There are some very good reasons for not turning over the maintenance of your house to other people.
Sure, there are some things you must pay for - an annual service contract for your furnace and AC, winterizing your sprinkler system or swimming pool, cleaning high gutters or effecting certain repairs.
But many other things you can and SHOULD REGULARLY do for yourself, particularly when something is new. And especially when you move into a new house! But why?
When you are involved with the various aspects of your house it gives you a terrific advantage - you develop the understanding of what something sounds like when it is working properly. You can smell when something is not right. You can feel if something is too hot or cold, vibrating in a funny way, or is wet or dry. The benefits of knowing these things is hard to calculate!
When you get a new appliance, read the manual! We bought a new freezer a year ago. A couple of months later my wife heard a very loud klaxon coming from the basement. I had never heard such a sound before. I went downstairs and the freezer door was slightly cracked open. I closed it, but the sound did not go away. So I read the manual. It is programmed into the NEW appliance that when the temperature raises too high, a sound should go off. There is a button inside the freezer to turn off the sound until the temperature gets back down to where it should be. Then you can turn the button back on. It is a terrific warning! We had replaced an old freezer that did not have that feature - AND I DID NOT KNOW!
I have two previous posts on home maintenance chores. I share them again here.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1338217/jay-s-fall-winter-seasonal-chores-list
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1041098/some-and-summer
My recommendation: Be proactive! Be complete! Give your house your undivided attention! Be the king, or queen, of your home's maintenance. You will find yourself on top of things as they occur. This will save you time, save you money and save you stress. And you'll feel really good about yourself too!
Comments(11)