If you’re planning to sell your home someday, you probably think of every home improvement project as an investment towards increasing your home’s value. While there’s nothing wrong with that, many homeowners often ignore the simpler and more affordable investment of regular maintenance.
While home improvements increase your home’s value, maintenance retains it. Preventive maintenance also helps avoid expensive repairs and replacements. But being proactive in taking care of your home’s systems and structures is easier said than done. After all, most of us lead busy lives, so we tend to look at things only when they need our attention.
What you can do is follow a preventive maintenance schedule for the different systems and parts of your home. Listed below are 5 examples of home maintenance tasks that should be followed religiously but many homeowners usually ignore.
1. Replace HVAC Filters
Your home’s furnace and air conditioning can last for decades if they are well maintained. While air-conditioning units can last up 10 years and furnaces up 15 to 20 years, when it’s time for a replacement, you can expect to pay $10,000 at the very least for a new system and installation.
A faster, not to mention cheaper fix is to just change your filters regularly, which will help extend the lifespan of your AC unit and furnace. A good rule of thumb is to change the filters twice a year, ideally when the seasons change. Clean filters also help the HVAC system run more efficiently, saving energy in the process.
2. Keep Dryer Vents Clean to Prevent Clogs
Cleaning dryer vents is a simple task that not only maintains your dryer’s efficiency and performance, but also prevents fire caused by clogged vents. Fortunately, it’s really simple to check your exterior vents for blockages. You should check the dryer vent tube for buildup and vacuum at least once a year.
3. Clean Your Gutters
Cleaning a house’s gutter system is something many people ignore at their peril. When gutters aren’t cleaned periodically, they can clog and cause water to pool and damage eaves. Worse, the moisture can wreck your roof and cause water to leak into the house, causing water damage to the walls and flooring.
The simplest solution is to conduct annual maintenance and cleaning of your gutters. Get a ladder, wear a pair of gloves, and use a hand trowel and garden hose to remove debris from your gutter system. You can also call a pro if you don’t have the tools for the job.
4. Inspect the Roof
Given the level of abuse your roof gets, it’s a good idea to conduct an annual check for cracks, loose shingles, and general damage. Even if you don’t have any leaks, you should still watch out for seemingly ‘harmless’ things like algae growth, rust, and sun rot among others. Better to catch these issues early on while they are still cheap to fix.
5. Drain Your Water Heater Tank
The water heater is one of those appliances we don’t care about until it’s gone. Fortunately, maintaining a water heater is simple; just check for leaks and drain the tank completely once a year.
Follow these tips to protect your home’s value. When you finally decide to sell your home, you can consider selling to an investor like Blue Hen Homebuyers! We buy all kinds of houses, regardless of their age or condition. Call our offices today at 910-802-2222 to learn more about how our services can help you.