How to keep your family home in tip-top shape?
Photo by Harrison Haines from Pexels
Instead of making repairs, stay on top of any risks that could lead to damage. If you’re considering making big changes, keep an eye on drainage to make sure that heavy rains won’t mean a wet basement or a damp foundation. Inside and out, do your best to keep your space easy to care for and low maintenance.
Stay on top of cleaning
Do your best to create a cleaning schedule to avoid having to do all your cleaning after work. For example, you can block out Thursday evening as your bathroom night; tubs, sinks, and toilets all get scrubbed out before bedtime on Thursday night.
Try to also bump up your daily cleaning actions. When the dishwasher gets started, do a quick sweep of the floors if you don’t already do that on a daily basis. Get in the habit of wiping down countertops before bed so you can wake up to a tidy kitchen.
Finally, avoid storing products on countertops. Consider instead investing in baskets or tubs that you can quickly stash in a cabinet. The more open space you can enjoy without a lot of clutter, the easier it will be to keep spaces wiped down and dust-free.
Prevent damage
Take care to keep water, sun, snow, and heat away from your home. As noted above, the drainage routing to keep your home free of rainwater or a damp foundation can reduce the risk of rot, mold, and bug damage.
Consider investing in products to keep your home as low- or no-maintenance products as possible, from vinyl windows to aluminum window wraps. Any area of your home that needs paint increases your risk of damage from UV radiation.
Keep things fresh
In addition to exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen, consider investing in an air purifier for home use to keep down moisture and odor.
If you have a bar or if a member of your household is a smoker, this investment will be even more important. These purifiers can also be helpful in managing allergens and in generally keeping your home as fresh as possible.
Seasonal checks
Each spring, take a walk around your home after a hard rain. Look for areas where the grass has been pounded down so you can catch full gutters and get them emptied quickly. Full gutters can get quite heavy and put a lot of stress on your home.
Before the winter winds blow, take a walk around your home and make sure that
- caulking
- window screens
- door sweeps
are all in good shape. Screens are a classic example of things that are much easier to fix in the early stage of damage or wear. Worn door sweeps can let in a lot of dust, debris, and rodents. Old window seals can let moisture in and may result in dangerous and expensive rot.
Basement ant attic review
Whether you have a basement or a crawlspace, do go to the trouble to get under your home on a yearly basis at the very least. Depending on where you live, you may need to direct heat or air conditioning into your basement or crawlspace to protect your pipes from freezing or reduce the risk of mold buildup.
Try to get under there after a rain to make sure things are dry no matter what the weather is doing. You may need to look for
- signs of termites and other pests
- mold growth
- frost damage
- the need for a moisture barrier
Review your attic on a yearly basis as well. If your attic gets too hot to enter in the summer, do your best to get an exhaust fan up there to keep your roofing materials in good shape. UV Radiation is hard on your shingles; excess heat from under the shingles can shorten their lives even further.
The less you have on display, the less you have to dust around. Keeping an eye out for water damage after a hard rain will make it easier to find problems. Exhaust fans and air purifiers will keep your home cooler and fresher. A cleaning schedule can make it easier to enjoy your weekends.