Home maintenance is an essential part of being a homeowner. So, making sure that you keep up with the most important jobs before they create problems is a huge advantage. Following this guide will give you the 7 essential home maintenance jobs to tackle this year!
Check Your Smoke Detectors
To start off with you will want to check out your homes smoke detectors. The last thing you will want is to be caught off guard by a fire. Smoke alarms should warn you in plenty of time when to change their batteries, but still, conducting a test at least twice a year is still a sure-fire way to ensure they are still working correctly.
If you are a landlord or live in a rented property it is also important to note that it is the law to one working smoke alarm in the living room and a working smoke alarm in every hallway or landing.
Check Your Heating System
This is one that you will want to do during the summer, ready for that colder autumn and winter weather. During those months, an efficient heating system is needed to make sure your costs are kept down, and you are kept warm. Homes with boilers older than ten years may be spending £300 more a year on their heating bills than that of their modern counterparts.
If you think you may need a new boiler there are plenty of options out there so while it may seem confusing, giving an article such as this one a read can really help in your search for a new boiler.
Pest Prevention
Pest prevention is something that is often overlooked. But it is vitally important, especially in the summer months. The best way to go about pest prevention is to exterminate the pests before they have a chance to establish a nest either in your home or your garden. Common household pests can include:
- Rats
- Mice
- Wasps
- Flies
- Ants
There are some great methods of pest prevention that you can conduct such as removing any sources of food, reduce clutter where pests can hide and seal off any cracks or holes to the outside of your home. There are also more humane options such as rat and mouse traps that will not harm the animals. If you have tried all these things and end up with an infestation the easiest fix will be a pest control service.
Clean Out Your Gutters
Cleaning out your gutters, while it is a task none of us like it is on here for a very good reason. This is a task you will want to get done before early autumn when its beings to rain a lot. By cleaning out your gutters it means that water has a clear runoff from your roof and into the drain. If this is not the case the water build-up will begin to erode your roof materials over time, causing the wood to rot. This material will then need replacing, which can cost a hefty sum.
Insulate External Pipes
Another one to do in the summer, insulate your home external pipes. Insulating these pipes will stop them from freezing during winter and subsequently bursting, causing you both a mess with water and a broken pipe. Insulating external pipes is an easy job, as all you must do is measure foam insulation tubes to the size of your external pipes and then use duct tape to attach them snugly to the pipe. While this stop freezing it can also help hot water keep its heat, making your heating system more energy efficient.
Get in the garden
Springtime is the best time to get into your garden and get it healthy and ready for summer. There are some jobs that are perfect for the summer months such as pruning your plants so that you are not damaging any new growth in the later summer/early spring which may affect the growth of your plant through the rest of the year.
Just like inside your home, preventing pest infestations is also a vital part of gardening. It is best to deal with any potential pest problems in the spring before their larvae get the chance to hatch in the summer. A great way to do this is to spray neem oil onto the leaves of your plants to kill the larvae. Neem oil is a natural pesticide so will not damage your plants like some man-made pesticides would.
Check your roof
Finally, check your roof. You will want to start by going up a ladder and checking your roof for any broken or loose tiles or slates as these will allow water to get into the roof of your home. If you find any of these broken or loose tiles a builder will be required to fix them, though this can be costly in the long run you will save money.
After checking the exterior, you will want to go into your loft and check how our roof is looking from inside. While in your loft you will want to be looking for any damp patches from the broken tiles on your roof and any other holes in the roof. Catching both problems early on can mean there are not any long-term problems inside your home.
Clean your drains
Cleaning out your sink and waste pipes will ensure that there are no nasty smells or surprises throughout the year. Checking your external drains is also a good idea, as they can often be backed up by fallen leaves or mud.
You can tell you have an external blockage if all your fixtures are blocked up and you see varying levels of blockage when you flush the toilet or run the shower. There will also be a noticeable smell. If you have identified a problem with your drains you will then want to check if it is on your property, as shared drainage space is the problem of the local sewage company but if it is just on your property then it is your problem. There are some methods that you can employ to unblock external drains however it is better to call a professional service for this issue.
These are 8 maintenance jobs that you should tackle this year! It is important to note that all these tasks should be done at different times in the year to get the best results. While some of these tasks are bigger than others and some will take longer, all these tasks will ensure your home is well maintained.
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