home maintenance

Tips And Techniques For Maintaining
Your Home Year-Round

You know what they say about that ounce of prevention. If you ignore the advice and overlook home maintenance, the pound of cure can set back hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Sooner or later, a neglected roof will leak. A furnace overworked from clogged air filters will need an expensive overhaul.

And that leaky window will lead to dry rot in your house's framework and walls, necessitating a lot of expensive structural and aesthetic repairs.

Prevention, in the form of home maintenance tackled throughout the year, is the best way to keep these common household ills at bay. Most importantly, a well-maintained home is, by its very nature, safer and more comfortable and energy-efficient.

When things do go wrong - as they inevitably will - knowing how to take care of them quickly means that you'll spend less of your valuable time waiting for those repair people to make an expensive appearance.

The first step in creating a low-maintenance home - one you don't need to worry about when rains fall and winds blow - is to solve small problems before they need big, expensive fixes. Being aware of what requires regular maintenance - be it annually or on an as-needed basis - is the key to keeping your home running smoothly.

A house may last for generations, but its parts and systems won't last a lifetime without regular attention. The articles and tips below can help you keep all the systems in your home humming along smoothly.