How Important is Home Maintenance? A Seemingly Unrelated Example...
Yesterday I stopped in at the jeweler’s to have them take a look at my wedding ring. One of the diamonds has had a bluish undertone since I, being the klutz that I am, spilled blue ink on my hand about a month ago.
While they were checking the ring, they noticed that one of the diamonds was dangerously loose.
Had I been coming for my 6-month checkups, they asked me?
“Nope, not once” was my sorry reply.
The diamond was on the verge of falling out, and had I lost it, it would have cost me a small fortune to replace it and I would have been devastated by the loss. Luckily, my story ends well. The jeweler caught the damage in time, they're re-tightening the stone for free, and I’ll have my ring back minus the blue undertone in just a week or so.
What did I learn from this experience?: It is better to inconvenience yourself now with the little checkups and regular maintenance than to later pay the cost and hassle of a major repair which could have been avoided!
And now to apply this lesson to your Champaign-Urbana home...
As we ease into the colder months, there are many things you can do around the house to make sure everything is running efficiently and to avoid some potentially costly damage.
Here's a little autumn home maintenance checklist:
1. Detach your outside hoses from the faucets and drain them. Turn off the water to your outdoor faucets if you can and insulate them.
2. Clean out your gutters before the first snowfall. It's important for those gutters to allow for the melted snow to drain properly, especially considering just how much snow we get around here!
3. Have your chimney professionally checked before using it this winter. Just a tiny crack can cause major problems!
4. Check for missing or loose siding and repair or replace them as needed.
5. Check for any damaged shingles on the roof and have repairs made as needed.
6. Change your furnace filter and have the furnace serviced yearly. The more efficiently your furnace functions, the less you'll spend in heating costs.
7. Clean your baseboard heaters if you have them, and/or clean out the vents in your house with a vacuum.
8. Make sure your storm windows are in place. This one, too, can really help keep your heating costs to a minimum.
9. Check for air leaks around windows and doors. Replace caulking or weather stripping as needed.
As you may know, I’m a real estate agent and not a home maintenance expert. Therefore, please be sure to seek professional advice regarding the above items.
P.S. I learned my lesson regarding my ring. I'll be visiting the jeweler every 6 months or so from now on.
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