Conducting home maintenance in and around your home is important because it helps you keep on top of the typical wear and tear that occurs. As well as that, you’ve got the spontaneous problems that can happen as a result of not having things checked regularly or just being unfortunate in them happening to you.
It’s part and parcel of owning a home or being responsible for the home’s maintenance in general. That’s why it’s good to be proactive with your efforts and to try and reduce the chances of problems in the home by conducting regular home maintenance.
With that being said, here are the top 10 home maintenance tips that can help prevent disasters.
1. Check your gutters
First and foremost, take a closer look at your gutters. These are areas of your home that need attention paid to in order to keep them from causing problems in and around the home. You don’t need to do it so often as seasonally unless you know your gutters are prone to capturing a lot of dirt and debris during certain times of the year.
Ideally, if you can get them checked once every year, then you’ll most likely be able to keep on top of any damage or problems that can come from clogged gutters.
You might also want to look at getting them checked by a professional if you’re not someone who wants to go up a ladder without any sort of safety or support from others.
There are gutters that you can get that are closed off, so there’s very little chance of debris getting into them. But even these will need to be checked occasionally to ensure there’s little to no damage or exposure that is causing them to flood onto your home’s exteriors.
2. Prune back trees and shrubs
Keeping your home well-maintained is something that extends beyond the main property itself. This also includes your exterior surroundings, more importantly, your overhanging shrubs and trees.
It happens for many properties that are home to larger-than-life trees or shrubs that were once no taller than your knees.
Pruning back trees and shrubs is important because there will often be dangers that come from having trees or shrubs of a certain size. Shrubs aren’t the main problem, but they can still be imposing on your property and cause damage if they continue to grow beyond their boundaries and against walls or windows, for example.
Trees pose a larger threat because if they were to fall over and it’s hang over your property, then this could result in thousands of dollars worth of damage.
It’s therefore important to get a tree surgeon, where applicable, to have certain trees trimmed back where you can in order to keep them from overhanging too closely to the property. It only takes one bout of bad weather to cause irreversible damage to the home.
3. Put preventative measures in place for pests
Preventative measures are something that you should certainly look into when it comes to preventing the appearance of pests in your home. There’s nothing worse than finding pests in your home, however small it might be or large, for that matter.
Once pests get into your home, that proves more of a problem because now you’ve got the hassle of having to remove them, which can often come at a substantial cost, especially where there’s damage caused.
With that being said, it’s worthwhile to put in preventative measures that will help avoid the pests from getting into your home in the first place. For example, keeping the home clean in general is good to prevent any pests from finding a comfortable home in your clutter.
You might find it useful to look at filling in gaps around the home to ensure all entry points are sealed and protected from outside pests getting in. The more preventative you can be in your methods, the better.
4. Use sandbags where flooding is a risk
Sandbags are something that can be very helpful when you’re trying to prevent the risk of flooding in your home.
A bad bout of weather can lead to substantial damage to your home, especially where water is concerned. Considering water is just a liquid, it’s something that can really infiltrate the home and cause damage.
That’s why it’s a good idea to use sandbags where possible so that you can reduce the risk of flooding. If you know of some bad weather coming your way, then it’s best to get some sandbags at the ready so that you can protect the areas where flood water is likely to get in first.
5. Seal your windows and doors, or replace where necessary
Sealing any windows and doors is important when it comes to your home’s safety and security. After all, your windows and doors are often the places that are most vulnerable to individuals breaking into the property.
In general, though, windows and doors are also vulnerable to damage, particularly where harsh weather is concerned.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to look at what windows or doors might need replacing in the near future, versus those that are still in good condition and have five or ten more years in them.
6. Inspect the roof annually and after harsh weather
Like the gutters, your roof space will need routine maintenance and checking over, especially when harsh weather tends to hit.
Inspecting your roof annually is going to help identify any problems that might be underlying and that you want to get sorted sooner rather than later.
Harsh weather can do damage that isn’t noticeable from the outside, but you might soon see signs of problems in the roof space when you explore it during certain times of the year. It’s best to get it checked by the experts, too, if you don’t exactly know what you’re looking for.
7. Check fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
Fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are the appliances in your home that could end up saving your life in the event that a fire starts or a gas leak occurs without you realizing it.
Checking the fire alarms in your home is definitely something that should be done routinely. Ideally, you want to make sure that any batteries have been changed and that you test them to make sure they sound.
The same goes for your carbon monoxide detectors, where applicable. Wherever there is a source of gas, a carbon monoxide detector should be attached to your wall or ceiling as appropriate.
8. Keep white goods well-maintained
White goods are something you should be keeping well-maintained, especially as they can often do damage if suddenly your dishwasher or washing machine were to leak, for example.
Keeping your white goods well-maintained will also ensure they last for a lot longer as a result. Think about what white goods you have in your home and what maintenance they’ll require in order to keep them in good shape.
You may want to get insurance on certain white goods in order to protect them from damage. Should they cause damage to the surroundings, you then have peace of mind that it can be fixed as a result.
With goods well maintained, they’ll last longer, and that’s important when you’re trying to keep costs down in your household.
9. Check routinely for any leaks or pipe problems
It’s always useful to be aware of what problems are present in your home, and often enough, these problems don’t present themselves until it’s too late.
Checking routinely for leaks or piping problems will certainly help to avoid any further damage that could send your repair costs into the thousands. Be mindful of how often you do it, and then always check if you’ve not done so for a while. That way, you’ll be able to avoid the chance of a burst pipe or a leak coming through the ceiling or other parts of the home as a result.
If you do have any plumbing issues that need addressing quickly, then knowing an emergency plumber near me is going to ensure the problem gets fixed as quickly as possible.
10. Declutter your surroundings to prevent injuries
Decluttering your surroundings is always something worth doing when it comes to reducing the risk of injury in the home. In any household, clutter is often an issue and something that you should stay on top of where you can.
Consider what areas of the home could do with a decluttering in order to keep on top of the mess, so that you’re preventing any risk of an accident happening due to a tripping hazard in the form of an empty box or something that just shouldn’t be on the floor.
These ten home maintenance tips will hopefully keep your home in good condition so that you can enjoy your home without needing to worry so much about any fixes or problems you need to address. Use these home maintenance tips to provide preventative care to your home.
