Homeownership is part of the American dream. Neglecting that home can be a nightmare. But by committing to conducting quick home maintenance tasks, determining exactly what those tasks are, using a checklist, and budgeting for them, you can make home maintenance a breeze. More importantly, you will not only experience a greater return on your investment but you will enjoy your home even more.
So you have a home and you’ve realized that homeownership means you have to maintain that home. But what do you need to know? Home maintenance can be a breeze or it can be overwhelming. So a good place to start is knowing what some often forget – The Top 5 Most Neglected Home Maintenance Tasks (2022). This is not your ordinary list but is one that will definitely help you get a start on maintaining your home – your most valuable asset.
1. Committing To Regular Home Maintenance Tasks
There are many tasks that need to be done on a regular basis in order to maintain a home. Did you know that a water heater must be flushed at least once yearly? Of course, we all know of the monthly need to swap out the furnace filter. But what about those dryer vents? If you don’t take the time to routinely clean them, they may become clogged and create a fire hazard. Routine maintenance is often time-consuming, requires hard work, and might not be the most exciting thing to do. However, it is essential for homeowners to set aside time for these regular maintenance tasks.
I have been a homeowner for decades. My expertise comes from the school of hard knocks. I know what its like to have an HVAC system fail. I’ve replaced several hot water tanks, a few of which could have lasted years longer had I only conducted the required maintenance on them. So my years of experience have taught me that the best time to conduct home maintenance is now. In other words, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Making a decision today and committing to regular home maintenance will go a long way in helping you keep your home’s value. By putting in a little work now you can avoid a lot of work later.
Several months ago I noticed a small amount of moisture on the ceiling in our laundry room. It was only the size of a half-dollar or so and didn’t increase in size over the next few days. I did a quick inspection of my attic in the area where the stain was located. I saw the stain but nothing conclusive as to the cause. “I will keep my eye on it and take care of it later,” I thought to myself. Like many of us, I was too busy to be bothered by something which did not appear to be an emergency. Besides, there were no water sources in the immediate area in my attic. However, over the next couple of months, the spot did increase slightly in size. When I finally took the time to look into it, I noticed my dryer vent pipe in the attic had condensation on it and moisture was condensing on the ceiling drywall just above the dryer itself. Want to guess why the vent pipe had condensation on it? There were a number of factors but the primary one was a clogged dryer vent. Lent build-up in the pipe had restricted airflow by about 85%! That warm, moist air had nowhere to go which led to the build-up of condensation. It took several hours to make the necessary repairs including disassembling the pipe in the attic, running to the nearest big-box store to purchase a cleaning kit, and repairing the drywall stain. Needless to say, all this could have been prevented. Had I committed to something like a home maintenance calendar and cleaned the vent pipe on occasion, I could have saved the money spent on repairs. More importantly, I could have used those hours I spent removing, cleaning, re-installing the pipe, and making the drywall repairs on doing something I really enjoyed like riding my road bike!
So make a decision now that you will commit to regular or routine home maintenance. I can guarantee you will be glad you did.
2. Determining What Maintenance Is Needed
So you have committed to the routine maintenance of your home. You want to keep your home in good shape and avoid those frequent and time-consuming trips to your favorite home improvement stores. Now what? Now you need to know what to do. Keeping something in good working order is difficult if you are unaware of its needs. I will bet you can relate.
One of the best pieces of advice I received soon after marrying my wife was the need to continue to date her. What? Yep, even though we were married a mentor told me, “You would be wise to continue to take her out every Friday and let her be the focus on your date.” I later learned this was like routine maintenance for successful relationships. Although we have not always been consistent with our dating focus throughout our marriage, I certainly believe it has been a contributing factor to our being together for just over 36 years now. To maintain a relationship, you have to know what he or she needs and then regularly commit to meeting those needs.
I know it may sound a little funny but it’s not much different with a house or home appliances. In order to keep that HVAC system in good working condition, you need to know what it needs. HVAC filters must be changed monthly. Carbon monoxide detectors need a constant power supply or battery backup. Hoses on a washing machine should be checked regularly. To keep most anything in good condition, you need to know what to do. Don’t worry! There are two great resources to learn what maintenance tasks need to added to your list: the manufacturer of the item you purchased and Allthingshomeandhouse.com (remember, we are here to help). Now that you know what’s needed, it’s a good idea to turn that knowledge into a home maintenance schedule or checklist.
3. Developing A Home Maintenance Checklist
By now you might be thinking, “Wow, homeownership is more than I thought. This sounds like I am being forced into a huge time commitment.” Not really. What will force you into a huge time commitment is the sudden failure of a household system or item and having to give immediate attention to it in order to make repairs, meet a service tech, etc. What you need is a simple checklist with to-dos for each day or week. Usually, these to-dos only take a few minutes each.
Having a checklist of home maintenance-related items makes routine maintenance a breeze. As we have discussed, one of the many benefits is the avoidance of bigger problems. In the example given above, had I developed a checklist that included the inspection of the dryer vent pipe, I probably could have avoided spending half of a day making the needed repairs. On-going maintenance saves money. Clean vents not only allow air to flow in my vent pipe but also allows my dryer to operate most efficiently. Like somebody has said, it’s the little things that matter the most. So developing a maintenance checklist can go a long way toward helping you keep your home in great shape and avoid costly repairs. Click here for a checklist to get you started.
4. Budgeting For Home Repairs
Home ownership requires a commitment. You know about committing to pay the mortgage payment. Hopefully, now you realize the importance of having a routine in which you conduct maintenance-related tasks. These monthly tasks should require little time and money. In fact, the good news is that spending a little money now can save you lots of money later. So be sure to include in your family budget an amount for maintenance costs. How much money should you budget for? We will discuss exactly how to budget for home maintenance in a later post. For now, use the 1% rule. Budget a minimum of 1% of the purchase price of your home. So if you paid $200,000 for your home, then you need to allow at least $2000 a year for home maintenance. Just remember that dirty filters in the air conditioner need to be changed every month. You want to be prepared for those expenses by making them a part of the monthly budget. Some have even suggested creating a separate account for ongoing maintenance. The important thing is being prepared by having a line item in the budget.
5. Adding Safety-Related Items To Your Home
Cooking causes over 160,000 home structure fires, annually, and is considered the number one cause of home fires and home injuries. Of the 160,000 annual cooking fires, two-thirds (66%) start with the ignition of food or other cooking materials. Often, these fires are ignited by grease. Having safety-related items like baking soda or, in this case, a Class B dry chemical fire extinguisher, is probably the most neglected home maintenance item. I was recently told of a house fire that begin when the owner forgot he had turned on the burner to heat up the oil in order to prepare himself some popcorn. You know how this story goes. He came back into the kitchen with a full-fledged fire on the stove. What did you use to try and put it out? Nothing. He did not have any fire-fighting equipment nearby. By the time the fire department arrived, the entire kitchen was engulfed.
Too many homes do not have smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, first aid kits, etc. Not only can these reduce the costs of homeowners insurance, but they provide peace of mind should an emergency arise. And they will arise in one form or another. The point here is not to frighten you but to prepare you. Do not forget about safety equipment for the home. No one ever regrets spending the time and money to purchase a fire extinguisher.