Home Maintenance Mistakes Not to Make

This is the season for home maintenance, and lots of homeowners are anxious to get out there and get their hands dirty. Unfortunately, it’s easy to make some simple home maintenance mistakes that can harm your home and put your safety at risk.

Home Maintenance Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

Home maintenance mistakes can cost you time and money. Here are a few common blunders to avoid making on your property:

1. Not Unclogging Your Gutters

Each year, snow, rain, and wind drop leaves, twigs, and other debris into your gutters. If you don’t clean the gutters at least once a year, these things build up and make it difficult for your gutters to handle water the way they’re supposed to.

This, in turn, can lead to moisture damming and may put your windows and doorsills at risk of mold and warping. To avoid this, be sure to clean your gutters at least once a year. Since this can be a messy job, it may be one you want to hire a professional for.

2. Not Re-Grouting Your Bathroom When It Needs It

Some people think grout is a purely aesthetic substance. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Grout acts as a moisture barrier that prevents leaks from your bathtub or sink from getting behind your tiles and causing mold and mildew. With that in mind, be quick about re-grouting any areas where the existing grout has worn off. The faster you can be with this job, the less likely you are to develop a moisture problem.

3. Letting Paint Chip

Like grout, lots of people regard paint as aesthetic. While paint does make your home look beautiful, it also protects it from the elements and seals the boards or substances beneath it. As such, letting the paint on your home chip can be very problematic. Instead of resigning yourself to living with this problem, re-paint worn down areas immediately, or hire a team to do it for you.

4. Not Cleaning Your Roof

Your roof is arguably the most important structure of your entire home, and it needs a good cleaning once or twice a year. In addition to reducing your home’s fire danger (by removing dry and flammable debris), cleaning your roof also cuts down on the likelihood that it will develop mold or moss over the years.

5. Not Replacing Your Windows

Windows are an expensive fix, but they’re also a critical part of the home. If you own a home with older windows, it’s wise to replace them as soon as you can. In addition to lowering your energy bills and reducing draft, replacing your windows will also keep your home dry and moisture-free for years to come.

Better Home Maintenance Starts Here

If your mind has started to drift to home maintenance, consider these five mistakes and commit to avoiding them. While they may seem innocent enough, these simple blunders can cost you thousands of dollars and countless hours of stress and frustration down the road.