A Quick Guide to Essential Home Maintenance Tasks

Our home is our castle – and one of our most valuable assets. To keep our property and its contents in good shape, we should look after them and carry out maintenance on them regularly.

If you want to protect your home and contents from wear and tear, here is a quick guide to essential home maintenance tasks.

Roof Repairs

Your property’s roof needs to be checked on a regular basis to ensure there are no holes, loose, lost, or broken tiles as rain and dampness will enter your home and rot timbers. The thermal efficiency of your home will be compromised, too, and energy bills will skyrocket.

Gutters

The guttering around your home’s roof should be cleaned and cleared of any leaves. Debris can gather in the gutters and block downpipes, preventing rainwater from flowing away correctly. Guttering can become damaged and crack or fall if it becomes heavily laden.

Appliance Maintenance

It’s not just the structure of your property that needs maintenance – items inside your home require upkeep too.

Electrical appliances should be inspected for faults such as damaged cables, loose components, or overheating. Always call a professional to carry out appliance repair as attempting it yourself can be hazardous.

Gas appliances should be handled with care as gas can be hazardous. Gas boilers and fireplaces should be checked and serviced annually by a professional.

Test Safety Devices

Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and other safety devices should be tested and checked at least once a month. The batteries should be tested and replaced if required. If the devices make a chirping sound, this means that the batteries need to be replaced.

It is absolutely vital that these devices are in working order as they may just save your life one day.

Check for Leaks

Water can do untold damage to your property, especially if it comes in contact with wooden structural frames or flooring.

Check that the sealant around your bath, sinks, and showers is intact and free from gaps where water could leak through. If any grouting around the floor or wall tiles is damaged, remove and replace it.

Windows and Doors

If there are gaps around the window and doors in your home, warm air can escape, and cold air enter, leading to an increase in your heating costs. Ensure draft strips and sealants around the doors and windows are intact and effective.

Look for cracks in window and door glass and fix them as soon as possible before they shatter and you are left with a gaping hole through which burglars could enter.

Check that all door and window locks are working correctly and give them some oil if required. Locks need to be easily opened from the inside in case a fire starts inside your home and your family needs an escape route.

Tend the Garden

It’s not just the inside of your home and the building that needs to be maintained – the land surrounding your house should be looked after too.

Trees and bushes should be trimmed so that they are not in danger of coming in contact with overhead power lines. Trees situated close to your property should be monitored as they could fall down and crash through your home, or large branches could break off during a storm and land on your roof or fall through a window.

Keeping your home in tip-top condition will reduce utility bills, save on long-term costs, and maintain the property’s market value.