You don’t know until you know.  We learn most of our home maintenance tips from the people we grew up with, but, let’s be honest, as a child you probably weren’t paying attention to everything an adult did in your home.  As a first time home buyer, you may be faced with some challenges in your home that you did not feel prepared to handle. Whether it is a leaky faucet or a hot water heater that won’t make the water hot, home ownership can cost money. Did you know that performing some simple home maintence tasks consistently can help keep that cost down? Check out these six home maintenance tips.

Locate the important mechanics 

One of the most important home maintenance tips I can share is to not wait until the water in your toilet is overflowing to know where the water shut off values are in your home.  Find them on the day you move into your home.  Also, familiarize yourself with the circuit breaker box and label each switch.  Check to make sure that the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are working properly. If you’ve got natural gas in your home, find where that shut off valve is too. Make a list of utility company numbers you would need to contact in case of an emergency such as a water line break or if you smell gas in the house.

Keep these things out of your plumbing. 

Even if you have a garbage disposal, it doesn’t mean that you should put every kitchen scrap down the drain.  The following is a list of items that can easily clog your plumbing.

  • Grease:  Grease from cooking will slowly build up in the pipes and cause major clogs that will cost major dollars to clean.
  • Egg shells  Put these in the compost pile instead.
  • Flour  It turns into a glue like substance one that can coat and trap other particles in the pipes.
  • Pasta and rice  They may be small pieces, but the pasta and rice will continue to expand as they absorb liquid.
  • Coffee grounds  A common culprit to drain clogs, put coffee grounds in your trash, compost pile or around plants that appreciate acidity.
  • Produce Stickers  Those tiny stickers can stick to your plumbing and, further down the line, block the screens that filter water.
  • Cleaning Products  The bleach in cleaning products can interact with ammonia and create a dangerous gas in your plumbing.

Of all the home maintenance tips on the list, following this one can save you a lot of money and time washing dishes in a bathtub.

Clean Your Dryer filter and vent 

There are home maintenance tips that keep your home safe. This is one of them. There are many house fires each year caused by the very flammable lint that your dryer collects from clothing.  To prevent this, make sure to always clean the lint filter after every session.  You can invest in one of these to vacuum out the lint that is in hard to reach areas of your dryer as well as from the outside.  The vent that goes from your dryer to the outside must also get some love. There are professional companies that you can hire to provide this service.

Change your air filters

The filters help to lessen the dust partials in your home.  Locate the filters and replace.  They are often found on the return air vents in your home and are labeled so you will know what size to purchase.  A furnace will have a filter too.  Keeping these filters clean helps your system work more efficiently.

Check the toilets for leaks 

Take the lid off of the tank and put ten drops of food coloring inside.  Then wait fifteen minutes and look at the bowl of the toilet.  If the water is colored, then it is time to replace the flapper.  You can pick up a new one at a home improvement store for a couple dollars.  The savings in your water bill will more than cover the cost of the flapper with this home maintenance tips.

Clean the gutters 

Gutters are meant to take water that is collected from the roof and disperse it away from your home.  Gutters that are filled with leaves and other debris have a harder time doing this.  In winter months, water that is trapped in gutters freezes and cracks the gutters.  During the rest of the year, gutters with clogs can cause water to seep into the roof causing leaks and damage. Of all the home maintenance tips, I think that this is my least favorite job to do, but, I can assure you, delaying the task only makes in worse.