Your home is your castle, your sanctuary, and because of that, you should do everything you can to make sure it is in the best condition possible. This ranges from ensuring it is secure (click here to learn more), to keeping up with maintenance. Few things make a home more uncomfortable to live in than nagging faults, not to mention that leaving these faults unchecked can cost you in the future when it’s time to sell.
Much like servicing a car, it is important to complete frequent maintenance tasks on your home. However, the difficulty with that is knowing what to look for. Read on for a guide on what to do to keep your home in good order.
Change out HVAC filters monthly
Your HVAC filters, used in your home’s heating, ventilation, or cooling system, collect impurities in the air to improve the air quality in your home. Due to this, these can get really dirty pretty quickly, especially if you are a bigger family with pets.
If you’re living on your own, then you can get away with replacing these every few months, but it’s always worth inspecting them frequently just to be sure. It’s also a good rule of thumb to get cheaper filters instead of more expensive ones, as this will save you money, considering you’re going to be replacing them frequently regardless of quality.
Look after your home’s financial health
Keeping track of your home’s finances is just as important as looking after it physically. This is because staying on top of these finances can help you pay off your mortgage quicker, giving you better peace of mind. Taking stock of your monthly repayments, and budgeting around them can be really beneficial as this can help you avoid costly debts piling up, which would be a slippery slope and could force you to foreclose your home if these debts get too unmanageable.
Test smoke alarms and carbon dioxide detectors
These alarms and detectors are vital for your safety, so it’s important to test them at least quarterly to ensure that they’re working properly. Testing fire alarms should be simple, as most have a test button. If the alarm sounds, then you’re good, but if not you may have to change the batteries. If it still doesn’t work with new batteries, clean the battery terminal, as corrosion may be interfering with the connection. If it’s still not working, then you’ll need to replace the whole unit. It’s also worth replacing a fire alarm every 10 years, regardless of whether it’s working or not.
Vacuum your refrigerator coils
This task should be done at least twice a year, and is a good way to make sure one of your most important home appliances is working correctly. The coils can gather dust and other yucky substances over time, making them perform less efficiently, resulting in higher energy consumption to keep your produce chilled. Cleaning coils can
Deep clean your home
Allocating a couple of days a year to give your home a really good clean can really help it stay clean and in top condition. This type of clean is really intense, as you focus on appliances, windows, and dusting everywhere, basically focusing on areas of your house that you skip when you clean regularly. By doing this and not letting grime build up over the years you will maintain your home in top condition.
