Owning a home requires significantly more responsibility than renting. When something breaks down, you can't call your landlord to fix the problem—it's in your hands. In other words, the responsibility of keeping your home maintained is up to you.

Scheduling regular home maintenance is integral to maintaining your home warranty, but many homeowners put off maintenance because it's too time-consuming or expensive. Even so, here are some reasons why home maintenance is so important.

Home maintenance saves you money.

Although scheduling regular home maintenance often feels time-consuming and expensive, taking the time to clean and maintain your home can save you money in the long term. According to the personal finance experts at Get Rich Slowly, for every dollar you spend on preventive home maintenance, you'll save approximately $100 in future home repairs.

In other words, fixing small problems now, like a dirty HVAC filter or a clogged drain, prevents the problem from becoming worse over time and creating larger, more costly issues, such as a burned-out HVAC unit or a burst pipe. In most cases, the more serious problems that tend to arise after failing to schedule regular home maintenance can end up costing you significantly more than it takes to maintain your home.

Home maintenance keeps your home running efficiently.

Just like you need to clean your kitchen regularly to keep it usable, you have to clean and maintain the other parts of your home to keep them running efficiently. If you fail to maintain your home, you'll end up with a home that runs less efficiently. For example, if you don't replace your HVAC filter, you'll end up paying more for gas or electricity because your HVAC system will need to work harder to heat or cool your home.

According to the HVAC experts at Indoor Air Quality Medics, maintaining your heating and cooling equipment is the key to keeping a comfortable home. While spring air-conditioner maintenance helps you stay cool during hot and humid summer months, fall heater maintenance maximizes indoor comfort during the winter. HVAC maintenance can also help you maintain great air quality, ensuring that the air you breathe is clean and free of contaminants like dust, mold, and allergens.

Regular maintenance boots your home's value.

When you drive your new car home, its value immediately drops. Your car's resale value decreases the longer you own the car and the older it becomes—but this principle doesn't hold true for homes. In fact, the longer you own your home, the more opportunities you have to increase its value. While home values are largely influenced by the market, you can still boost your home's value by cleaning and maintaining your home.

If you're thinking about selling your home, walk around it, and take note of all the little things that need repair. Individually, smaller repairs, such as chipped paint, might not seem that important. However, if every room in your house has something wrong, smaller repairs can add up to create the impression that you've neglected your home. Staying on top of home maintenance can eliminate more serious issues down the road and increase your home's market value.

Home maintenance keeps your family safe.

The importance of home maintenance is one of the key things to know before starting a family. From maintaining your home's indoor air quality to ensuring your home is structurally sound, regular home maintenance plays a major role in keeping your family safe.

As a key consideration on any home maintenance to-do list, be sure to check your home's electrical safety regularly. Damaged cables and cords are an electrical hazard, especially to smaller children. Make sure to look for damaged spots in cables, cords, and outlets, and replace any frayed or damaged cables.

Additionally, if you have younger children, be sure to cover the electrical outlets in every room to avoid potential injuries. Plastic safety caps are a simple solution to keep your family protected.

Regular home maintenance is one of the most responsibilities of being a homeowner. Although it might be tempting to put off changing your HVAC filter or cleaning your drains, checking these tasks off your to-do list can help save you money, keep your family safe, and help your home run more efficiently.