6 Home Maintenance Tasks to Do Every Year

If you own a home, maintenance is essential. Good maintenance allows you to address small problems before they become big issues, and keep your home in great working order. What’s more, carrying out routine maintenance helps you get to know your home and develop the skills you need to care for it well throughout the years.

Here are six important home maintenance duties to complete every year:

1. Test Your Sump Pump

If you have a basement, you likely have a sump pump. Sump pumps remove excess water and prevent flooding, so it’s important that they work the way they need to. To check the pump, dump water into the basin and wait for the pump to kick in.

2. Clean Your Window Weep Holes

Window weep holes help drain away rainwater and prevent it from entering the house. Over time, though, these weep holes can get clogged, which results in water entering the home. Check yours annually to prevent harmful moisture from sitting in your sills.

3. Clean Refrigerator Coils

The condenser coils on the back of your refrigerator are a perfect spot for dust and pet hair to build up. When this happens, the coils can’t release heat, which forces your fridge to work harder and shortens its lifespan. Clean them frequently to keep it running well.

4. Drain the Sediment from Your Water Heater

If you have a water heater, you’ll want to drain the sediment from it annually. Sediment builds up naturally in these tanks, and can create hot spots that damage the tank. Draining sediment will help lower your energy bills and make the tank last longer.

5. Maintain Your Garage Door Springs

Your garage door springs work hard to maintain the lift action of your garage door, so they need to be maintained. For best results, spray your torsion spring with spray lubricant to help prevent fatigue and corrosion. This will make the springs last longer and prevent them from snapping prematurely.

6. Clean Your Dryer Vents

You know to clean the lint roller in your dryer, but do you change the dryer vents on the outside of your house? As your dryer processes a load of laundry, tiny pieces of lint sneak through the system, coming to rest in the exterior dryer vent. Over time, the vent can get clogged, which can lead to a fire or decreased efficiency. Check it annually to prevent negative outcomes.

Home Maintenance Made Simple

While “home maintenance” can seem like a big, daunting task, these simple tasks can help break it into manageable chunks. When you do these six things each year, you not only extend the life of your appliances and fixtures, but you reduce the risk of fires, accidents, and catastrophic breakdowns. All these things combine to make simple home maintenance a great idea for the responsible homeowner.