Maintain Your Home Today to Avoid Emergencies Tomorrow
October 2, 2019
Earlier this year, I crafted this list of monthly, seasonal and annual household tasks for a client new to home ownership. She wanted to keep up on regular maintenance tasks because she is smart, and realizes that regular maintenance is the best way to avoid emergencies down the road.
For example, every Fall:
Have your furnace and air conditioner looked at now, to avoid an emergency and costly repair or replacement in the dead of winter.
Turn off outdoor water faucets completely, to keep pipes from freezing (and bursting).
Take care of your lawnmower and snowblower at the change of seasons to keep them running well for many years to come.
And the list goes on and on…
Of course we can’t avoid emergencies or accidents completely, but we can invest some time and resources in keeping them away as much as possible!
This list is a start, a jumping-off point. Feel free to copy and paste it to your own document and edit it to make it more personal and specific to your situation, such as if you have pets or a swimming pool, or more than one home or just a condo or apartment, obviously tasks can be added or subtracted to fit your needs.
Annual Tasks:
HVAC system check
Clean rugs
License and license plate sticker renewal
Fall / Winter:
Winterize your lawnmower
Get your snowblower ready, turn it on and let it run a few minutes (Get some gas, too)
Flush hot water heater and remove sediment
Turn off and flush outdoor water faucets
Test sump pump / sump pump valve replacement
Outdoor greastrap
Rout the shower drain
Winterize air conditioning system
Clean duct work
Get heating system ready for winter
Clean / check fire place, get chimney cleaned
Check driveway/pavement for cracks
Buy winter gear and sidewalk salt
Bring deck furniture in
Check window screens
Wash mini blinds
Wash out and de-clutter cabinets and closets
De-grease top of cabinets if no soffit
Spring / Summer:
Check and repair screens
check and repair deck
move deck furniture to deck
clean and summer-ize snow blower
Twice a Year:
Windows inside and out
Clean curtains / draperies
Wash or dry clean comforters
Vacuum your fridge coils, pull fridge out and vacuum behind
Swap out reverse osmosis unit water filter
Check and clear dryer vents
Reverse ceiling Fans
Test smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, and all ground-fault circuit interrupters.
Clean gutters and downspouts
Monthly:
Inspect and possibly change furnace filter
Vacuum heat registers and heat vents
Clean range hood filters and garbage disposal (grind ice cubes, then flush with hot water and baking soda)
Pour a tea pot full of boiling water down bathroom sink drains
Clean coffee maker
Weekly / Daily:
Clean dishwasher trap (weekly)
Errands and grocery shopping
Pet waste clean-up
Restock pet supplies
Rugs, towels and bedding
Daily laundry
Go through mail / shred stuff / pay bills
So, use a little time this week to take care of your home maintenance tasks, and get your home prepped for the next season!
