Tips for Maintaining Your New Demlang Home
The moving trucks are gone. The boxes are unpacked. You’re finally all settled into your new Demlang home. While the journey of new home construction has come to an end, the responsibility of maintaining your new home has just begun!
How do you keep your home in like-new shape for years to come? Some simple regularly-scheduled maintenance will go a long way toward keeping your home in tip-top condition!
Monthly Upkeep
The dust may have settled since your construction team wrapped up work, but it’s still collecting in your air filters! It’s important to clean or replace your air filters monthly when you first move in. Drywall dust and sawdust tend to accumulate in HVAC ducts and filters in new homes. If you have reusable air filters, you can flush them thoroughly with water from a hose or tap (you can add detergent to the hot water if needed).
Bi-monthly Maintenance
If you have a water softener in your home, you will probably need to add salt to its brine tank every 6-8 weeks. An easy way to tell if it’s time to add salt is to check and see if the base of the tank is visible. If you can see the bottom, are beginning to notice residue on your faucets and fixtures, and need to use more soaps or detergents than normal, it’s probably time to add another bag! Not a fan of hauling heavy salt bags from the store to your home? Some local service providers like Water Doctors will go so far as to deliver salt bags right to your water softener!
Seasonal Tasks
There are plenty of home maintenance tasks that are only needed once or twice a year. As a number of these are seasonal, we like to break up these activities after the spring thaw and before first our first Wisconsin snowfall!
Prepare Your Home for Summer With Spring Cleaning
Spring cleaning is a longstanding tradition and a great way to help keep your home in excellent condition. By dusting surfaces and appliances each year, you can help keep your air filters clean and items like your refrigerator functioning at peak efficiency!
Animals tend to build their burrows in the most inconvenient places throughout the winter, so it never hurts to check the exterior of your home to make sure there hasn’t been any damage to the siding or the facade. You wouldn’t want any water seeping through and causing damage to your home!
The spring season is also a great time to make sure your home’s drainage is in good working order. Check your gutters for any debris and downspouts for potential blockage. Keeping rain and meltwater away from your house will keep your basement dry and your sump pump from working overtime.
If you have foliage surrounding your home, make sure your shrubs and plants have a bit of clearance from your siding. Plants retain moisture, so extended contact can eventually cause mold buildup and siding damage. Plants are much easier to trim in spring before the leaves bud, so get to this task early on! Small shrubs should also be placed at least two feet from the side of your home to give their root system some clearance from your home’s foundation.
Before you start your air conditioner for the first time in spring, take a few minutes to clean the condenser. Cut power to the air conditioner, remove the top of the unit, and use a vacuum to clear out any leaves, sticks, or debris that may have accumulated.If the internal parts and coils look dirty, scrub them down lightly until the grit and grime are removed!
Prepare Your Home for Winter with Fall Upkeep
The nights are getting longer, the leaves are falling, and the temperatures are dropping. Fall is here, and winter is just around the corner! Before you settle in for your winter hibernation, there are a few fall maintenance activities you’ll have to take care of before the first snowfall.
Unless you have a gutter guard already installed, this is usually a good time to clean any fallen leaves, asphalt shingle debris, sticks, or other accumulation from your gutters. Hoses and sprinkler systems should be drained, disconnected, and winterized. It’s always a good idea to disconnect your hoses from their exterior spigots. If they remain connected and hold water, the hoses can freeze, expand, and cause indoor pipes to burst!
Storm doors will help lower energy costs by providing an extra barrier from the cold outside air, helping to cut back on moisture accumulation in the process. Inclement weather and wildlife can cause rips and tears in window and door screens, so when you’re installing your storm doors, make sure to give those screens a quick inspection!
Annual Maintenance
There are a handful of other items you’ll need to check annually. You can do these during your seasonal upkeep, at the beginning or end of a year, or anywhere in between!
Reduce Your Fire Risks
It’s always a good idea to annually replace batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Make sure you check and have your fire extinguishers tested before the next inspection date listed on the label.
Cleaning out your clothes dryer vent annually is important too! By removing lint blockages and regularly cleaning your dryer filter you’ll help prevent a major fire risk! You can check to see if your vents are clean by hovering your hand over the outdoor vent. If you can feel the warm exhaust emitting from the vent, your dryer vent is working as it should.
Keep Your Water Heater Running Smoothly
Minerals and deposits tend to build up at the bottom of your water heater. Turn off your cold water supply, turn down its thermostat, run a hose from the drain valve, turn on your hot water faucets, and flush the remaining water from the tank until it’s drained. This will help maintain energy efficiency and extend the life of this essential appliance!
Looking For Additional Home Maintenance Resources?
If you have any questions about your new home, feel free to contact us and we’ll get you in touch with the appropriate specialist. Thank you for selecting Demlang as your home builder of choice. We hope you’ll enjoy your new home for years to come!
