Looking after your home all year round is certainly important, and it’s good to maintain certain areas of your home to avoid costly fixes. A lot of the problems that occur are usually caused because the issue was ignored or overlooked. To avoid more problems in your home than necessary, it’s a good idea to have a checklist of things that need maintaining around the home. So here are ten things worth maintaining around your home.
The White Goods
Your white goods like the dishwasher, refrigerator and washing machine are all important to maintaining, and it’s something that’s worth learning how to clean. With your refrigerator, for example, you should be de-icing the back of the refrigerator every so often to prevent any bacteria build-up or food sticking to the pack of it. There’s also drainage towards the back of the refrigerator, and it usually comes with something to help unclog it when anything else other than water goes down it. For your dishwasher, just using a dishwasher cleaning tablet every now and then to flush it out and make it smell nice is important. You should also be using salt in your dishwasher as well as cleaning out the filter.
The same goes for the washing machine as you can get products that can clean out the drum itself and the detergent drawer. There’s also a filter part at the bottom of the dishwasher which is important to clean out to where you can. This regular maintenance can be really helpful when it comes to maintaining your white goods and making sure they last for a while.
Gutters
Gutters are something that we don’t often think about when it comes to our homes because they’re not something we’ll usually look at. However, they’re an essential part of the home in that they protect your foundations from being compromised. If you allow the gutters to build up, you can end up really doing some damage to the property, and that could result in financial damage that you definitely wouldn’t want to have. With that in mind, it’s important to make sure you’re giving these a once over and removing any dirt and debris that’s built up over time.
There are plenty of gutter options that can help protect it from getting clogged up too much. You should be taking a look at them though regardless, and doing so at the end of every season. By doing this, you are going to prevent potential disasters from occurring.
Your Boiler
We don’t appreciate our boilers until they stop functioning the way they should. Usually, boilers have a long shelf life and so they should, because they can be pretty expensive to replace. With that being said, there are certainly things you can do to ensure you are looking after them and that they remain in good condition for the long run. A boiler service is a typical way of making sure the boiler is maintained, and you should be getting these once a year. During these engineer visits, they’ll be able to do all the relevant checks and shed light on anything that might be problematic. It’s also good to pay attention to how your boiler performs and the sounds it makes on a daily basis. There can often be certain sounds or behaviours that might suggest something is wrong. It’s, therefore, a good idea to get the professional help in at that point just to check everything over.
The Roof
The roofing on our homes is what keeps us warm and dry, so it’s essential to get this checked out. The difficulty is though that a lot of roofing can be hard to access without a ladder and not everyone has the experience or nerve to go up one. That’s why it might be worth bringing out a company who can take a look at your roofing as well as do any additional work that might need doing to keep it protected. Over time, there’s always the chance that the roof can be subject to damage, especially with severe weather.
It’s good to make sure that all the roofing, in general, is sealed and secure so that you’re not finding yourself in a situation where you’re dealing with costly damage. It might be worth getting insulation installed if you haven’t already and when you’re getting roof checks, having insulation put in, can be the perfect time to do it. If you have access to your attic, it’s worth going up every so often in order to take a look and see if everything is ok.
Basic Plumbing
Now unless you are a professional plumber, it’s not suggested that you go messing with any pipes, but it’s good to do a bit of maintenance where possible. Checking your drains, for example, is a good way to ensure everything is as it should be. These are places that can tend to get clogged at times with different debris, whether that’s hair or food. It’s good to use products that destroy anything in the pipes so that the water can run through without a problem. When you have blocked pipes, it can end up being a problem if the blockage isn’t easy enough to remove with just the basic methods that you can do yourself. When fixing a leaking tap, there are some things that you can do yourself, but if there’s anything that’s outside your skillset, it’s worth getting in a professional. Be sure to keep an eye on your water pressure and to make sure that there are no leaks that go unnoticed. These type of leaks can end up causing permanent damage, which is something you definitely don’t want for your home.
Windows
With your windows, damp and ageing can really cause a lot of damage to your home if you’re not careful. When it comes to your windows, always look for tell-tale signs of damp, especially when it comes to condensation. You don’t want that condensation causing any damp around the area of your window because it can also start affecting the foundations around it if you’re not careful. Double or triple glazing should be the norm in your home, and if you’ve got anything less, then it’s definitely worth replacing them. At the end of the day, some old windows might look nice, but they’re not going to do well for keeping your home warm.
Checking For Gaps Or Holes
Gaps and holes can end up forming in and around your home, which is something to keep an eye on as they can end up compromising your home to cold spots but also pests. You don’t want to encourage any type of pest to be coming into your home, but if you’re not sealing it up properly, there’s a risk that this could happen. Take a check around your home every so often and if you see anything exposed, seal it up with the right materials.
The Garden
Been out into the garden recently? It’s a spot on your property that might not get much of a look in for most of the year, but it’s important to keep it in check. Anything that’s growing towards your home, you want to keep at arm’s length. These are things like trees and shrubs that overhang or get to close to the property itself. If you’re not careful, trees can spell disaster if you experience severe weather conditions. Trim everything back where you can, and it will also help discourage pests too!
Bleed The Radiators
Bleeding the radiators is something you want to do not only for maintenance purposes but to also ensure you’re not wasting your money on gas bills. As Boilerbrain indicates it’s good to bleed your radiators whenever you notice that any of them are significantly colder or just not producing as much warmth as they used to. It can be helpful to do this every so often to make sure the hot water is circulating correctly, and you can lower the temperature of your thermostat to help save you money!
Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarms
And lastly, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. They can be an absolute nightmare when they go off, but they’re installed for a reason. They’re going to keep you and your household safe, so it’s important to check them to make sure everything is ok with them. They may need their batteries replacing every so often, and you will often get with newer models that they make a sound when the batteries need replacing. However, it’s always good to check it every so often to see if it needs replacing or fixing.
Looking after your home is important and so these various maintenance checks can definitely be helpful to do where you can. Keep an ongoing list and always be mindful of anything that doesn’t sound, feel or smell right when it comes to these maintenance jobs. It’s always better to get it checked by a professional than to just ignore it and hope it goes away.