
If you perform regular home maintenance inspections, you can spot potential problems early on before they become more severe. For instance, a small leak in your basement can quickly worsen and cause more damage in other parts of your property, causing you more stress.
5. Savings
Regular home maintenance minimizes the chance of repairs, which can be costly. Ideally, your home maintenance checklist should include inspecting your furniture and appliances to make them last longer. At the start of the year, check the house quickly, note any minor problems, and add the necessary upgrades in due time.
Home Maintenance Calendar
Below are the things you need to be mindful of when maintaining the home daily, monthly, and annually.
1. Daily Cleaning
Before getting into the actual cleaning work, some preparations are needed to minimize clutter, helping lessen distractions during the cleaning process. To do this, organization is recommended, so prepare a few boxes and mark them as follows:
- A box for stuff to be donated
- A box for stuff to be repaired
- A box for stuff to be put away
With the boxes marked accordingly, you can start with the following daily cleaning tasks:
- Dusting – Using a feather duster or a broom, dust every house corner, especially the walls where one can often find cobwebs. Do the same thing under the chairs, tabletop, and cushions. Wear protective gear when dusting to prevent inhaling allergens and dust mites.
- Clothes Inventory – Organize your clothes according to season and place them in a storage box when not used. Look for clothes you haven’t used for years and either upcycle or donate them to thrift stores. If you have old clothes with holes, repurpose them as rags for your kitchen.
- Medicine Cabinet Clearing – Throw away any medicine stored for more than six months. Retain any medicine that is still good, and dispose of empty bottles.
- Shoes Sorting – Check each shoe for signs of damage, look for old ones that you can donate to thrift stores, and throw away those that are beyond repair.
- Kitchen Appliances Cleaning -Appliances and rarely used kitchenware should be cleaned as they collect grime and dust.
- Car Cleaning – Detailing involves meticulously cleaning a car’s exterior and interior. The process usually takes a whole day, depending on how much dirt, dust, or snow has covered the vehicle.
- High-Touch Surfaces Disinfection – door knobs, faucets, light switches, cabinet handles, kitchen appliances, toilet handles, and tabletops are just some of the things in your home considered high-touch surfaces. A simple wipe using a rag with a disinfectant will go a long way in preventing diseases from spreading in your household.
2. Monthly Cleaning
Some house cleaning chores are not necessary every day; some, of which are listed below, can be done every month:
- Clean the Filters – Cleaning the HVAC filtration system every month ensures that the air you breathe inside your home remains clean and allergen-free. Failure to do so can cause mold spores and other contaminants to enter your HVAC systems, leading to malfunctions and the spread of allergens.
- Clean the Disposal – Modern sinks include garbage disposals where food particles are grounded into small, fine pieces to prevent clogging. These units should be cleaned monthly to ensure that the blades remain in top condition and that huge chunks don’t get stuck in the machines.
- Check the Pipes – The piping system in your home works nonstop to provide you with quality water while keeping unwanted water away from your property. Thus, it is vital to make sure all the pipes are in good working condition. If not, you could end up with leaks and other piping problems that necessitate costly repairs.
3. Annual Cleaning
It is more of a maintenance check rather than cleaning, and it should be done at least annually. An option you can consider, though, is preparing a seasonal home maintenance checklist, which you can refer to each time a new season begins. Some things you can include in the list are changing the batteries of yoursmoke detectorsand checking the water heater to ensure that the pressure valve remains intact.
Key Takeaway
The start of a new year signals the start of new beginnings, and the best way to manifest this is by doing some home cleaning and maintenance work. The tasks included in the checklist above are necessary to ensure that your home is in excellent condition.
Furthermore, the average cost of home maintenance is less compared to most repair jobs. Thus, doing the cleaning and maintenance work is more cost-effective. A minor leak, for instance, can worsen over time and result in water damage, in which case you will need the help of a reputable water mitigation company.
Deep Water Emergency Services and Mitigation can provide you with an affordable water damage mitigation plan.
It’s not uncommon for many homeowners to ignore leaks in their faucets and pipes. However, such an attitude can be risky because leaks can lead to water damage. Yet, if the disaster does occur, you can count on Deep Water Emergency Services and Mitigation to help you recover from water damage as soon as possible.
Our professionalDenver water damage mitigationteam can restore any water-logged area, repair the damage it caused to your property, and sanitize the whole place to ensure your safety. Call us now for quotations and questions.
