Home maintenance is essential for maintaining the living conditions of your home and ensuring good health for all the members of your family. Proper household maintenance helps in improving your quality of life by increasing your overall comfort level.
Household maintenance might seem to be a very simple task, but it isn’t. However, you shouldn’t miss your maintenance schedule as little mistakes can result in huge issues in the future. Proper maintenance of all the systems in your home would ensure that it remains free of harmful pollutants and germs. Having a checklist of necessary maintenance tasks in your home helps you plan, remember, and perform them efficiently.
You can set a time to perform household maintenance using the right tools and equipment for each task. However, if you’re too busy to maintain your home or if you have no background with repairs, you can always seek help from a professional like a handyman Lombard IL expert in your area.
Here are five things in your home that should be included in your maintenance checklist:
HVAC System
Your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are essential in regulating your air quality and making your stay at home comfortable. Because of its crucial role in your daily life, you should return the favor by checking and maintaining their condition regularly. Your HVAC equipment, such as air conditioners, heat pumps, and cooling units, can benefit from consistent inspections and tune-ups.
You can perform HVAC maintenance at home, saving money and time on routine checks. The top advantages of regular HVAC tune-up inspections include saving on energy costs and preventing costly breakdowns. Proper HVAC tune-up procedures ensure that your HVAC equipment is operating at its best, which means they work more efficiently and deliver a higher quality service for years to come. When you perform regular tune-up procedures, the air inside your home is cleaner and the temperatures remain at a constant temperature, and you don’t have to go through excessive heating or cooling.
You can follow these steps if you are planning to perform HVAC maintenance by yourself:
- Check The Thermostat: Make sure that the thermostat works properly. The heating and cooling functions should turn on and off according to their presets. Don’t forget to open the thermostat and clean the device using a Q-tip.
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- Turn Off The Power: To ensure safety while you clean and repair your HVAC, shut off the power by switching the break box off.
- Remove Debris: Remove leaves and debris from your external HVAC unit using a wrench and a screwdriver to detach the cage.
- Clean And Repair Fins: Spray the fins using a sprayer hose to wash away debris from the inside of the unit. Keep the fins straight to keep airflow efficient using a fin-straightening tool or butter knife to straighten the fins.
- Clear The Area: Keep a two-feet distance between the external unit and any trees, shrubs, or other objects in your area. Furthermore, install a piece of plastic or plywood on top of the HVAC unit to protect it from falling debris.
- Level The Unit: A condenser that is not level could cause the compressor to fail. You can use rot-resistant shims to lift the side that needs leveling.
- Clean The Evaporator Coil: Dust the evaporator coil and spray it with a no-rinse coil cleaner. A no-rinse cleaner turns into foam, which drips into the drain pan. Make sure it gets cleaned out with soap, hot water, and bleach.
- Inspect The Evaporator Drain: The interior unit of the evaporator drain can be clogged and may cause further issues like flooding. Remove the debris from the drain using a wet and dry vacuum to avoid blocking water flow.
- Replace The Filter: Your HVAC unit can malfunction if you don’t replace the filter regularly. You can replace your HVAC air filter every one to three months, especially if you have pets and children at home.
Moisture Levels
Maintaining the right level of moisture in the house is important. Too much moisture can cause leaky roofs or ceilings, floor cracks, and wet or damp basements. Too little moisture, on the other hand, can cause problems with wood floors and trim, drywall and cabinet damage, and nail or carpet pops and stains. Regularly check for leaks and other moisture issues, and fix them before they become major problems.
Excessive moisture inside your home can condense in cold surfaces, leading to mold growth. Mold buildup is relatively difficult to manage, particularly if the issue has already spread to the areas of the home that see less traffic, such as the basement. To handle a mold problem more effectively, always hire reliable and experienced mold remediation services like Puremaintenanceofwashington.com.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Since natural disasters can lead to explosions and fires, it’s important to have a home security system in place so you’ll be notified in case of fire. Most smoke and carbon monoxide detectors work by emitting a high-pitched sound and flashing lights. Make sure you have them checked out by a professional before leaving your home for lengthy periods, because they can malfunction under certain circumstances.
If you’ve been using a smoke detector for a long period of time without ever having a problem with smoke and carbon monoxide, you may be surprised to learn that your detector could be malfunctioning. If your detector isn’t working properly, check your batteries and troubleshoot the problem. If it has a dead battery, get replacement batteries right away. Typically, Consumer Reports recommends that you should change your batteries every six months.
Floor Vacuuming
One of the best ways to keep a home clean is to make use of a floor vacuum. Floor vacuums are made up of a filter that traps the dust particles. The filter traps these particles and when the vacuum is pulled across the floor the dust particles are collected.
There are many different types of floor vacuums in the market today; and while you do need to research different models to determine which one works best for your particular needs, there are two main categories to consider. The first category is for cleaning carpets. The second category is for cleaning hard floors that are not carpeted, such as tiles and concrete.
Vacuuming your floor regularly ensures that your floor is free from dirt, dander, hair, animal fur, and any other visible pollutants and allergens, as well as eliminate those that you can’t see with the naked eye. You also need to increase your vacuuming frequency if you have a pet at home or family members with respiratory problems. This is also true for areas with high traffic.
Roof and Gutters
Cleaning the roof can be one of the easiest tasks to do, especially if you’re not the kind that gets easily discouraged by a clogged gutter or working in high places. After cleaning your roof thoroughly, apply a sealant to prevent water seepage into the gutter system. This will ensure that water will not leak into the roofing system through the gutter, causing damage to the roof and other parts of the house.
Gutters are another area that may require some special attention. A clogged gutter can quickly become an obstruction that prevents rainwater from falling straight into the ground. This can lead to water leaking into the home, and eventually flooding the home. To fix a clogged gutter, take your time and make sure you get to the root of the clog. Start at the base and work your up to the top of the gutter. This can be quite a tricky task, but is something that should be done regularly. This is also a good time to go over your regular maintenance schedule and make sure everything is running smoothly.
Conclusion
At first glance, home maintenance seems expensive. Now more than ever, homeowners are faced with the task of keeping their homes clean, organized, and in tip-top shape. Most homeowners don’t even bother about the upkeep of their home because they think it’s too costly. While it may seem like a huge undertaking to maintain a home, there are a few home tips that you can apply today to save hundreds on the repairs. Keep in mind that if you’re not confident enough to perform your own maintenance, asking help from professionals will make the work faster, more cost-effective and efficient.