Four good reasons to keep up with home maintenance

After a busy work week, it can be hard to get motivated to complete chores and home maintenance around the house. And knowing what tasks to do and when to do them may not come intuitively for everyone. But neglecting home maintenance is a mistake, say experts.

“Regular home maintenance can benefit your family’s health, safety and pocketbook,” says Elizabeth Dodson, Co-Founder of HomeZada, a digital hub to store pertinent information about your home. “Consider creating a home maintenance schedule to stay organized and motivated.”

With this in mind, here are several examples of how to maintain your home and why it’s important:

 

Avoiding Replacements

• Mineral deposit build-up in your refrigerator’s ice maker can eventually cause a leak that could damage the refrigerator and its contents. Annually clean water lines to prevent the need for a major appliance replacement.
• Lubricate your garage door for smooth operation and to delay the need for parts replacement.

 

Improving Safety

• Lint build-up in dryer ducts is flammable and a common cause of house fires. An annual cleaning eliminates this dangerous situation. You should also regularly clean your dryer’s lint filter after every couple of loads. Likewise, you can prevent fires with checks on electrical and gas equipment and fireplaces.
• Maintain the air quality of your home by replacing or cleaning the filters on your home’s heating system quarterly, or as needed.
• A regular schedule of battery replacement in your home’s smoke and carbon monoxide detectors could be life-saving.

 

Reducing Utility Bills

• Periodically ensuring that your home is properly sealed and insulated can lower utility bills. Use weatherstripping to close gaps around windows and doors.
• On an annual basis, inspect heating and cooling equipment to ensure it’s running optimally.
• Ensure your fireplace damper closes and opens properly. When your fireplace is not in use, keep the damper closed to maximize your climate-controlled environment.

 

Improving Value

A house in worn condition can lose 10 percent of its previous appraised value, whereas proactive maintenance can increase the appraised value each year by one percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.

And you don’t have to invest a ton to improve your home’s value. Plenty of projects offer great returns on investment. This becomes especially important if your home is on the market. From replacing elements of your home’s exterior to updating your kitchen, your realtor can offer suggestions for updates that can help you sell.

Consider new tools to help you track home improvement projects in one place. For example, by signing up for HomeZada, you will automatically receive comprehensive home maintenance checklists, as well as automated alerts and reminders when it’s time to complete a task, so you never miss anything important.

Additionally, the site provides how-to videos and other free resources for do-it-yourselfers. For more information, visit www.HomeZada.com.

Don’t let key home maintenance tasks fall by the wayside. Let new tools help you keep your home safe and up-to-date.

–StatePoint