Top 10 Home Maintenance Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

Table of Contents

1. Home Maintenance Tips
2. Troubleshoot Your HVAC
3. Clean Your Wood Burning Fireplace & Chimney
4. Stay On Top of Your Roof Maintenance
5. Inspect Your Attic
6. Touch Up on Exterior Paint
7. Block Drafts
8. Check Your Smoke Detectors
9. Clean Your Gutters
10. Trim the Vegetation
11. Check Crawl Space for Water

Whether you have just moved into your new house or have been living there for quite some time, regular maintenance is crucial to keep your house in top-notch condition. Home maintenance preserves your home value and ensures maximum comfort for you and your family.

Home Maintenance Tips

However, despite the advantages, many homeowners routinely put off small and inexpensive fixes. While you may not see the impact of neglecting a few tasks here and there, they can lead to costly home repairs such as leaky roofs, overflowing gutters, and faulty HVAC systems.

So, to help you avoid bigger problems and keep all the tasks easy and manageable, we have rounded up the top 10 home maintenance tips in this handy checklist.

Troubleshoot Your HVAC

Your air conditioning unit plays a vital role in maintaining home temperature every season. Having no heat in winter and no cool air in summer can be miserable. Regular maintenance ensures that your unit stays in good working condition all year round.

Unfortunately, your HVAC can run into issues due to wear and tear despite being in the best care. While you should always call an HVAC technician in case your system stops working, there are some issues that you can fix on your own.

For instance, if you notice that your unit is not blowing warm air, you can start by cleaning your filters and coils and ensuring there’s no refrigerant leak. Moreover, if your AC is leaking water indoors, it’s mostly due to a clogged drain pan. You can try scrubbing it with a wire brush to unclog it.

It’s a good idea to keep a heat pump troubleshooting checklist, so you’re always prepared ahead of any major issue.

Clean Your Wood Burning Fireplace & Chimney

Creosote, a flammable byproduct of wood burning, can build up in fireplaces and chimneys. If you continue to use it without cleaning, it can increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Moreover, if a fireplace hasn’t been used for quite some time, it can accumulate dust.

Inspect your fireplace and clean it thoroughly before use. Seal all the air leaks and install tight-fitting glass to prevent air from entering or escaping. Also, check dampers and blowers and make sure they are working optimally.

After fireplace inspection, look for cracks and loose bricks in your chimney. These issues can interfere with chimney function, so be sure to fix them before starting the fire. It’s better to call a trained chimney sweep as they have specialized equipment and training to handle this task.

Stay On Top of Your Roof Maintenance

Roof maintenance involves checking all the areas that are susceptible to damage. Look for broken or damaged shingles on the roof. Also, inspect cracked caulk or rust spots on roof flashing. A leak in your roof causes water to enter your house via foundation or crawl spaces, leading to rot and structural damage.

Repair the broken shingles by applying a thick layer of roofing sealant under the cracks. In case of damaged shingles, you will have to replace them. The rusted roofing material will also have to be replaced, while a flashing sealant can be used to fill cracks and gaps.

Inspect Your Attic

An attic inspection is important because it allows you to find a problem before it becomes something bigger. In addition, maintaining your attic helps to save energy, reduce moisture and mold problems, and deal with poor indoor air quality issues. Ideally, you should perform the inspection twice a year, every spring and fall, when the weather changes.

When inspecting your attic, take a look at the insulation and see if it’s missing or torn from some areas. Look for signs of moisture and mold; water spots on the floor or insulation are telltale signs you’ve had condensation. Also, check for leaks around vents, plumbing stacks, and the chimney.

Touch Up on Exterior Paint

Besides the aesthetic appeal, the exterior paint also protects your home. It prevents moisture accumulation in the walls and minimizes rotting on wood sidings.

Take a walk around your home and inspect for peeling, chipping, and fading paint. Also, look for bubbling paint due to water damage. Check the upper sidings for the same concern using a ladder.

After proper examination, use a wire brush to remove flakes and chipped paint. Apply a layer of primer before you start painting. Then get the matching color and start working on touch-ups!

Block Drafts

Your house loses much of the heat through the cracks and gaps in your doors, windows, exterior walls, attic, electrical outlets, chimneys, ducts, and pipes.

If your home continues to lose heat, your HVAC system will have a hard time maintaining your desired temperature. Moreover, it will have a huge impact on your comfort.

Find air leaks in different areas of your home and use caulking to fill them up. Use weather stripping between the window frame and sash to prevent heat loss. Also, weatherstrip the door jambs. Place draft stoppers at the bottom of your doors and windows to block incoming drafts.

Check Your Smoke Detectors

Checking smoke detectors may not be on top of your home maintenance list but making sure they are in excellent condition is crucial.

Dust and grime can build up on your smoke detectors, making it difficult for them to sense smoke and heat properly. The batteries may also lose their charging overtime.

Wipe off dust and debris with a damp cloth. Then, test the batteries and replace them if needed. Also, don’t forget to test the battery backup in case of a hardwired detector. If the smoke detectors are more than a decade old, it’d be good to replace them on an urgent basis.

Clean Your Gutters

Debris, dirt, and leaves can clog your gutters and prevent rainwater from flowing freely from the roof to the ground. It can cause your roof to leak, and thus water can infiltrate your house. Clean the gutters and check for any damage to prevent any inconvenience afterward.

Gutter cleaning protects your roof from water damage and prevents cracks in the foundation. It is recommended that you clean the gutters twice a year, spring and autumn. However, this frequency can increase depending on how many trees you have around your house.

Trim the Vegetation

Big tree branches near your house can break and fall on the roof and power lines, which can be dangerous. They can also cause damage to your roof shingles and gutters.

To avoid this situation, trim back branches touching your roof. After cutting the vegetation, remove all the dead leaves and clean the roof thoroughly.

Check Crawl Space for Water

Check your crawl space for water accumulation to avoid mold growth. Moisture can also damage the exterior structure of your house.

Grab your flashlight and inspect corners and edges; pay attention to color changes and use your fingers to test for dampness. If you find anything concerning, call a home inspector to figure out the exact cause of the issue and fix the damage.  It’s as simple as grabbing a flashlight, crawling in there, and taking a close, careful look.

With these home maintenance tips, you can tackle most upkeep tasks yourself and ensure that your home is as comfortable as possible all year round!

Thank you for reading!