February 2019

So you’ve bought your first home and you are ready to move in. You already picked out your furniture, the walls are all painted and the house has that fresh new smell. You can’t wait to start living your life in this hard-earned asset. But let’s stick a pin right there!

This new home is not always going to be in tip-top shape, the only way it stays in the beautiful condition it is in now is if you and your family take care of it. Yes maintaining your new home is a very important part of home ownership. It helps to keep the value of your home while it ensures that you get to enjoy your home to the fullest. A well-kept home will always be a comfortable home, a haven, a place you will always look forward to coming home to.

It is especially hard for new homeowners who have never had to perform any home maintenance before. But we are here to help you at SilverBeam Homes. So we have put together this guide of a couple of things you can do, which each just take a couple minutes. Doing these things will ensure your home is kept in the best condition over time.

1.  Check Crawl Space for Possible Water Leaks – Mold and water damage are no joke matters. Not only are these unsightly and unhealthy but they also diminish the value of your home. you can easily check your crawl space yourself and only need a flashlight. Get into the crawl space and look for changes in color. You also want to touch surfaces feeling for dampness. Check corners and edges and if you find any water you want to call a home inspector right away to assess the damage.
2. Check Wooden Decks for Moisture – Moisture on your decks will cause rot and water damage. Even decks that have been sealed need to be checked at the beginning of summer. You also want to bear in mind that you should be resealing your deck every two to three years. But before we get to resealing, how do you check? – You do a simple splash test. You should see water beads form to indicated that your sealant is indeed repelling the water, if not, then it is time to reseal.
3. Check Filters for your HVAC and Furnace – When left unchecked, your filters can become clogged. This will affect the quality of air in your home which can have a negative impact on your health. Clogged filters can also affect the efficiency of these systems leading to higher bills. The best part is this is a task you can do yourself. Simply turn the system off and take the air filters out and examine them. You will be able to see clearly if they are still nice and clean or looked clogged and dirty. If you need to replace them you can easily find a nice replacement at your local hardware store.
4. Service/Clean Furnace – A furnace not running properly is a huge problem. It can be emitting carbon monoxide which is extremely unsafe for you and your family and it may be using up way too much energy. This is one of those maintenance items that will require you to call a pro. If you don’t know any pros you can call the manufacturer and they can help you find one certified to deal with their products in your area. You will want to have your furnace inspected every fall.
5. Recaulk the Windows – When your windows are not properly caulked you will have heat loss during winter and be allowing heat in during the summer. Either way, your HVAC system will not be running efficiently and this will increase your utility bills. Check these out at the end of each summer so you know if you need to touch them up before the winter season begins.
6. Inspect and Cleaning Wood Burning Fireplaces and Chimneys – when you don’t clean your fireplaces and chimneys you are creating a fire hazard. This is another maintenance task that will require you calling a professional. Ensure to have them cleaned every fall prior to the beginning of the fire burning season.
7. Check Toilet Seals – you want to do this to ensure that you don’t have any unwanted water leeching into your bathroom. These checks should be done on a yearly basis. You can set up a reminder based on the time you moved into your new home and started using the home full time. Set the reminder to remind you to check these at the end of the first year and set it to recur yearly at around the same time.
8. Check Bath Tub Caulk – These should be checked in the same way as you will check your toilet seals. You could make the reminder so that it includes checking the bath tub caulk as well as the toilet seals.
9. Clean Gutters and Drains – If you don’t clean these you may end up with water backing up and entering the foundation, the crawl space or the roof of your house. This is something you can check by yourself. You will need a ladder to check the gutters and please be careful as you do this. If you can’t do these checks yourself then you can go ahead and hire a professional. You can do these checks yearly or you can check twice yearly if you live in a heavily wooded area where there are more chances for debris to be on your roof and end up in your drains.
10. Clean Garbage Disposal – Inside the drain of your garbage disposal can get stinky and you can even get waste particles collecting on the blades. This is an easy maintenance task that even your kids can help you with. Let the kids throw some vinegar into an ice tray and let that set in the freezer. You will now throw the vinegar cubes into the garbage disposal and turn it on. the ice will help to clean the blades and the vinegar will get rid of any bad scents that are accumulating inside the drain. You can do this two to three times per year or more if you use your garbage disposal a whole lot.