Home Health Report: How to Give Your Home a Check-Up

You go to the doctor for preventive tests and evaluations. Why shouldn’t your home?

The key to avoiding expensive repairs and getting the longest lifespan out of all the systems in your home is to perform routine inspections and maintenance. When you can catch minor issues before they become bigger problems, you'll save yourself headaches and costs.

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Besides, it’s good to give your home a check-up every year to ensure everything continues to work effectively and keeps your home comfortable for your family. Here is a home maintenance checklist you'll want to follow to keep your home’s systems in working order.

Security Systems

For your safety and your family’s, check that the security system, including your alarms and sensors, is working. Press the smoke alarm test button for a couple of seconds and verify that it makes a loud sound. If you don’t hear anything, replace the batteries or buy a new one. If your home doesn’t have a carbon-monoxide alarm, it’s worth investing in one since it can save your life and doesn’t cost a lot. If you already have one, test it the same way you would test the smoke alarm.

For the motion sensors, walk by them and ensure that a signal is being picked up. If you have sensors along the windows or doors, then open and close them to check if they’re working. Otherwise, you might not know when intruders are in the area.

HVAC

Since your HVAC plays an integral role in how comfortable you feel as it keeps the house warm or cool, it should be a high priority in your seasonal home maintenance. Replace the air filter if it's been more than two months since it was last changed — or if you can’t remember the last time you changed it.

Take a look at the thermostat and verify that it works by using another thermostat to check for accuracy. Otherwise, your home can feel colder or warmer than you might prefer if it’s not accurately reading the temperature.

If your bills have been higher than usual, you should also clean the HVAC evaporator coils to improve efficiency. Remove dust from the coils, then spray them with a no-rinse coil cleaner. An HVAC tune-up can also help the system reach peak efficiency and lower your bills, so it’s worth contacting a professional who knows what to do.

Electrical

An electrical panel inspection is the easiest way to determine what parts of the electrical system need to be replaced or upgraded. While you don’t need to do this every year, call your local electrician for one if it's been more than five years. They’ll look at your wiring and electrical panel and inspect for any electrical fire hazards. If you can already see any exposed and damaged wiring, you’ll want to get it replaced to avoid electrical shocks or fires.

If you’ve noticed constant breaker trips, it may mean that you need a new panel to handle all the electrical demand, or there is something broken somewhere along your system. The electrical system is one of the hardest systems for homeowners to maintain themselves due to the dangers, and it’s often better to hire a licensed electrician to avoid problems.

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Plumbing

When giving your plumbing a home check-up, it’s always a good idea to start looking for water leaks. Water leaks can run up your water bill, and you might be wasting a lot more water than you think. To find visible leaks, look beneath your kitchen and bathroom sinks and along your pipes for any dripping water. To find hidden leaks, try a water meter test. Take a look at the current water meter reading, then make sure all faucets and appliances that use water, like your dishwasher, aren’t used for at least an hour. After an hour, look at the meter again. If it has changed despite no one using the water, that means you have a leak somewhere. Call a plumber to come help find it and fix it.

If you’re preparing for the cold season, consider insulating your water pipes to save on energy costs for your warm water and also prevent pipe bursts. Pipes commonly burst in the winter when the water inside freezes and expands, creating a bunch of pressure. Foam pipe insulation acts as a thermal barrier, keeping your water warm by reducing heat loss.

Foundation

Most homeowners may not pay much attention to the home foundation, but ensuring it is in good condition is one of the most essential homeowner duties. Seasonal maintenance for your home foundation can include patching up any cracks by hiring a foundation repair specialist.

You may be able to get away with fixing hairline cracks yourself, but deeper cracks require the work of an experienced professional. Large or numerous cracks can leave your foundation vulnerable to structural damage and make it unsafe to live in. You’ll also want to check that your gutters and downspouts are correctly redirecting rainwater away from the foundation instead of allowing it to seep into the concrete. When the concrete absorbs moisture, cracks can form or worsen as it undergoes freeze-thaw cycles. Foundation repair can be quite expensive, so it’s always best to fix cracks before the problem gets out of hand.