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January
30
30
Create Your Game Plan for 2023 Home Maintenance
Regular maintenance is an important part of homeownership, but when life gets busy, it's easy to forget about these tasks. Making a plan for scheduled maintenance at the start of the year can help prevent you from losing track of what needs to be done. Here are the major tasks our real estate agents recommend prioritizing throughout the year.
- Landscaping
It might seem counterintuitive, but the need for landscaping isn't just restricted to the nicer months. Winter months are great for weeding, clearing out old landscaping, and tidying. Mulching and early planting can be done in spring, and gardening and yard care start in early summer. Late spring is also a good time to test your sprinkler system and verify good coverage. And believe it or not, the best time for planting new trees is actually in the late fall months, such as November, after the trees have dropped their leaves. Keeping up on this year-round can boost your curb appeal, even in the winter. Check Rockford homes for sale to see the difference this can make. - HVAC Maintenance
Taking care of your HVAC system also requires year-round attention. The filters should be changed every three months, more for those with allergies or households with pets. Yearly home maintenance schedules usually recommend changing them in January, April, July, and October. In addition, air conditioning systems should be checked in the spring and your furnace in the fall. In both cases, it's best to schedule the work early in the season, generally April and November, before HVAC companies get busy with peak-season work. - Exterior Maintenance
Work outside your home is also required throughout the year. Gutters should be cleaned and checked twice a year, in spring and fall. At the same time, the roof can be checked for loose shingles and damage from storms. It's also a good idea to check that drainage from storms drains away from your foundation and not toward it. Finally, you may want to power wash the exterior of your home in the spring to get rid of winter dirt and debris and improve your curb appeal for summer. - Smoke Alarms
Smoke alarms are an important safety precaution, but it's easy to forget they're there. Checking smoke alarms once a month and changing the batteries twice a year, whether low or not, are important parts of homeowner maintenance. Experts recommend changing the batteries in your smoke alarms when Daylight Saving Time starts and ends to help you remember when they need to be changed. - Energy Efficiency
Improving energy efficiency is also an important part of owning a house. Gaps in energy efficiency mean that your furnace has to work harder to keep your home warm in the winter, and your air conditioner has to work harder to keep it cool in the summer. Checking for drafts, installing weatherstripping around doors and windows, caulking cracks and gaps around door frames and window frames, and maintaining proper insulation in your attic are all important tasks throughout the year.
Deferred maintenance has a way of sneaking up on us and costing more in the long run. For more information about what needs to be done before you sell your home, contact us today.