4 Easy Home Maintenance Projects to Keep Your Home Running Smoothly

By completing a few home maintenance projects each season, homeowners can often avoid costly emergency repairs. As winter comes to a close, spend a little time on these four small projects to keep your home running smoothly.

• De-grease and clean. After a busy holiday season of cooking and entertaining, now is a great time to tackle the kitchen. Scrub the microwave and oven inside and out to keep them working at peak levels. It’s also a good idea to wipe down cabinets (especially the very top and the ones near cooking surfaces) with hot, soapy water to remove any grease that may have splattered or wafted up.
• Vacuum refrigerator coils. Dirty coils can decrease the refrigerator’s efficiency and cost hundreds to repair. To clean, gently pull the refrigerator away from the wall and unplug (just to be safe). The coils will be either on the back (look for a metal grid attached to the back of the appliance) or on the bottom of the unit (coils on the bottom usually have a removable grate in front). Use the brush and crevice attachments on your vacuum hose to gently clean the accumulated dirt and grime. Tip: Be sure to plug your refrigerator back in when you’re done!
• Replace your HVAC filter. Typically replaced every 1 to 3 months, filters remove pollen, dust, dander, and other tiny particles from the air and help keep your home cleaner and odor free. This simple task performed regularly can save homeowners thousands of dollars in repair costs to their HVAC unit. Tip: Write the installation date on the new filter so you’ll know when it was last changed.
• Test smoke detectors. A working smoke detector increases your likelihood of survival during a fire by more than 50 percent. Make sure yours work! Tip: Keep extra 9-volt batteries in the house. Invariably, a smoke detector’s battery will weaken and emit that annoying, repetitive beep in the middle of the night. When that happens, having a spare battery on hand is worth it’s weight in gold.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, especially when it comes to taking care of a house. Protect your investment with a little vigilance and elbow grease, and when you’re ready to sell…give us a call at (713) 515-3463 or contact us here.

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