To most homeowners, the biggest investment you will ever make in life is the acquisition of your property. It is no joke to buy a home considering the amount of money involved. However, buying a house is just the start. You should also take care of it so that your investment will last a lifetime.
Keeping a house in great condition through the years isn’t exactly easy. But it’s not rocket science either. You don’t need heavy machinery with Caterpillar C9 engine parts to keep your home in its best condition.
9 Things Every Homeowner Must Learn How to Do
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Clean gutters
One of the things that most homeowners don’t like doing around the house is clean their gutters. It is a gunky job, after all, especially during spring and fall. However, you still need to do it so that leaves, twigs, and debris don’t block water from flowing down to the drain. Not doing so will make the trapped water seep into your house making things worse.
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Cut the water supply
If you’re having some plumbing work done at home or one of your pipes burst, you need to know how to stop the water from flowing. You must know where the main water valve is and how to shut it off. In most cases, the shut-off valve is located in the crawl space where water enters your home or in your basement.
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Reset a circuit breaker
Homes that are built after 1960 have electrical panels filled with circuit breakers. When a circuit is overloaded, the breaker that’s assigned to it “trips” and cuts off the power supply to that area. When this happens, you can easily reset the breaker by opening the electric panel, looking for the breaker that’s in the “off” position, and turning it back on.
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Unclog drains
A clogged bath, shower, or sink is one inconvenience that no homeowner wants. The good thing about this is it’s quite an easy thing to fix. You can clear the drains all by yourself. You can use chemical drain cleaners for this or, if you don’t want to deal with any harsh chemicals, a drain snake should do the trick.
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Repair dings on a wall
Walls won’t always stay picture-perfect. You will inevitably get dings and dents on it no matter how hard you try to avoid it. The good thing is that drywalls are an easy fix as long as you have a spackling knife and some putty.
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Change filters
HVAC systems use filters to keep the quality of air inside your home as clean and pleasant as possible. While different set-ups have different filtration systems, most of them need monthly or quarterly filter cleaning and replacement which isn’t hard to do.
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Caulk tiles and tubs
Caulking is a relatively easy task to do. The only challenges are either you don’t squeeze enough caulk from the tube or you squeeze too much and make a mess. The solution to this is to snip the tip of the tube at about ¼ inch from its end so that you have just the right amount to spread and smooth using your finger.
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Fix leaky faucets
In most cases, leaks from faucets are caused by a failed washers inside handles. You need to learn how to disassemble the faucet and examine the rubber and plastic parts for cracks and any sign of wear and tear. Replace the part that causes the leak and put the entire thing back together again.
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Hang picture
Imagine your home if all the walls are bare. Dull. Boring. Lifeless. For this reason, hanging things on your wall adds to the coziness of your place and makes it a home. Installing hooks is easy. It’s keeping things leveled that’s tricky. While not everyone has a bubble level in their toolbox, smartphones now have level apps to help you hang things straight on your wall.
Having a home is a great privilege. It is your responsibility to keep it in a good habitable condition so that you and your loved ones can enjoy it for years to come.
