Everyone wants to save money. Maybe you want to travel more, save up for your kid’s education, or just have some more money in your bank account at the end of the month. But while everyone wants to save money, this is especially true for homeowners.
Homeowners have a lot of expenses related to owning their homes, and any money they can save makes home ownership a little easier. One of the best ways to save money as a homeowner is to perform regular maintenance on different areas of your home. In order to extend the life of various areas of the home, such as the roof, siding, plumbing, and HVAC, it is always recommended to perform routine maintenance. In addition, it helps homeowners identify whether something like the roof or the siding has to be replaced by hiring a roofing company (or similar service providers) early on, so they can prepare financially and otherwise. So here are just a few of the maintenance jobs you should be doing around your home, and how they can save you money.
Give Your Furnace a Checkup
One of the first items you should check is your furnace. As suggested by the Handyman Toronto, there are two reasons you’ll want to do this. First, if you don’t perform regular maintenance on your furnace, it is more likely to break down. Then suddenly a cold day comes around, and your furnace breaks down on the same day, leaving you cold inside your own home. Now you’ve got to spend money on a costly repair, which ends up being more than the cost of maintenance. The second reason is that with regular maintenance, your furnace will be more efficient. A more efficient furnace saves you money on energy costs since it doesn’t have to work as hard to heat your home. So, ensure that you call in a maintenance person from a reputed company for regular furnace upkeep and cleaning. Additionally, you can also hire a propane delivery service similar to Discount Propane in your neighborhood to provide you regular fuel supply for your propane furnace.
The Same Goes for Your Air Conditioning
You likely don’t use your furnace year-round, and instead use an air conditioning system during the warmer months. For the same reasons that you want to check up on your furnace, you’ll also want to check your AC by calling a residential electrician. Doing so can help you to avoid costly repairs, and ensure the system continues to operate at peak efficiency.
Check Your Home Insulation
Of course, even if your heating and cooling systems are running perfectly, this doesn’t do much good if the air is escaping your home. Making sure your home is properly insulated each year will help you to save on energy costs, since the warm/cool air your home generates won’t leak outside. Home insulation could be as simple as installing door sweeps, or having a professional come in to put insulation between the walls.
Your Hot Water System
Another area that needs regular maintenance is your hot water system. We all use hot water every day, but if your system isn’t functioning properly, you are likely wasting money. Not only that, but if yourhot water heater breaks down, you will have to spend a lot of money to have it replaced. According to Fix It Right Plumbing in Australia, there are a few things you can do to keep your hot water system running smoothly, such as turning the system down and ensuring there is no debris building up along the outside. Additionally, while doing maintenance of the hot water system, check other plumbing fixtures around the house for rust or salt stains. You can also do some other repairs and renovations around the bathroom, including checking for leaks, wall dampness, perhaps changing the door shower, etc., which can help you to upgrade the bath completely.
Clean Out the Dish Washer
Over time, our dishwashers can become clogged with food scraps and other debris. You might start to notice that your dishwasher doesn’t clean as well as it once did, and that you need to continuously rewash items in order for them to become fully clean. By performing some regular maintenance on your dishwasher, you can ensure that the appliance runs longer, and does a better job cleaning. Check your owners manual for instructions on how to do this, and set yourself a reminder to do this every few months.
Lighting
Next, take a look at the lights around your home. See if there are any places where you could switch out the bulbs you have now and instead use energy saving lights. Sometimes these lights are a little dimmer, or take a little longer to reach full brightness, but they could save you some money in the long run. Also consider adding a timer or motion sensor to your outside lights, so that they do not have to run at all times.
Tree Limbs
Finally, if you have trees near your home, walk around your property and inspect them. Do they look healthy? Are any tree limbs in danger of falling? If a bad storm comes along, you don’t want a tree or one of its limbs to come crashing into your home, your car, or some nearby power lines. By taking some preventative measures, you can ensure your home remains safe, and avoid some costly repairs down the road.
Make Time for Maintenance
All of the above items don’t take a long time to do. Set aside a weekend, come up with a list, and checkthem off one by one. In the end your home will be a safer and more efficient place to live, which will save you money in the long run.
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