You dust, you scrub, you mow the lawn–owning a home can certainly seem like a full-time responsibility. It’s easy for some home maintenance tasks to be forgotten. Between all of your other obligations in life, it’s easy to forget about cleaning out the dryer vent (as in, the actual vent itself) or draining the sediment from your water heater. But if you need Water Heater Repair Services, this is also a great option.
To help you stay on track and keep your home in tip-top shape, here’s a look at some of the most important, yet commonly overlooked, home maintenance tasks that you’ll want to stay on top of.
#1 Lubing Garage Door Springs
That squeaky garage door isn’t going to fix itself. Fortunately, keeping your garage door from being sticky or noisy isn’t hard. All you have to do is get some grease and apply it to the springs every so often. This can be done as little as once or twice annually, and it will take only one or two minutes to do it.
#2 Draining Sediment From Your Water Heater
Flushing your water heater just once a year can help remove buildup that sits at the bottom of the tank, and thus improve the heater’s lifespan and efficiency. The process is easy, although a bit time consuming. You’ll want to start by turning off the water heater and then turning off the cold water valve. Give the water in the tank a couple of hours to cool, and then attach a drain (or garden hose) to the drain valve.
Turn on a couple of faucets throughout the house. By turning the hot water on in a faucet as you drain the tank, you’ll prevent a vacuum from forming in the pipes. Drain the water into a bucket and then reverse all the steps to get your water heater running again.
#3 Scheduling an A/C Tune-Up
Your air conditioner works hard during the warmer months to keep your home nice and cool, so it’s important that you look after it to see that it’s maintained properly. A poorly maintained air conditioner is sure not going to last long, so a seasonal tune-up will help make sure everything is running at its best.
This is something best left to the professionals, though. Luckily, Coastal Heating and Air Conditioning can make sure your cooling systems are good to go for the spring and summer. In under an hour or two, the filters and vents will be cleaned and everything will be gone through so that you don’t run into a mid-season breakdown.
#4 Cleaning Refrigerator Coils
The condensing coils on your refrigerator should be cleaned at least once a year. Failure to do so will definitely cut down on the working life of your refrigerator and make it work harder to keep your food cool. This is something you can do yourself by simply unplugging the refrigerator and removing the base grille. A coil brush will allow you to brush off dust, pet hair, dirt, and other buildup off the coils.
You can then sweep or vacuum the floor around the coils, replace the grille, and plug your fridge back in. It’s simple home maintenance tasks like this that may take a few minutes out of your day, but prove well worth it in the long run.
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