Most of us know to take care of the obvious home maintenance tasks that glare at us as we live in our homes. For instance, dirty windows are hard to ignore. If the kitchen floor needs mopping, we see it and we do it. Smoke alarms give us loud reminders, if we fail to change them regularly. We also know to have the air conditioning and heating system checked out before turning them on for the season. But there are some jobs that may only need doing once or twice a year and others that require more frequent maintenance that are easy to forget. Here are a few common tasks that are easy to overlook but important to keep you healthy and your home operating smoothly.
1. Garage doors need servicing. Do your older garage doors squeak and rattle when opening and closing? That can be remedied by a service call once a year and the doors will last longer.
2. Dryer vents get clogged. The duct vents get crammed full of debris and can cause the vent flap to stick. That poses a fire hazard. Have a professional clean your dryer vents annually.
3. Sprinkler heads. In order for sprinkler heads to work properly, the heads must be kept clear of weeds and dirt. Pull the sprinkler heads up from their sleeves to be sure they are working well. While they may not need to be adjusted every time you cut grass, they should be observed to make sure all is well.
4. Vacuum cleaners need regular servicing. Yes, you clean out the filter and dirt container on your vacuum regularly. However, there are places in the machine you may not be able to reach. An annual cleaning and check-up by a professional will keep your machine in top-notch working order.
5. Swimming pool pump and filter. You may take care of cleaning your pool and treating the water with chemicals yourself. But once a year, it’s good to bring in the experts to check your pump and filter to be sure they are working properly. This may prolong the life of the equipment.
6. Clean the roof. Until we moved to Florida, I didn’t worry too much about cleaning the roof. I know my husband had the roof of our home in Tennessee cleaned occasionally, but I never noticed it was dirty. On our Florida house, we had a tile roof, and there is nothing uglier than a tile roof that is not pressure washed regularly. They grow mold and the sight of that black mess spreading down a roof is truly nasty. Consider this an annual task.
7. Clean the Chimney. Before using the fireplace for the first time each season, call your friendly chimney sweep to remove soot, blockages and built-up creosote from your chimney liner, firebox, smoke chamber and damper.
