12 Important Home Maintenance Tasks Most Homeowners Aren’t Doing — Are You?

A recent online discussion about things homeowners should be doing (but aren’t) grabbed my attention. For starters, they warn that you should never start any home improvement project without ensuring the hardware store is open. If it is closed, don’t touch anything. Here are some other homeowner tasks you should be tending to.

1. Clean Your Gutters

The fact that my dad let my tween self get up on the roof to clean the gutters is surprising considering today’s parenting outlook, ha! Nonetheless, huge maple trees in the yard clogged the gutters. So, it was a chore that needed to be done, and I loved the extra cash for doing it.

It’s true today that you can get Gutter Guards that help keep out leaves, pine needles, rodents, bees, and other pests. But they serve to lessen the effort. You still need to clean them out occasionally, especially if your yard has plants that produce smaller debris.

2. Turn off the Main Water Valve Periodically

Homeowners should turn the main valve for their water off and on once or twice annually. Not doing so will eventually result in them corroding and getting stuck. Nothing would be worse than having a significant leak and being unable to shut the water off.

3. Caulk Around Your Roof Vents Every 3-5 Years

Did you know you must caulk around your roof vents every three to five years to avoid leaks? Interior water damage is the unfortunate result of deteriorated sealant around roof vents.

4. Clean Your Dryer Vent

Lint fires are a dangerous threat that many homeowners overlook. The National Fire Protection Association reports after a four-year study: “U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 15,970 home structure fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines each year. The vast majority of fires (92%) involved clothes dryers.”

Checking and cleaning the lint trap after every load is crucial to avoid this hazard. It would be best to regularly inspect the exterior vent while your dryer is in use to ensure air is coming out. A weak airflow is a sign the vent may be clogged.

Have the dryer vent cleaned professionally at least once a year. You should only attempt this maintenance independently if you are confident in what you’re doing and have the proper tools.

5. Drain Your Hot Water Tank

Did you know you are supposed to drain your water heat once a year? The manual (or YouTube) provides simple steps to follow. If you don’t, sediment and mineralization will build up between the heating element and the water, making it less efficient. If you live in an area with hard water, drain and flush out this mineral buildup every 4-6 months.

6. Change Your Washing Machine Hose Out Every 5 Years

To prevent a flooding emergency, washing machine hoses should be replaced every five years, regardless of their condition. They are made of black rubber and will eventually fail, causing a massive mess and expensive water damage. You can complete this task yourself in roughly 15 minutes.

7. Change Your Furnace/HVAC Filters

Change your furnace/HVAC filters every two to three months. It’s best to check them every month to prevent a clogged filter from negatively impacting your home’s indoor air quality. It is recommended that you change them every month if you have pets.

8. Clean Your Dishwasher Filters

It’s essential to clean your dishwasher’s filters. Some recommend cleaning it every few months. Others suggest it’s a monthly chore, especially if you do not scrape and rinse your dishes. Not cleaning the filter can cause spotty dishes and a foul stench; in rarer cases, it can cause issues with drainage and the pump.

9. Paint Your House Exterior Every 5-10 Years

You should paint the exterior of your home every 5-10 years, depending on the surface type, quality of paint, location, climate, and weather. White, grey, and beige reflect sunlight and heat for a longer life. This prevents the paint from succumbing to expansion and contraction.

10. Maintain Safety Devices

Regularly maintaining smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is a life-saving practice many homeowners don’t adhere to. They should be tested once a month, and you can use compressed air or a vacuum to keep them clean. Batteries should be changed annually. Also, every home should have fire extinguishers on hand.

11. Change Your Garage Door Springs

A new garage door spring’s life expectancy is 7-12 years for an extension spring and 8-15 years for a torsion spring. That’s roughly 10,000 to 20,000 opening and closing cycles in total. Opening and closing your garage once a day equals 10,000 cycles (about 14 years).

However, garage door springs can be hazardous and even fatal. Replacing the springs yourself if your door uses extension springs is possible, but working with torsion springs can be risky. Hiring a professional garage door installer to fix and test your system is best.

12. Pest Control

Did you know it’s important to have pest control inspect your home once a year? Many homeowners don’t call pest control until they discover the problem. However, many pests, like termites, have done damage before you’ll ever realize that you have them. Being proactive is the best way to ensure an infestation-free home.

14 Little Lies That Everyone Tells at Some Point in Their Life — Have You?

Have you ever been a liar-liar with your pants on fire? We all have, at some point in our life, told lies. Some are big, while others are to spare someone’s feelings, but a lie is a lie. Here are 14 lies that we tell or have told someone in our lives.

• 14 Little Lies That Everyone Tells at Some Point in Their Life — Have You?

21 Addictions You Ignore Because Acknowledging Them Means You Have a Problem

As someone with a substance abuse disorder, overcoming it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. People can be heartless and judgmental, and ignorant. They say things like: “If you don’t want to be a drug addict, just quit. It’s that easy. I have no sympathy for them.” Or “I just don’t understand addiction.”

• 21 Addictions You Ignore Because Acknowledging Them Means You Have a Problem

14 Really Dangerous Things That People Treat as If Entirely Safe — Do You?

Is there anything you do or notice others doing like they are safe when they aren’t? While I am confident, the list is long — after someone asked an internet community: “What’s really dangerous but everyone treats it like it’s safe?” — Here are their honest confessions. Do you agree?

• 14 Really Dangerous Things That People Treat as If Entirely Safe — Do You?

15 American Customs That Foreigners Admit Make Absolutely No Sense

I recently ran into a fun question on a popular internet forum. A member asked the Non-Americans what American custom makes no sense to them. Here are their honest confessions.

• 15 American Customs That Foreigners Admit Make Absolutely No Sense

15 Once True Things That Are No Longer Truth Anymore — Do You Remember?

So many things that were once true in my lifetime are no longer true today. For example, my math teacher told us we needed to learn math because we wouldn’t carry a calculator in our pocket all day. While it’s still true that you need to learn math, you do have that calculator today. Here are several other former truths.

• 15 Once True Things That Are No Longer Truth Anymore — Do You Remember?