Congratulations! You've made the leap from
renter to homeowner. Now the fun begins: The place is yours to decorate
as you wish and you've left behind late-night squabbles over the
upstairs tenant's loud music.
But along with the fun, the new title comes with some important upkeep
responsibilities. When you move into your new place, run down the list
of tasks below as soon as you're able, then rotate through them on the
suggested schedule. Your most important jobs are those that keep
moisture out of the house, prevent fires and keep your high-priced
furnace running safely and efficiently.
Yearly
1. Caulk windows and trim.
In the fall,
before it rains (caulk won't stick to moist surfaces), look for cracks
in the trim around the windows and siding of your house. Also inspect
the corners where trim comes together. Fill cracks with caulk.
Polyurethane caulk is best. Polyurethane is more expensive but it is
easier to use; you can paint over it; and it lasts three or four times
longer than latex caulk. Before caulking cracks that are wider than an
eighth of an inch or deeper than a half-inch, stuff in flexible foam
backer rod (available at hardware stores). Push the foam in with a putty
knife, then caulk.
2. Inspect your crawl space for water.
Do this every fall, about 30 days after the fall rain begins so that if
water collects, you'll see it, Juneau says. Find the crawl-space opening
by walking around the outside of your house. Look for a trapdoor or a
boarded opening in the foundation. Wearing old clothes and carrying a
flashlight, wriggle in there or hire someone to do it if you're
claustrophobic and shine the light around to spot any accumulated
water. If you find water, call a home inspector to figure out where it's
coming from and why.
3. Check wooden decks for moisture.
Wooden decks should be continually protected from water with a deck
treatment or wood stain. (Synthetic decking products needs no treatment
and should not be stained.) In dry, warm weather, borrow a moisture
meter from a paint store to test if water has penetrated your decking,
signaling that treatment is needed. Paint-store personnel can show you
how to use the simple meter. Depending on your weather and your deck's
exposure, it may need to be refinished every two years or even yearly.
Paint professionals can help you choose among the treatment options.
4. Inspect and touch up exterior paint.
"We all think of painting as a means to spruce up the appearance of
one's home, but it's really a mechanism to prevent damage to exterior
siding, overhangs, soffits, eaves and gutters.
Paint prevents gutters from rusting and wood from deteriorating. In dry
summer weather, inspect your home's exterior from top to bottom,
including the trim. Look for paint that has blistered, bubbled, peeled
or cracked. Scrape, sand and fill holes with high-quality exterior-grade
patching compound. Brush primer on bare spots, then follow with paint.
Feather new paint into old using a fairly dry brush and lightly flicking
the edges of the new paint into the old. (Painted patches may look less
obvious if you first wash the siding; use a garden hose and a
long-handled truck brush with long nylon bristles.)
Carey also suggests aging your patch paint. Here's how: Bring a sample
of the existing finish in the form of a few chips or piece of trim to a
paint store and get paint tinted slightly to match its current shade
(paints can lighten over time). An exterior paint job should last about
seven years, Carey says. The lifespan "has everything to do with your
climate and the quality of paint." Use premium-quality paints ($25-$30 a
gallon) by major brands. Good paint has more titanium dioxide, which
extends the life (and increases the price). Carey offers this test for
paint quality: Ask paint-center personnel to shake, then open a can of
the product you're considering. "Stick your thumb and index finger into
the paint and gently rub them together
5. Service and clean the furnace.
Forced-air furnaces quietly cycle on and off and are easy to take for
granted unless something goes wrong, the Carey brothers say. But these
are complex pieces of equipment and they consume expensive fuel, so peak
efficiency is crucial. And a breakdown can let deadly carbon monoxide
escape. Call the company that installed your furnace to service it or to
recommend a servicer. Or find a licensed heating, ventilation and
air-conditioning specialist in the phone book or by searching online.
Servicing involves cleaning the furnace parts and heat exchanger,
lubricating bearings and testing for leaking gases.
6. Get the chimney swept and inspected.
Do this once a year or after you've burned a cord of wood, whichever
happens first. Why? Because creosote a flammable, resinous wood
byproduct builds up inside the chimney flue when you burn wood. (Wood
stoves and fireplaces need sweeping; gas-burning appliances do not. They
do need a yearly inspection from a licensed gas technician to remove
accumulated dust or debris and check for proper operation, leaks and
worn or defective parts.
A clogged chimney can cause an explosive fire or carbon monoxide
poisoning. Hire a trained chimney sweep who uses brushes, vacuums,
cameras and other tools to remove soot and creosote and inspect for
damage. While he's up there, ask him also to inspect the flashings that
seal the joints between the chimney and roof for rust or holes and to
inspect the seal on the chimney's surface. Chimneys made of brick, stone
or other masonry must, in cold areas, be sealed every three years or
so. Sealing keeps moisture from soaking the mortar. Moist mortar
freezes, thaws and crumbles, weakening the chimney and creating a fire
hazard.
7. Check bathtub caulk.
Inspect the line
of caulk that seals the tub to the floor and the tub surround. Repair
cracks with polyurethane bathroom caulk. Also, inspect the points where
tub faucets emerge from the wall or tub surround.
8. Check the toilet seal.
Look for water
or discoloration of flooring at the seam where the toilet meets the
floor, particularly behind the toilet. If you find moisture, call a
plumber to find and repair the source.
Two or three times a year
9. Muck out the gutters.
Hire someone
(around $50-$100) or get a stable ladder (and someone to hold it) and do
it yourself. But clean the gutters as soon as leaves and gunk plug them
up, Juneau urges. That may be several times a year, depending on the
wind and trees around your house. Leaves and pine needles clog
drainpipes that carry rain water from the roof to the ground. When the
water can't drain out, it gathers around the foundation and in the crawl
space, rotting house supports and encouraging mold and mildew, Juneau
cautions. Use a garden trowel or your (gloved) hands to muck out the
debris. Slosh water from a hose through gutters and the drainpipes to
finish the job and test that they're clear.
10. Clean your roof's valleys.
Water,
your home's worst enemy, also dams up behind debris that has accumulated
in the roof's valleys. Left alone, it will seep under the roofing
material and leak under the eaves and into cavities between walls,
rotting wood and making a home for mold. Once you're up on the roof,
also check the flashings - the metal water barrier used to line and
waterproof joints, vent pipes, skylights and chimneys. Look for rust or
holes that need repair.
11. Switch ceiling fans from summer to winter.
To get the most from the money you spend on heating fuel, switch
ceiling fans to run clockwise in winter and counterclockwise in summer.
If that's confusing, just watch the fan as it runs: In summer, the
leading edge of the blades (the part that goes around first) should be
higher than the trailing edge (the part that rotates last). That's so
the fan will push cool air down. You should be able to stand under the
fan and feel a breeze. In winter, it's the opposite: Switch blades so
the leading edge is lower and the trailing edge is higher, pushing air
up into the center of the room, which forces heat off the ceiling
(remember, hot air rises) and down along the walls into the room. You'll
find the fan blade switch on the outside body of the fan When you use a
ceiling fan you can adjust your thermostat lower in winter, higher in
summer - to save fuel. You can run a ceiling fan half the day for about
$1.50 a month, compared to $25 for an air conditioner.
12. Heal cracks in asphalt paving.
Extend
the life of an asphalt driveway or path by inspecting it a few times a
year and patching fissures with a caulking gun and asphalt patching
caulk ($5 to $15 a tube). Squirt the stuff into cracks. Use a plastic
putty knife to smooth it. If you ignore asphalt cracks, water will soak
under the pavement, making it mushy and creating potholes when you drive
on it.
13. Baby your garbage disposal.
Forget
caustic and poisonous drain cleaners, Carey says. His remedy is cheaper,
gentler on your pipes and safer for the environment: Two or three times
a year, pour a cup of vinegar into an ice cube tray. Fill the tray up
with water and freeze it. Pop all the vinegar ice cubes into the
disposal and turn it on. The cubes scrub the disposal and the vinegar
removes the build-up of grease and gunk. Keep fibrous stuff (like potato
peels and corn husks) and eggshells out of disposals. The lug nuts that
chew up waste are easily choked. To coax long life out of your
disposal, here's the best way to operate it, according to Carey: Run
cold water into the disposal, then turn it on and finally put waste into
the cavity, a little at a time. Don't jam the disposal with stuff. Cold
water keeps the motor from overheating. It also congeals grease. Hot
water melts grease and it coats the pipes and disposal walls. Also,
treat every drain to this freshening treatment two or three times a
year: Pour in equal parts salt, baking soda and vinegar, followed about
30 seconds later by two quarts of boiling water. It'll foam a little,
Carey warns, but that's OK it's harmless.
Monthly
14. Check furnace filters.
Check your
furnace's instruction manual to locate and remove its fiberglass filter.
Hold it up to the light: If it's dark and dirty-looking, replace it.
Filters trap dust, pollen, spores and airborne debris, keeping your
home's air clean and extending the life of your furnace. "If you're not
changing the filter, you will pump those spores back through the house,"
Juneau says. "People with allergies really notice if you've got clogged
or dirty filters." Plain fiberglass filters cost a couple of dollars
each. Pleated, fine-mesh filters that trap allergens and other irritants
and keep the furnace cleaner cost a few dollars more. Or, for $700 to
$1,500 (installed) you can replace the furnace filter with an electronic
air cleaner. Professionally installed next to the furnace, these may
scrub the air best of all.