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Each year you need to perform a lot of home maintenance jobs. Some are easy to remember such as vacuuming. However, some are easy to forget. With that in mind, here is a handy checklist of some home maintenance jobs you should not forget about.
Air The House
It is important to air your house regularly. If you don’t, then you will start to accumulate damp, and this can promote the growth of mould. Both of these are bad for your home and your health. This is why it is so important to make sure that you air your home. You need to make sure that you are doing it in the colder, winter months as well as summer otherwise you are going to run into problems. It is better that you do this as a preventative measure as once you have damp and mould they can be difficult to get rid of. If you have young children, then both of these can cause serious damage to their health, so it is even more important to air your house properly. You can do this by simply opening the windows each day. Make sure that you close them when it gets dark as you can end up letting the damp in if you do that and if it is raining you should probably keep them closed.
Fire Alarm Testing
You need to check your fire alarms regularly. They should have a button on them for you to test that they are working. If you set yourself a reminder every 3-6 months to check the alarms, then you will be able to rest easy knowing that if something were to happen your alarms would work correctly. If they aren’t working, then you need to replace the batteries, and if that doesn’t work, then you might need a whole new alarm. If you have a gas line into the house, then you also need to check your carbon monoxide alarm in a similar way as well. If this isn’t working, then you again need to check the batteries and replace as soon as possible if it continues not to work. Most Fire and Rescue services offer a free Home fire Safety Check Service too.
Clean The Chimney
If you have a chimney, then you will need to get it cleaned regularly. Over the year, debris, leaves and other material can fall into your chimney. This can block it up, and if you want to start a fire in it, then it can cause the smoke to pour into the house rather than up the chimney. With that in mind, you will want to get the chimney cleaned regularly. It is best to do it each autumn and spring as these are the seasons that can cause the most problems.
Radiators
Your radiators need your attention each year at the very least. They will need bleeding each winter and potentially several times during the winter. This is because if you don’t use them for long periods, then air bubbles can build up and prevent the radiator from working correctly. All you need is a radiator key and to open the valve and let out all the air inside the radiator. You can tell if it needs bleeding because it will be hot at the bottom but cold at the top. If this is the case, then turn off your heating and bleed your radiators. If you continue to have problems with your heating, then it might be a plumbing issue, and you should call a professional. However, a lot of the time you might just need to properly bleed your radiators.
Unblock Sinks
Your sinks need unblocking regularly. Even if you don’t think that they are blocked, it is a good habit to get into doing. If you regularly work to unblock them, then they will never get to a stage where the water will not go down. You can buy drain unblocker from most stores and simple use the product every so often to keep your drains nice and clean. The reason why your sinks will start to become blocked is because things like hair, food and other materials can be washed down the plug hole and cause a blockage. The drain unblocker gets rid of these materials in your pipes. However, you can also buy a drain guard to collect these kinds of materials and prevent them from falling down the plug hole in the first place. This can be a great preventive measure and can mean that you need to unblock your sink far less often.
Clean Gutters
The gutters on your house will need cleaning at least once per year. It isn’t a fun job, but it needs doing. If you don’t clean your gutters, then rainwater can end up falling through your roof. This can cause damp, water damage and be a real pain. The reason that your gutters need cleaning is that throughout the year leaves and other debris will gradually start to clog them up. You need to clean them out so that water can run down them smoothly. This will mean that the rainwater will not damage your home and will instead run away down the drain as it should.
Windows
As well as keeping your house clean you also need to clean both the inside and outside of your windows. You might want to hire a professional window cleaner to clean the outside, but you will likely need to clean the inside yourself. Over the year, your windows will start to get dirty both inside and out. This means that it can be difficult to look out of them and dirty windows do not give a good impression or make for a nice comfy home. You can get professional window cleaners to clean your windows each month and clean the inside of your windows with similar regularity. You can get special window spray that smells great and won’t leave any streaks on the glass. Just like anything else the inside of your window can get dirty over time. This is why is important to get your windows cleaned. You can incorporate it into your usual cleaning routine, and it will gradually become a habit.
What are your top tips for tackling home maintenance jobs?
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Always forget about the radiators ! Thanks for the reminder