One of the most valuable possessions one can have is a home. In order to keep your home in peak condition for a very long time, it is important to maintain it.

Home maintenance can range from simple tasks like regular cleaning and replacing light bulbs, to more complex tasks like repainting. Frequently inspecting your house in order to spot and address likely problems would ensure it runs optimally and is conducive for its occupants.

The benefits of home maintenance include:

• Maintaining the worth of your home.

•  Finding and addressing small problems before they escalate to major ones which will cost more to fix.

•  Enhancing the appearance of your home.

•  Ensuring the building materials last longer.

There are also consequences for not carrying out home maintenance tasks as at when due such as, increased repair costs, loss of property value, damage to building fittings and materials and breakdown of building materials.

Types of home maintenance which is important for every home owner to know are:

• PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE: They say prevention is better than cure. This also applies to home maintenance. Preventive maintenance involves regularly inspecting your home and carrying out maintenance tasks in order to prevent problems later on that could be costly. An example is routinely checking home equipments like water heaters even though they haven’t shown any signs of having a problem. Preventive maintenance helps to preserve the value as well as the appearance of your home.

•CORRECTIVE MAINTENANCE: In this type of maintenance, damage has already been done to a part of the property which has to be fixed or corrected quickly. This includes fixing leaking pipes, unclogging drains or replacing light bulbs.

• ROUTINE MAINTENANCE: Like the name implies, this involves regular or scheduled maintenance tasks carried out on components of your home in order to preserve them. This can help reduce the need and ultimately cost of future corrective maintenance.

Examples of routine maintenance tasks on homes are cleaning windows and gutters, easing stiff door and window hinges and cleaning out or replacing air-conditioning units’ filters.

• DEFERRED MAINTENANCE: When the regular inspections and repairs that are supposed to be carried out on a property are not done it eventually falls into a state of disrepair. Deferred maintenance involves the repairs or improvements carried out on a property that should have been done earlier but were not. This type of maintenance is far more costly than regular maintenance. Examples include having to replace equipment which would have still been running effectively had they been regularly serviced, and replacing ceilings which have rotted and fallen apart over time due to leaking roofs.

Carrying out home maintenance tasks can be accomplished by DIY (Do It Yourself) which can be quick and without the need for any special equipment or skills or by hiring specialized contractors such as plumbers, carpenters and electricians when necessary.  Whichever path is chosen, it cannot be overemphasized that a well-maintained home makes a proud and happy owner.

Credit: Nairabricks