Here are the best ways to keep your home in great shape for many years to come
As any homeowner can attest, caring for your home is a full-time, around-the-clock job. However, the results are worth it: not only can maintenance help you prevent breakdowns and avoid expensive repairs, but upkeep also preserves the value of your home. In this article, we’ll review the main areas you should focus on if you want to keep your home in outstanding shape for years to come.
Keep up with maintenance on your cooling and heating systems
Here’s something you might not know: your home’s air conditioner, heat pump, or furnace all require regular upkeep and maintenance. In fact, you should have a professional out to inspect and tune up your system at least once-per-year. Just like an oil change for your car, HVAC maintenance helps prevent breakdowns, makes the system run more efficiently, and plays a role in extending the lifespan of the system. Finally, annual maintenance is often a stipulation of your system’s warranty. Skipping this year’s tune-up could void the manufacturer’s warranty altogether.
Cooling and heating systems can potentially be expensive to repair and even pricier to replace. By caring for your AC unit or heater now, you can save yourself money down the road. Call a local HVAC professional in your area to schedule your seasonal tune-up.
Protect your home’s plumbing
Plumbing problems are not only disruptive to life in your home, but can be incredibly expensive to repair. From maintaining your water heater to protecting your pipes and sewer line, here are our top home upkeep tips.
Water Heater
Your water heater needs to be flushed at least once-per-year. This helps remove built-up corrosion and sediment at the bottom of the tank, improving the water heater’s efficiency and effectiveness. While you’re flushing the water heater, also take a moment to double-check that the pressure-relief valve is functioning properly. This critical safety device releases water and air in the event that the water heater tank experiences too high of a pressure reading. A pressure-relief valve can prevent a disaster in your home.
Pipes
When pipes freeze, it’s bad news for homeowners. Often in conjunction with the heat going out in a home, pipes can freeze solid on cold winter nights. As the water freezes into ice, it expands, putting immense pressure on the interior walls of the pipe. The result, in many cases, is a pipe burst, as the pipe can no longer handle the pressure. This can lead to a flooded home and significant water damage.
Outdoor pipes or pipes in exterior walls are most vulnerable. Our recommendation is that you take steps to protect your plumbing by:
- Adding insulation around your pipes.
- Scheduling heating maintenance to reduce the likelihood of a furnace breakdown.
Sewer Line
Your home’s sewer line is essential to life in your home. The two most-common sewer line issues are a blocked line or a leaking sewer line. The latter is most often caused by a nearby tree root growing around or into the line. To prevent this, move any nearby trees or bushes to other parts of your yard and establish a ten-foot perimeter on either side of the line. Sewer line blockages can be caused by the accumulation of grease, oils, fats, and food waste deep in the line, which forms a partial—and then full—clog.
You can prevent a sewer line blockage and ensuing sewer backup problems by being mindful of what you put down the sink or toilet. If you have reason to believe that your sewer line is starting to clog, schedule a professional camera inspection from a locally trusted plumber.
Care for your home
It’s in your best interest to take care of your home and be proactive when it comes to home maintenance and upkeep. After all, a home that is cared for is less likely to need expensive, emergency repairs and more likely to retain its value for many years to come.
For even more tips and tricks for keeping your property in great shape—including caring for your roof—be sure to check out this new infographic from the team at Wagner, a heating repair contractor in Albuquerque, New Mexico:
Created by Wagner
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