Spring Home Maintenance – What To Do During Your Quarantine

The outbreak of COVID-19 has left tons of Americans sitting inside their homes, twiddling their thumbs. While there are tons of people working from home, it still doesn’t consume their whole day. The bottom line is people have a lot more time on their hands than they previously didn’t have.

 

 

With all this extra time on our hands, there has never been a more perfect time for some routine home maintenance. Since you shouldn’t leave your home and encounter others, this is a perfect use of your time!

Why?

Think of it as your routine check-up do the doctor’s office every year. You don’t go because something is wrong, you go to ensure your body is healthy, foreseeing any problems. Regular home maintenance is no different; inspecting your home, its appliances and its systems (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) are crucial. It’s all about catching any possible problems that can cause a massive headache down the road. Would you rather seal a crack in your foundation today or call a damage restoration company when your basement floods 4 months later??

 

 

Replacing filters or flushing certain systems will extend their life AND help them run more efficiently, thus lowering your utility bills.

Here are a few things you can do around your home that require no human contact!

Spring Cleaning

• Grab your trusty ladder because it’s time to inspect that roof. Not-so pro tip: Don’t inspect your roof when there are high winds or when it’s rainy. The roof acts as your home’s first line of defense against the elements; it’s crucial that the roof remain uncompromised. If you have a shingle roof, look around for damaged, missing, or loose shingles. If you have a tin or concrete tile/metal sheet roof, look for any possible places water could enter your home.
• While you’re on your ladder, make sure to clear your gutters from any debris. Damage from a clogged gutter can take a while to become obvious, and by then, you’ll be facing an expensive repair bill.
• Take a moment and drain your water heater. Over time, sediment builds up in the bottom, eventually leading to clogs. Best case scenario: your water heater stops working. Worst case scenario: water will escape the heater and find itself all over your floor.
• Head over to your dryer vent for some inspection. The lint trap is supposed to function as a trap for lint (crazy right), but sometimes lint tends to escape hide in the dryer vent. Similar to the HVAC systems, this causes your dryer to run longer and become less energy efficient. This also can cause a fire hazard due to lint’s ability to quickly ignite.
• Look at the caulking around your home. Look in your bathroom and inspect the caulking around the sink, shower, and bath. If you see any signs of deterioration, act fast; this is a small problem that over time will transform into a large one. Also, be sure to check the caulking/weather stripping.
• Replace those HVAC filters. A filters’ job is a dirty one, catching any debris being sucked in by an HVAC system. After a while, these filters reach their capacity and become very dirty. This might sound like an “out of sight, out of mind” situation, but this only causes the unit to work harder and longer, leading to an increase in your utility bill. Since it has been recommended to suspend all non-essential travel, you don’t have to rush to your local hardware store to purchase a filter; simply cleaning your filter will do the trick for the time being.
• The warm weather is coming, and you know what that means: yardwork! Be sure to properly maintain your lawnmower this spring by changing the engine oil. Occasionally, don’t forget to sharpen the blades.

Recap

Homes involve a ton of effort. Tons of work must be put in not only buying/selling your home but also in maintaining it. By no means is this an entire checklist for Spring home maintenance: it’s just a few things you can do to upkeep your home without having to leave! If you do not know how to perform an item on this list, feel free to use the ultimate collection of human knowledge: YouTube.

Stay safe!

Thank you for reading our weekly blogs. Please reach out with topics you would like us to tackle in our future blogs!