7 Home Maintenance Tasks You Should Do on Schedule

Your home is likely to be the largest investment that you’ll ever make in your life. So you need to make sure that you treat it with the respect that it deserves. Delaying home maintenance tasks or failing to catch a problem early on can spell disaster for your investment.

Doing home maintenance tasks on a schedule allows you to prevent unnecessary wear and tear to your property. It also means that you’re likely to catch problems early on. All of this means minimizing the damage and alleviating the burden of cost that’s likely to come with a major problem.

Every second you wait or fail to find a problem is dollars that you’ll spend later on to repair it. Sometimes delaying repair for what seems like a minor issue can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more.

1. Change Your Climate Control Filters

One of the most important and easiest home maintenance tasks is replacing your air filters. This is important because air filters have two major purposes. 

The first is to filter harmful dust and contaminants out of the air so that you and your family are breathing high-quality and healthy air. Air quality has huge benefits for health.

The second major issue that air filters help to prevent is unnecessary wear and tear on your climate control systems. Regardless of whether it’s central air, air conditioning, or heating, such as a furnace, air filtration systems keep those same harmful contaminants out of the climate control systems. This prevents premature problems from arising within the climate control system. 

To have a more effective climate control system, cheaper prices, and a longer lifespan for your climate control system it’s important to frequently change your filters. The hardest problem with this activity is that there are many different filters to choose from. You can check out and purchase many of the different filters that you require at filterbuy.com, also, you may need to remove your current filter and read the serial number on it to find out which one you need. Just make sure you turn off your climate control system before removing your filter and while the filter is not in the system. Don’t turn your climate control system back on until you’ve replaced the filter.

2. Inspect the Roof for Leaks

Another really important task that should be completed by every homeowner is roof inspection. There are a few things that need to be done. If there is an attic, it must be inspected for leaks. And someone will need to visually inspect the roof itself.

Roof inspection means that a person will physically climb on top of the house to look at the shingles, downspouts, and flashing seals around the fans or skylights. Unless you have the equipment and know-how, this job is best left to professionals.

Attic inspection is probably also best performed by a professional. However, this task is significantly easier to perform by the homeowner. All you need to do is climb into your attic space and carefully inspect the ceiling of the attic or water damage.

3. Clean the Gutters

Cleaning the gutters is often overlooked and is important. It must be done a few times each season. Especially in the fall.

When leaves and debris build up in the gutters the rainfall cannot properly drain off of the roof and water may sit in the gutters long term. Depending on the quality of construction, that water may seep back into the soffits and the edge of the roof, causing damage and premature aging to the soffits and roof.

4. Clean and Inspect Drains

Depending on the construction, there may be a need to frequently inspect the drains. In older construction that uses clay or worn-out lead pipes, roots may start to grow into the drain system. When this happens, The roots must be removed frequently if the entire system is not replaced. If tree roots are allowed to obstruct the piping thoroughly, you’ll have to replace the whole system, which is quite expensive.

Regular drain cleaning also increases the flow rate at which your drains operate. This improves the quality of your water use in your home. Be sure to regularly clean your drains for optimal performance.

5. Empty the Septic System

If your house has a septic system, it will need to be drained every several years. Septic systems can sometimes operate without any issues for many many years. Other times, the septic system doesn’t drain properly on its own and solid waste must be removed to restore flow. This is a job that must be performed by a licensed septic waste removal professional. It’s not a job many homeowners would want to undertake anyway.

6. Check for Termites

If your house has a significant amount of wood, especially if it has a wooden frame, then it would be prudent to annually check for termites. Termites can utterly destroy your investment in as little as a few years. So it’s important to catch them early. Most people don’t know where to look or what the signs are for a termite infestation, so this is best left to the professionals.

If they do find that you have a termite infestation, then they know exactly what to do. And they’ll do it quickly. Termite infestations are one of the most costly and disastrous events that can occur to your property. And it can happen suddenly. All it takes is one termite swarm to find your house and settle in before your property starts to be affected. So check frequently and take action immediately if you detect termite infestation.

7. Paint the Exterior

Finally, the last piece of advice offered here is to inspect and maintain the quality of your exterior paint. Exterior paint does a lot more than just make your house look pretty. Exterior paint goes a long way towards protecting the materials of your home. Regardless of whether you have siding, would, or stucco, the paint will lengthen the time it takes to wear down the exterior surface of your home. It also makes it easier to clean.

When paint starts to chip or peel, it exposes your home’s materials to the harmful effects of weathering. This can have particularly devastating effects if your home’s exterior surface is made of wood. Without the protective coating of paint, water can start to be absorbed directly into your home’s exterior surface and it will begin to shrivel and age and become weak with time. 

Each homeowner needs to develop a culture and habit of frequently looking for signs of wear and tear around their home. While it helps to schedule frequent inspections, it’s even better to always keep your eye out and learn how to recognize the signs of a home issue. Prompt identification and reparation can save you lots of money and greatly extend the lifetime of your home. Neglecting to repair simple tasks on time leads to the destruction of your property and a loss of your investment money. 

Spending a little bit of time and money now saves homeowners lots of time and expenses later.