Don’t Miss These Commonly Overlooked Home Maintenance Tasks

As with your personal health, prevention is key when it comes to maintaining your home. Preventative maintenance saves money in the long run by extending the life of your home’s systems and appliances and reducing the risk of costly damage. Unfortunately, many homeowners are unaware of important maintenance tasks that they should be performing—potentially putting their families’ health and safety at risk.

Are you taking care of the following commonly overlooked home maintenance tasks?

• Cleaning the exterior dryer vent. Most people know that cleaning the lint trap in your dryer after each load of laundry is essential for preventing fires and helping the dryer function optimally. However, lint also collects in the exterior vent and can create a fire hazard over time. This vent should be cleaned approximately once per year. If you notice that your laundry is not drying properly, it may be time to have the exterior vent cleaned.
• Checking for damaged or missing roof shingles. As the shingles on your roof sustain wear and tear from sunshine, rain, and other elements, they may become damaged—which can lead to leaks and costly water damage in your home when the next big storm hits. Twice a year, inspect your roof for curled, missing, or damaged shingles and repair any that are in subpar condition.
• Maintaining the hot water heater. There are several steps that you should be taking in order to keep your hot water heater functioning properly and safely. For example, draining the water and flushing out the tank on an annual basis will remove the minerals and other debris that collect at the bottom of the tank and impair its ability to heat water efficiently. In addition, the anode rod should be replaced every few years. The anode rod is designed to collect various minerals that would corrode the water heater. In effect, the anode rod sacrifices itself by rusting and eventually disintegrating—which means that it should be checked and replaced when needed. Another crucial step to take in maintaining your hot water heater is opening and closing the pressure relief valve every few months to dislodge any dirt that has accumulated. This valve is an essential component of the water heater because it will alleviate pressure inside the tank if it ever builds up to dangerous levels. If the valve becomes encrusted and therefore unable to open properly when it needs to, the tank could potentially explode.
• Cleaning the refrigerator coils. Many people give little thought to maintaining their refrigerators—until they stop functioning properly. Like any other appliance, your fridge needs care in order to do its job. Specifically, the coils on the back of the fridge should be cleaned twice a year, as dust collects on them and may impair the fridge’s ability to cool.
• Replacing air filters. This is a quick and easy—but often forgotten—task that can boost the performance of your HVAC system and yield cleaner, healthier air inside your home. The filter keeps debris out of your HVAC unit so that it can operate efficiently, and also helps to reduce dust and allergens in the air. This filter should be changed at least every few months, or more frequently depending on the air quality in your home.