Owning a home is a big responsibility. If you want to have a comfortable life you should follow an annual household maintenance checklist. Take some advice from experts, A-Z Claims Adjusters can help you understand the maintenance process so you can follow the guide correctly. If you want to feel safe in your home, you should check up on your exterior, heating, appliances, plumbing, security, electrical system, etc. It is very important to follow the annual household maintenance checklist if you want to prevent breakdowns and save money. Our checklist will help you learn about seasonal updates and repairs. If you are not sure you can do it on your own, don’t hesitate to hire professionals to help you with repairs.
Annual household maintenance checklist – Organized by seasons
Spring
Spring is a great period of the year to use for a home maintenance. It is not known as “Spring Cleaning” for nothing. In the spring, you can focus on the exterior to prepare your home for the summer. Check your home from mold and humidity. Also, check the exterior drainage. If water stays around your house and move toward your foundation, it is important to find the solution to resolve this problem. You should hire professionals who can make water drains away from your home. With this kind of protection, you should not worry about rains during the year. Take a look around the house and check the foundation and bricks for any cracks.
- Clean out gutters – If the gutters have accumulated leaves from the fall and sediments from the winter snow, spring is a great time to clean it.
- Clean and prepare your air conditioning for summer – Make sure your air conditioning has regular and proper maintenance every year. Central air is a very complex and important part of your home. Make sure to hire professionals to service your air conditioning. It will not cost you a lot and it will bring you a peace of mind.
- Repair damaged window screens and roof – You don’t want your damaged window screens to let water or bugs in. So, make sure to fix every damage and hole in your window screen. Also, check your roof for damage and leaks.
- Don’t forget to maintain your plants, shrubs, and trees – Spring is a great time of year to do all the necessary gardening. Make sure to trim your trees and shrubs.
Summer
Summer is a great time of year to focus on your lawn and garden. Also, you can clean your garage space and arrange a garage sale to declutter your home from items you are not using. It is a great time for the projects you want to do in the last few months. Now, it is the perfect time to do everything you cannot do during the rainy and snowy months. Make repairs in your bathroom and kitchen.
- Inspect plumbing for leaks
If you do it during the summer, you don’t have to worry about the burst pipe risks during the cold winter. Check your bathroom and all faucets for any small leaks.
- Take care of insect problems
Summer is a period of the year when many of us have problems with insects. If you see ants, spiders, etc. in your home, make sure to clean your home from it. Make sure to clean your home from insects.
Fall
Fall is a season when you should be sure your home is ready for the winter. Cold weather, snow, and rain can do damages to your home, so you don’t want to be unprepared for the winter.
- The most important: get the heating system ready for the winter
- Make sure there are no leaks in windows or doors. Also, make sure heating vents are clean and open and not blocked by pieces of furniture. Check your fireplaces if you have them.
- Clean your chimney – you can do it in the spring or fall, doesn’t matter it is just important it is clean and prepared for the winter.
- Turn off outdoor water faucets
- Buy winter gear – be ready! You never know when first snow will come.
Winter
Winter is the time when you can do some annual household maintenance in your interior. During the winter you can do some interior projects. You can paint, build shelves, etc. Do some regular checks for ice. Clean your house from icicles because they are very dangerous for the people standing beneath them, also they can make a water damage to your foundation. You can use winter months to go through the house to fix different damages. Also, don’t forget about your basement. It also needs a good inspection at least once a year.
How much money do you need for annual household maintenance?
It is impossible to give you the exact for home maintenance. There are many factors that can have an impact on your maintenance costs. If you want to plan a budget you should make plans based on many factors such as the age of the house, condition, weather, and location. Also, you should include some extra costs such as lawn care and other services. There are three main factors that will make a maintenance price:
- The age of the property – A new home built in the last 5 years needs a little maintenance while older houses need more.
- Weather – The weather can have a big impact on home maintenance. For example, houses that are affected by heavy snowstorms and freezing temperatures have more maintenance than other houses. Also, if you have a problem with termites, high winds and other extreme weather conditions it can also add some costs to the maintenance.
- Condition – Depending on the house condition you should plan your budget. If the house is neglected it needs more repairs.
