Maintenance is one way that separates humans from animals. Experienced homeowners realize and embrace the maintenance aspect of their most important investment. Each home is different, so surely there will be different lists of chores from one building to the next, but here are some tips for general maintenance regardless of the type of home you live in.
1. Updating Seals on Doors and Windows
Nothing can drain a wallet like out-of-control monthly energy bills can. It’s not going to do much good to buy a new HVAC system if the air is dumping out of the building through the worn seals around windows and doors. You would think this is an obvious place to start, but most people forget this can be a problem. Check all the windows and doors in the home that could possible leak air. Buy weather stripping that will best fit the scenario, remove the old seal if needed and install the new strips. This stuff is fairly cheap, so even if you need to replace every seal in the house it shouldn’t cost much.
2. Testing and Replacing Electrical Cords
Cords these days are in every room of the house and seem to be taking over. Even kitchens now have become a nexus for device charging cords and power strips. Not only is it unsafe to have bundles of cords connecting to each other all the time, ready for a pet or child to come along and touch the spaces between the plugs, but they look rather unsightly. It’s a good idea to form a regular practice of walking around the house and replacing short cords linked together with just one single longer cord. Try and balance surge protector loads between two different outlets in the room rather than extending and running an entire room from one outlet. Consolidate and store all of the old and un-needed charging cables and cords.
3. Cleaning the Carpets, Floors and Furniture
Finding a good steam cleaning company in your area can ensure excellent maintenance for your most used items in the home. If you have carpets, then you know. Also, steam cleaning can be used for the tile floors and the cloth furniture. Carpets and furniture especially have a tendency to filter particles from the air and hang on to them, such as hair, dust, dirt and fur. Proper steam cleaning and extraction ensures that those items are flushed out regularly and all that nasty dust and debris is removed from your home.
