Monthly Maintenance for Your Home

If you keep up with your home's monthly maintenance, you will be able to reduce repair costs.

Most homeowners understand that repair costs can be very high if things go wrong unexpectedly. Still they forget to perform monthly maintenance. By conducting a routine inspection every month, you can keep tabs on things that are wearing quickly. Quite a few things in your house need monthly attention. When you take care of them properly, you will be able to avoid many big headaches and huge repair bills.

Fire safety devices

Your fire safety devices need monthly maintenance. As you probably know, even a small fire can cause extensive damage. That is why you need to keep these devices in good shape. A fire mishap not only damages your home and belongings but also risks the safety of your family.

Fire extinguisher

You have to ensure that your fire extinguisher is fully charged. Recharge it if it was used recently. Make sure that you have a sufficient number of them in your kitchen, basement, and garage. The placement of your fire extinguisher is equally important. It must be easily reachable. If you place it in a spot where you can't find it easily, it is unlikely to be helpful when you need it.

Smoke detector

The smoke detector is another important device. People often forget how important a device it is until there is an emergency. Test the battery periodically and replace it if necessary. Remember that the battery may drain even if you do not use it.

Maintenance for your bathroom and kitchen

People often forget to notice their shower drains and sink until a problem surface. However, by taking some simple steps every month, you can keep your bathroom drains and kitchen sinks in good shape.

Tub stoppers and sink

You need to flush your tub stoppers and sink with a solution of baking soda and hot water.

Garbage disposal

Check the safety valve and the steam pressure gauge of your garbage disposal system. If you detect problems, replace them. You also need to inspect water level gauge. Add water if necessary.

Heating and cooling

Your cooling and heating systems play a significant role in making your home comfortable. When these systems work properly, you probably won't realize their importance. But if things go wrong, these systems can be quite costly to repair. Make sure that your home maintenance checklist includes a quick monthly inspection of your cooling and heating systems.

Forced-air heating system

You have to check the blankets and replace them if necessary. Check air flow and clean unit.

Steam heating system

Check relief valve and if it is faulty replace it. You also need to check pressure gauge. The expansion tank may need to be drained.

Evaporative air conditioner maintenance

Clean air filter and replace it if it is faulty. Clean evaporator coils and condenser and condensate drain. You also need to remove snow and debris from the outdoor portion of the unit.

 

Heat pump maintenance

Clean filter, evaporator coils, condenser and condensate drain.

If you overlook the need for monthly maintenance, your home will be much less efficient. Worse still, you will have to deal with safety issues and huge service bills. If you take care of these important things at least once a month, you will be able to run your home more smoothly and efficiently

Furnace Maintenance Tips

Have you checked the condition of your furnace lately? The furnace is an important element of your house. Unless it works properly, you cannot ensure the safety and comfort of your family.

 

You should get your furnace checked for potential problems before there any detrimental effects on the heating in your home. If your heating system receives good maintenance on a regular basis, it will work efficiently.

There are quite a few things you should do to keep it working in top form. Here are a few:

When was the air filter changed last?

The air filter of a gas furnace needs to be changed regularly. You can purchase air filters at nearly all hardware stores and they are not very expensive. Dirty air filters will make the furnace inefficient and cause it to produce less heat.

Notice gas leaks

Gas leaks can be spotted easily.  You can feel the foul smell of gas. You can also notice the buildup of gas on the floor. If you suspect that gas is leaking from the furnace, you should get it fixed by a professional.

Oiling

Your furnace motor may have oiling points. Apply 1 or 2 drops of SAE 20 non-detergent oil during every heating season. That said, don't over-oil.

Regular servicing

Get your cooling and heating systems professionally serviced at least once a year. You should consider getting the furnace serviced towards the end of a heating season. Since this is an off-season, you will probably get a discount. You will also receive prompt service. Don't forget to get the air conditioner checked, too.

Examine burners

While inspecting the furnace, make sure that the professional completely removes the burners for cleaning. You should also get the inner parts of the furnace checked for holes, rusted areas, separated seams, or cracks.

Once the service person has removed the dust and debris from the burners, they will reassemble the burners and other components if they don't detect any other issues with the internal structure of the heating unit.

Checking for dirt

Dirt can reduce the life of your heating systems. Besides lowering the efficiency of your furnace, it also causes the wastage of fuel. Since dirt can affect all three basic components of your heating system, you need to clean it on a regular basis. It is also important to properly adjust the belt at the furnace.

Sealing the venting ducts

Your furnace venting ducts help remove flue gas from your heating unit. You certainly won't want gas to leak into your house. So ask the service person to check the vents and ensure that they are well sealed. If there are loose joints, you will have to get them resealed with metal screws.

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As a homeowner, you should know the value of your home. You can get a free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ to find out your home’s worth to help you decide if you should refinance now.

Winter Home Maintenance Checklist

January brings cold weather, and with it comes a lot of tasks that you need to complete to keep your home comfortable and secure. It is also the right time to prepare your home improvement plans for the coming year.

The first big snowfall of the season usually hits this time of year in many parts of the country. This annual ritual also gives you an opportunity to learn a few things about your home.

Is snow melting fast from your roof? This could suggest that heat from the house is escaping through the roof. Add some attic insulation to prevent this heat loss. Inspect the insulation on the attic floor; and if you discover any gaps, you need to fix them. The attic insulation should be of uniform thickness. Also it has to be dry.

There are quite a few things that you need to do after a snowfall:

You need to clear the walkways. Sprinkle some salt or sand on the snow and use a shovel to remove it. Check your roof to see if there is any ice buildup. If you discover an ice dam, you need to break it up. If you let the ice accumulate along the eaves, melted snow may leak through your roof. Tree branches may break if you do not knock snow from them.

To prevent your pipes from breaking, you should consider blocking all crawl space vents on the north-side with pieces of plywood. You may let the bathtub and sink faucets trickle slowly. This will prevent the pipes from freezing especially on those days when you turn your heating system off because you are away.

If you use an oil burner, you can save money and fuel by cleaning parts of the burner yourself. Cut off the power supply to the system and remove the blower cover. Now you have to dust the blower blades. Pour some oil to lubricate the motor. If you are really handy, you can also replace the filter and clean the strainer.

If you have a forced air distribution system, you should inspect the ducts routinely to check for leaks. If you discover leaks, you need to seal them with duct tape. You also need to dust the duct grilles periodically, and get the entire system cleaned annually.

Be tough with rats or mice that invade your home. They may chew your house's wires and cause a short circuit which can even burn your home down. Buy traps of appropriate sizes to catch the rodents.

Make sure that your emergency kit is well-equipped. You must have blankets, first-aid kits, gallons of potable water, a radio (battery-powered), candles, matches, flashlights and handy tools for turning off water and gas lines. If the winters in your area are extremely cold, you should have a backup heating system. It could be a backup generator or a wood stove.

If your house is in an area prone to experiencing strong hurricanes, you should keep sheets of plywood to protect your windows. People living in earthquake-vulnerable areas must have food and water to last a week. Campers should keep their camping supplies near their emergency stash.

Winter is the right time to create a list of things you would like to change in your home. If you just moved into your home, you should live in it for at least one year before undertaking any major remodel. Watch how your house interacts with your surroundings through the four seasons. This will give you a better understanding of what you really need to change.

The Home Loan Advisor is a tool that was built to provide homeowners with insight into opportunities available in the current market, without having to shuffle through all of the clutter on the Internet. Not only does the Home Loan Advisor analyze your property, current market conditions, local market comps, and other variables in our proprietary algorithm, but we match you with potential lenders who have products that may help you and provide you with a sense of stability.

As a homeowner, you should know the value of your home. You can get a free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ to find out your home’s worth to help you decide if you should refinance now.