You’ll be pleased to know there are so many simple – yet highly effective – things you can do to maintain your home’s cleanliness and value. You don’t need to splurge out on expensive tools to get the job done either. The secret is not about doing large-scale jobs infrequently, but doing small easy-to-do chores more frequently. Ultimately, paying attention to the little things can have desirable long-term effects that can have a huge impact on your home. To help you out, you can consider this house maintenance checklist next time you plan on cleaning your home:
Tip 1: Make Sure You Get Rid of Dust
This is one of the most important things to do as a homeowner, especially if you have someone in your family that’s allergic to dust. One place that you might be ignoring to dust off is the refrigerator. That’s right. Most of us vacuum around the house and under the furniture, but we fail to remove the dust on our refrigerator filter. Did you know that your fridge accounts for at least 15% of your electricity bill? Make sure you thoroughly clean those filters for optimum performance. You can do this two times a year.
Aside from that, you also have your air conditioning units and vents. You need to clean the air conditioner filters and the vents as much as you can because not only will it improve airflow, but it will also improve the air quality in your home. For the air conditioner filter, after vacuuming it, you can put it in the sink for washing. Add some warm water and detergent to get rid of the dirt and dust completely.
Tip 2: Check Your Dryer for Lint Build-up
Lint is the particles that come from your clothing. Most of us always empty the lint trap after every wash. However, some don’t know that lint travels through the dryer’s hose or exterior vent. To remove this, you need to check the ventilation tube and remove most of the lint using your fingers or a vacuum cleaner.
Tip 3: Test Out Your Smoke Alarms Every Year
Your smoke alarm detectors are not there to annoy you. They are devices that will make sure that your property is safe from smoke-related incidents such as fires. That’s why you need to make sure that it is working by testing them out. You can use the test button and see if it will beep. If it won’t, you need to remove the cover and clean the battery and terminal. If it’s still not working, replace the batteries and test again.
Tip 4: Remove Obstructions in Your Gutter and Drains
Guttering is important if you want to make sure that during a heavy downpour, your property is protected from a build-up of rainwater. Most houses have perforated gutter protectors that allow the water in, but blocks matter like leaves. There are also those that don’t have this protector. But what is vital is that you can make sure that the gutter is not blocked. You can check it yourself with the help of another person. This is because if you let water stay overtime, it can lead to rusting. The same can also be said of drains. Make sure to remove any obstructions by running your hose into the pipe to check if the water flows easily into the base.
Tip 5: Don’t Forget to Clean Your Waste Disposal Unit
This home maintenance tip is crucial if you want to cook in your kitchen without any hassle. It’s essential that you clean your waste disposal since this is where almost all types of food and scraps go. You can do this by pouring ice cubes and grinding them through the unit. After which, you can add hot water and baking soda to flush them all out.
Tip 6: Check Your Water Heater
Inspect your water heater for damage or corrosion. A rusty water heater can leak, increasing the risk of mould and water damage, not to mention reducing water quality in your home.
Maintaining your home’s condition can seem daunting at first, however following the above steps might make it a little less stressful. It’s easy to do, it will help maintain and potentially improve your property value so that if you do plan to sell it, it will be in great condition. For more tips on improving your property’s value, check out some of our other blogs. Warwick Williams has been in the real estate industry, specialising in the Drummoyne area for over 40 years. There isn’t a scenario we haven’t encountered!
Get in touch with us today!
