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Your house is probably the biggest investment of your life. You worked hard, saved money, and bought a house. Now what?
Protecting and maintaining a house is never an easy task. Your carelessness can damage the biggest investment of your lifetime. So what can you do to increase the life expectancy of a house? These yearly home maintenance tips will assist you in your journey as a new home owner.
Apply lubricants on door hinges
It might seem like a small detail, but in reality, this is a thing most people forget to do. You obviously do not want to hear a creaking sound every time you open a door, window or cupboard. These small changes will transform your “house” into a “home”. So, oil door hinges once in a while.
Check for mice and pests
Before moving to your new house, make sure there are not any mice or pests living there. Seek help from a pest control service if needed. Search for mice nests every year because they populate rapidly and can get out of control in a short time.
Trim plants and trees
Give your indoor and outdoor plants a yearly trim. Make sure the decorative veins and other plants are not invasive. If you have big trees, trim them down if they are obstructing any wire or wall. Clean hedges and bushes at least once in a year to avoid insects.
Clean rain gutters
This task may seem troublesome but avoiding it would not be a wise thing to do. Gutters are supposed to protect your house by keeping water away from it. Not cleaning the leaves and debris from it can cause clogging and flooding in a short period of time. So if you do not want a flooded lawn, make sure you clean the rain gutter properly.
Plumbing services
Did you know that the average household loses about 17 gallons of water per day because of plumbing leakage? Of course, some water leakage is obvious. If you see a dripping faucet, you know that something is wrong with the plumbing. But in reality, there might be water leakage in your house even if you cannot see it. A leaking pipe not only loses water but also can cause an explosion. So you seek help from plumbing services to find and repair water line leakages.
Detector maintenance
This one is actually a life-saving tip. Change the batteries of smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. It is very important to change the detector batteries at least twice a year to make sure they are working. Check your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector once in a while to make sure they are working just fine. There is no point in having detectors if they are not working or the batteries are dead. Neglecting this task could endanger you and your family’s life. So, give your appliances a yearly clean and repair.
Appliance maintenance
Home appliances like ovens, stoves, refrigerators and even coffee makers are an important part of your house. As a new homeowner, you must know that neglecting the maintenance of these appliances will take a toll on you. Avoiding home appliance maintenance will cost you money and time. Regular care and maintenance of your home appliances will save you this inconvenience.
Safety tips
Take necessary safety measures like changing locks, doing a deep clean before moving in, adding security lights, etc. If your new house does not have a smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector, install one. Make sure to purchase a fire extinguisher. Check that they are working at least twice a year.
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