10 Ways To Maintain Your Home
/Changing out your air filter every month will keep your air conditioning system running smoothly and efficiently! Your air filter will be located in your air handler which should be somewhere inside your home or in your garage (if you have central AC system). You can determine what size filter you’ll need to buy based on the measurements printed on the side of the filter (Ex: 20x23x1).
This next really came as a shock to me so don’t feel badly if you’ve never done this before. Your dishwasher has a filter located at the bottom of the unit underneath the dishwasher blades. You’ll unlock the cylindrical filter by twisting it counterclockwise and gently pulling it upward. Place the filter into a bowl or the sink filled with hot soapy water which will loosen the food debris. After a few minutes, you’ll use an old toothbrush to scrub out all the remaining debris and replace the filter into your dishwasher. After I’ve got the filter squeaky clean, I like to place a bowl of vinegar on the top rack of the dishwasher and run a steamy deep cleaning cycle! It’s recommended that you clean this filter once monthly btw- YIKES!
Using daily shower spray is a great way to keep your shower sparkly in between deep cleanings, but at least once a season, I like to give my shower a nice little scrub down. Bar-Keepers Friend is JUST the product for this job! First, remove everything from your shower. Then have a scrub brush and a bowl of hot water handy as you sprinkle Bar-Keepers Friend over the surface of the shower. Get your scrub brush wet and lightly brush the powder across the floor to create a paste. Let the paste sit a few minutes before using hot water to spray away the excess. I like to focus more heavily on the grout than the tiles, as those seem to look the most discolored! You can also use this method on on floor grout to liven up the color!
Yep, another filter! Make sure you’re changing your refrigerator water filter every six months to ensure you’re drinking the freshest water you can!
While we are on the subject of refrigerators, did you know that there a coils underneath it that need to be maintained for optimal functionality! Mine are behind a plastic kick plate at the bottom of my fridge. I like to take my vacuum attachment and vacuum out the coils probably twice a year.
Keeping water properly diverted from your house is a task that is well-worth your while and can prevent big issues down the line. Ensure water is properly diverted by cleaning out your gutters every so often. You’re going to need a ladder, a small shovel, gloves and a water hose. Use the shovel and gloves to remove the dirt and debris. From there, take your water hose and spray out the downspout to pass any clogs! To avoid this monotonous task, I highly suggest investing in Gutter Guards. Gutter Guards are mesh cages that can be fitted over your gutters to keep debris from settling in your gutters all together!
Per Consumer Reports, 14,000 house fires per year are caused by clothes dryers! It’s recommended that you have your dryer vent cleaned out once a year! A quick Google search will connect you with a dryer vent cleaning company so you can rest easily!
Take it from me, if you live in a house with exterior paint- keep an eye out for chipping paint and apply touch up paint right when you spot it! Repainting your entire exterior can be BIG job if you go at it alone so touching up as you go will save you a lot of time! And fun fact from a Realtor’s perspective- when it comes to resale of your home, chipping paint can be a problem several loan types for buyers. Tackling paint touch-ups head on will help you avoid doing it on the fly while you’re under contract with a buyer!
If you’ve got a lot of trees and plants in your yard, you’re going to want to have them regularly maintained. I recommend hiring a tree trimming service once a year to take care of dead limbs and overgrowth. When it comes you plants and bushes near your home, you want to ensure that the plants aren’t touching your actual structure. When plants are touching your structure, you are more open to insects and critters!
If you’ve noticed an unpleasant smell coming from your kitchen sink disposal, its time to give it a good cleaning, but HOW?! First, I like to take sprinkle a little baking soda into my drain. After that toss about 4-6 ice cubes down there with some lemon wedges you’ve cut up. Flip on the disposal switch and listen to that bad boy clean away! The ice will get any stubborn food off the blades; lemon and baking soda will freshen and deodorize!
