Essential home maintenance tips for you and to teach your children

Just buying a house is not the only task; you have to take care of it. Proper and timely maintenance of the house is necessary to keep your home in top functioning condition. This is best done as a preventative measure versus when everything is falling apart. This article contains the best and most prominent essential home maintenance tips to consider. Following these tips will surely help you in becoming a responsible and active homeowner and prepare your children as well.

1.  Weather Stripping

Know how to test and replace weather stripping. Light a candle and hold it about six inches from the window or door and move it around slowly. If the candle flickers, you know there’s a leak in that area. By weather stripping or caulking to stop the leaks, you can save up to 15% off your heating bill.

2.  Caulk windows, doors and drywall

Caulking is important for two reasons. The number one reason is to provide a seal between two areas and to keep water from getting in. It’s important to know what kind of caulking to use and to remove the old caulking, otherwise, the job could look messy.

3.  Replace door handles

Most door handles are easily replaced depending on the design and construction of the handle used in the door. There are few doors handles that can be replaced by simply unscrewing them. And then place the new door handle and that’s it. This is an easy task and is not time-consuming.

4.  Clean arcadia door tracks

Many people don’t give much concentration to arcadia doors and window tracks.  By cleaning the window frame and remove any type of dirt, or debris present in it will help keep your door gliding and so it will open and close smoothly. This will help avoid bigger problems that you would need to call a handyman to repair.

5.  Use suitable quality paints for your house

Not only the construction material used in the building of your house matters.  By keeping up on your paint and using good quality paint it will also ensure your house’s maintenance because it will last longer. Painting is easy to do and can change the look of a house on a cheap budget. Paint is like magic and can do wonders.

6.  Locating studs in walls to hang things on

The purpose of finding studs is to have a solid foundation in which to hang heavier shelves and pictures. Usually, studs are about 16” intervals, so once you know where one is, it’s easier to find others. There are really great electronic stud finders to help.

7.   Minor Drywall Repair

Believe it or not, but minor drywall repair is excellent essential home maintenance know-how. Learning to do small drywall repairs can save a homeowner lots of money. If you have a hole the size of a doorknob save your self some money and learn how to repair it. You will probably come across this many times as a homeowner. So this is a very essential home maintenance knowledge you may want to have.

8.  Remove a stripped screw

I am sure we have all had that horrible screw that has been stripped and we can’t get it out. These don’t have to be a headache. There are several ways to remove a stripped screw without crying. It’s a handy thing to know.

9. Remove the base of a broken light bulb

When a light bulb breaks and you still have the base in with shards of glass it’s kind of intimidating but simply turn off the light switch or unplug and then cut a raw potato in half and press it into the jagged glass. Did you know a potato could be so handy?

10. Toilet wax o-ring change

The primary purpose of the toilet wax ring is to keep a bad odor away from spreading in the whole bathroom and leaking. So, it is necessary to keep the right quality rings for the toilet. Usually, they have a great life. But sometimes, you may need to replace them. This is not costly at all. And you won’t need to spend much time and effort in replacing the toilet wax ring and once you do you will be so proud that you saved so much money in calling a plumber.

11. Change a toilet tank rebuild kit

Changing a toilet tank is an overhaul of your toilet. It fixes noisy, running toilets and is fairly simple.

12. Toilet Triage- how to use a plunger

At least a few times in your life I am sure you will encounter an overflowing toilet and believe it or not there is a right way to plunge the toilet. Knowing how to do this ahead of time can save some embarrassment later.

13. Unclog a drain

Have you ever felt like you were taking a bath in your shower because the drain wouldn’t drain? How about that sink with all the hair build up. Most of the time it’s easy to solve this with tweezers and removing the stopper. If that’s not enough get under the sink and take off the trap to see if that’s where it’s clogged.

14. Replace a showerhead

Pretty much every shower head has the same connections and is easy to replace. It’s a job that can save you money on your energy and water bills.

15.  Insulate Pipes & Water heater

If you have a pet in your house, you must be aware of the exceptional care you need to do. Cats like scratching your sofa, so try keeping your pets away from the furniture. You can’t stop them from wandering them in the house. But, you can divert their attention by providing them with good and plenty of toys that will keep them engaged.

16.  Garbage disposal reset button

Sometimes a garbage disposal will get jammed and the motor will overload and shuts off. Before you make a call to a handyman try flipping switch under the garbage disposal. This essential home maintenance tip will save you lots of money and is simple to figure out.

17.  Make sure to clean the gutter

A very important thing is to clean out the gutters. While your up there pay attention to the condition of the fascia board and roof.

18.  Mow the lawn

Use grass mowers to trim the grass and make your garden look more beautiful.  This is a great job to teach a kid to do. You can mow in rows or in a square. There is indeed a technique in mowing and safety to teach kids when mowing.

19.  Change the string on a weed eater

At one point the string on the weed eater will run out. It’s a good idea to know that these can be changed very easily. Don’t think your weed eater is broken just because it’s not cutting anything. It’s more than likely the string.

20.  Take care of minor irrigation water leaks

Know how to check and repair minor irrigation leaks will save you plenty of money not only in water but in hiring someone.

21. Bypass the electric garage opener when power is out

The red cord dangling from the ceiling-mounted garage door opener is what you need to pull in order to disengage the chain drive so that you can manually slide the garage door.

22. Reset Circuit Breakers

At one time or another, a homeowner will experience a short circuit. This happens when there are too many heavy loads plugged into electrical outlets on a particular circuit. It’s a good idea to be able to locate the circuit breakers to flip the switch back on.

23.  How and what to use a pressure washer on

A pressure washer is a great way to make cleaning tasks easier. Pressure washers are fairly inexpensive and can save you time and labor.

24.  Turn off the main water, gas, and electrical supplies

Before you leave for vacation, don’t forget to turn off the main gas, water, and electrical switches. Doing such will save you from significant damage or disaster in the future. If there occurs any fault or disturbance in these main switches, you will be at a considerable loss. Also, this will severely affect the overall condition of your house.

It’s best if you schedule routine maintenance and no how to change filters as well. This will help things run properly and could reduce your bill. If your heating system runs on natural gas, you will want a professional to check it for gas leaks.

25. Winterize your home

Whether you have a window unit or a large whole-house unit. Shut the water off to the air conditioner so you don’t have to worry about it freezing. You’ll also want to cover it with an insulated blanket to keep snow and debris out of it.

Insulate pipes, wires, or vents which lead outdoors. This will help keep cold air outside where it belongs. It would also be helpful to check around your light switches and electrical plugs. If you notice drafts around them, you can put insulation behind the plate to keep the cold air out.

When you winter-proof your home, the time and effort is an investment in your home. Winterizing your home will result in a warmer house even if you set your thermostat a couple of degrees cooler. You’ll also notice a difference in your energy bills during the winter months.

26.  Change Air Filters

If you have a pet in your house, you must be aware of the exceptional care you need to do. Cats like scratching your sofa, so try keeping your pets away from the furniture. You can’t stop them from wandering them in the house. But, you can divert their attention by providing them with good and plenty of toys that will keep them engaged.

27.  Use fire extinguishers for your safety

Use fire extinguishers in your house. These will help you in protecting from the fire from the kitchen or sparks. Fire extinguishers are an essential thing, and one must have it in his house. Provide information to your children about staying away from it usually. Try educating them on how to use the fire extinguisher in case of an emergency.

How to Choose One and Use It

28.  Change a fire alarm battery and plug

A very essential home maintenance tip is to ensure in your house safety by changing your smoke alarm battery and plugs. This is a simple maintenance tip that anyone can do.

29.  Check for termites

Every six months do a quick walk around the house to inspect for termites. They are those raised, mud looking tubes that run on the ceilings, walls and in the ground. If you scrape them they leave a pinhole and stain. If you spot one you need to get a licensed and bonded exterminator quickly.

30.  Use of pesticides, insecticides, and antibacterial in your house

For staying away from germs and bacteria, there are many things available in the market. Go for using insecticides, pesticides, or anti-bacteria; floor cleaners spray to keep maximum harmful insects and germs away from your house. Make sure to place these things out of the reach of your children.

31. Spot Asbestos

Asbestos is usually found in homes built before 1970. If your pipes and water heaters look white and flakey and resemble plaster you could have asbestos. Asbestos is usually found in insulation, ceiling tiles, textured paint, patchy compounds and vinyl floor tiles. If you think you have asbestos call a professional asbestos contractor to analyze and remove it.

32.  Catalog your house for insurance

You should catalog everything that is not nailed down and where you store it. Write the item and the cost and better yet take a photo of every room from every detail and then save it on a hard drive and put in a fireproof safe or give to a family member that does not live with you.

Link to Homeowners Insurance 101

33.  Replace window screens

Window screens can be very expensive to replace, however they are fairly simple to DIY. Learning to repair your own window screens will save you lots of money.

Conclusion

Hopefully, the ideas mentioned above for essential home maintenance tips will help you a lot if you are confused about what things to focus on for making your house stay maintained. Then, this article is an excellent guide for you. Also, try cleaning your home every day so that you don’t have to face the problem with having the bulk of cleaning work once. Make your children understand all this thing. Do make sure that everyone is following these things. So, you all are contributing your part altogether in the house maintenance.

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