When you purchase a home you want to do your best to keep it in the best condition possible. Your home is an investment, the place where you live, and also a representation of you and your family. You want to put the best image forth for your house, while also taking care of major life investment. In 2019 alone there were approximately 5.34 million homes sold in the United States, according to the National Association of Realtors. In addition to this, there were 682,000 newly built homes that were sold the same year, according to the United States Census Bureau. With all of these houses sold, it’s recommended that the homeowners find ways to maintain their homes, keeping them in the best shape possible.
When you maintain your home, it helps you, as a homeowner, to save money. Maintenance does require that you spend money on repairs. These preemptive repairs can prevent you from spending even more money in the future. The longer you put off repairs or maintenance which need to be done, the worse the possible repairs get. At this point, you’ll wind up paying more for these repairs. Secondly, the more repairs that you do, the less costly your utility bills. Also, maintaining your home increases the value of your home. Below are a few ways to maintain your home year-round.
Taking Care of the HVAC System
One of the best ways to ensure year-round comfort of local home and business owners is by maintaining your AC (air conditioning) unit year-round. Your air-conditioning unit is the device within the central heating and cooling system (or HVAC system) 1which provides cool air inside your home. This is done by spreading the air through a series of ductwork which is placed throughout the house. The AC unit draws out the warm air inside, removing its heat. In addition to that, the condenser, or outdoor unit, will then turn the refrigerant vapor back into a liquid, removing any heat.
The various parts of an air conditioner require maintenance year-round to keep functioning properly. These parts include an air conditioner’s filters, coils, ductwork, and fins. If you don‚Äôt take steps to inspect and repair these parts, then this can harm the performance of your air conditioning unit or your entire HVAC. You want to make sure your home’s AC unit is providing the proper ventilation necessary to maintain good indoor air quality. Further, the energy use of your AC unit will also falter as a result of poor performance and might create a high energy bill. You‚Äôll want to contact a licensed technician to check your unit and to have them also check the ductwork for signs of damage, while also cleaning and servicing the furnace and compressor. Maintaining the life of your AC unit will help you to maintain your home year-round.
Plumbing
One way to make the most of your living quarters in your home is to check the plumbing. You’ll want to check your home for leaks on faucets and sinks, while also checking for water stains/ damage. Begin by checking your pipes where they can be easily accessed, for instance, underneath your kitchen sink. Look for leaks in these areas, and check for any water damage which might have occurred due to the leak. See if you can find dripping faucets, and also check the flapper on the inside of the toilet tank. If this piece is worn out then your toilet will begin to run more frequently.
Also, check your home’s ceilings for water damage. Though this might indicate a leaky roof, there‚Äôs a good chance that this also signifies that you have a leaky plumbing system. Rather than going into full “wall destruction” mode to locate the source of the leak, hire a licensed plumber to come and check the leaks in cases like this, This might indicate that you have a leak within your walls, which you can‚Äôt easily get to. Making sure your plumbing works well will help to maintain the quality of your home year-round.
A Home Wash
The outside of our home is subjected to a wide variety of things. Whether it’s animal waste, rain, sleet, snow, dirt, or any other number of items, your house can get dirty. When this happens, this lowers the value of your home and just doesn‚Äôt look appealing to you as a homeowner. Who wants to come home each day to a dirty looking house?
During the springtime, this is a good time to give the exterior of your home a good cleaning. You can start by removing your storm windows, and wash your windows on both sides. You can start the overall cleaning process by first closing all of your windows and doors. Then cover your ground and hedges with plastic sheeting. You don‚Äôt necessarily need a power washer, as a garden hose can get the same job done. There‚Äôs also less of a chance of the garden hose’s water pressure damaging your house. As you wash your home, you can spot-clean extremely dirty areas. By washing your home, you‚Äôve found a great way to maintain the quality of this aspect of your home.