Good home maintenance is important for the continued health of your home and family. As the saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It is far easier–and cheaper–to prevent problems than it is to run around fixing them once they’ve started causing damage to your property and family. There is both indoor maintenance and outdoor maintenance necessary for every home. Here is a list of 5 important indoor maintenance tips that every home owner should know.
Change HVAC filters
When HVAC filters get clogged with dust, dirt, and grime, your HVAC system works twice as hard to compensate. Clean filters allow your HVAC system to run at peak efficiency, lowering your energy bills and decreasing your carbon footprint. Clogged air filters result in dust, mold, and other allergens circulating through your home, resulting in you and your family constantly breathing in these potentially harmful contaminants. This type of environment causes respiratory issues, especially in those already prone to asthma, allergies, and other similar health concerns.
Look for moisture in basements, attics, and crawlspaces
Moisture breeds mold. If you want a healthy environment for your family, it’s important to keep excess moisture out of your home. Areas such as basements, attics, and crawlspaces are particularly susceptible to moisture buildup. Regular inspections of these spaces catch the problem before it spreads and becomes a major health hazard. Excess moisture is not only a health hazard. It also poses a real danger to the structure of your home. When moisture gets into the structure of a building, it decays the building materials, significantly reducing the lifespan of the materials and eventually threatening the integrity of the structure. Moisture also causes stains, mold, and mildew that quickly spread to other household objects. If you find moisture in these spaces, a quick and easy solution is investing in a solar ventilation fan. They are environmentally friendly, completely solar-powered, and will never raise your utility bill. In fact, they will often lower your utility bills. They are an inexpensive solution to a very common and often expensive problem.
A solar attic ventilation fan is a great solution for many home maintenance problems
Make sure your sump pump is working
A sump pump is important to have in every home in case excess water collects in the basement. Removing excess water from the basement as soon as possible is vital to maintaining the integrity of your home as the excess humidity and moisture is a breeding ground for mold and other allergens in addition to being a hazard to the very foundation of your home. The sump pump aid in preventing a buildup of excess moisture that threatens the structural integrity of your home.
Inspect air ducts for mold, allergens, debris
Air ducts are another area of your home that are particularly susceptible to collecting mold and allergens. Cleaning your air ducts regularly prevents a buildup of potentially harmful debris that poses a threat to the health of your home and family.
Inspect caulking around doors and windows, replace if necessary to maintain energy efficiency
Ensuring the caulking around your windows is properly maintained is vital to maintaining an energy-efficient home. Proper caulking creates a seal around the window to ensure all that conditioned air from your home stays where it belongs in your home. Your HVAC system works hard to condition the air around in your house. If that air is slowly leaking out because your windows are not properly sealed, your HVAC system has to work much harder to keep the air in your home properly conditioned. This can significantly raise your utility bills, especially if multiple windows have faulty seals.
