Some home maintenance tasks—such as wiping down countertops, cleaning windows, and dusting high surfaces—are obvious to many first-time homeowners. Some tasks aren’t quite as obvious or well-known as others, but ignoring them will cause costly mishaps. Your first home should feel like a reward, not a burden. Keep reading to discover three invaluable must-know home maintenance tips for new homeowners.
Keep an Eye on Your Attic
New homeowners might assume an attic is a useless area of the house, but the quality of your attic influences the structural integrity of your roof and other building components. Regularly inspect your attic for any signs of damage, particularly leaks. The best way to optimize your attic is by adding sufficient insulation and ventilation. In fact, optimizing attic ventilation is one of the best methods for improving your roof’s wind resistance.
Depending on your roofing material, high winds can cause quite a bit of damage, so pulling out all the stops to optimize your home for wind resistance is well worth the effort. Don’t check your attic once and assume it’ll be fine—routinely keep an eye on the area, and make adjustments (fixing leaks, adding insulation, etc.) when necessary.
Regularly Trim Your Trees
One of the best, must-know home maintenance tips for new homeowners is to trim your trees regularly. If this is your first home, you likely don’t know the dangers of errant tree branches. There’s definitely nothing wrong with having trees on your property, but if the limbs grow too large, they can block natural sunlight from reaching your windows.
Furthermore, dangling tree branches over the roof can fall and damage your shingles. Likewise, the leaves can fall and gather in your gutter, which can result in clogging if you don’t remove them promptly. As you can see, trees come with higher maintenance than you might realize. That said, as long as you’re willing to take care of them, trees and other plant life can be a beautiful addition to your property.
Create a Concise Maintenance Schedule
Take the two maintenance tasks above and the bevy of other upkeep around the house, and compile them into a clear, concise schedule. Putting together a thorough list, keeping it somewhere accessible, and checking the list routinely will ensure that you don’t forget about essential upkeep, which is an easy mistake to make. Besides attic inspections and tree trimming, your schedule should feature tasks including but not limited to inspecting smoke detectors, inspecting the roof, cleaning gutters and downspouts, and replacing HVAC filters.
