5 Home Maintenance Tasks You May Not Know You Need to Do

Keeping your home in good condition through regular home maintenance is a crucial part of being able to live safely and comfortably in your home as you grow older. When done correctly, regular home maintenance can help you:

• Stay safe by reducing your risk of serious disasters.
• Save money by lowering your utility bills, extending the life of your appliances, and preventing costly damage to your home.
• Stay healthy by reducing your risk of illness, disease and injury.

Most of us don’t want to think about home maintenance any more than we have to. But the old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is true, especially when you own a home.

Here are five important home maintenance zones in your home that most of us don’t have on our radars, but should.

Your Fridge: Clean the Condenser Coils

You probably know to wipe down the shelves inside every so often, but what about the outside of your fridge? Once a year (or twice if you have pets that shed), pull your refrigerator away from the wall, unplug it, and using a coil-cleaning brush (available at hardware stores), vacuum the condenser coils to remove dust, hair, and debris. Depending on the model, the condenser coils — metal tubes, wound in a U-shaped grid pattern — will be located in front or back.

Water Heater: Drain and Flush

Did you know sediment can collect at the bottom of the tank, potentially causing damage that stops your electric or gas water heater from working? Not only will draining and flushing the tank once a year extend the life of your water heater, it may lower your energy bills. If you don’t have an owner’s manual with instructions or feel unsure of your ability, call a plumber in your area for guidance.

Kitchen and Bath: Unclog Slow Drains

Slow drains should always be cause for concern. To test yours, pour a gallon of water down each drain to make sure each is draining well. If a drain is slow, that means it’s partially clogged and could turn into an expensive problem. You can use a snake — available at hardware stores — to remove the clog and keep the water draining properly. If the drain still runs slow, you might need professional help. Call a plumber who can advise you and help you avoid costly repairs down the road.

Pro Tip: To prevent potential clogs in your pipes, be careful what you flush down the toilet or wash down the drain.

Basement: Inspect Your Sump Pump (If You Have One)

Designed to help prevent ground or rain water from flooding your basement, sump pumps should be checked a couple times a year. To do so, pour water from a bucket into the basin to make sure the float triggers the pump to begin pumping. Scheduling a professional inspection once a year is also a good idea.

Family/Living Room: Have Your Chimney Inspected

The National Fire Protection Association recommends homeowners have a qualified professional clean and inspect their chimney and vents once a year. That said, it’s something a lot of us put off doing. A quick way to tell if your chimney needs cleaning? Grab a flashlight and run the point of your fireplace poker along the inside of your chimney liner. If the layer of buildup you scrape off is an ⅛ of an inch or more (the thickness of a nickel), it’s time to call a chimney sweep.

One reason many of us neglect these home maintenance tasks is because they may require finding and hiring a professional or making sure we have enough money in our budget to hire someone to help.

But a little love now will help you avoid big problems — and expensive repairs or replacements— in the future.