5 Home Maintenance Items to Grab During Holiday Shopping

’Tis the Season! Along with homeownership comes home maintenance tasks that should garner our attention periodically. To keep their home in tip-top shape, use this shopping season when you’re out and about anyway, to stop at the local hardware store. Pick up items that you can use yourself as evening or weekend projects to keep up with your home maintenance.

Here are a few items to grab when you’re out shopping:

Bottle of vinegar and an ice cube tray: Yes, crazy as it sounds, the best way to keep your garbage disposal blades clean and sharp is to run vinegar ice cubes through it! This simple task can eliminate odors as well as maintain your garbage disposal unit for years to come.

9-Volt Batteries & a Fire Extinguisher: If you didn’t test the batteries in your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detectors when the time changed last month, check them before you head out to go shopping. You should also check to make sure that your fire extinguisher is not nearing its expiration date. If it is, you’ll want to grab a new one!

HVAC filters: Keeping your HVAC filters clean and free of pet hair, dust and debris needs to be done on a monthly basis and are critical in prolonging the life of your HVAC unit(s). Now is a great time to pick up those filters in bulk and have them handy for your monthly filter change.

Caulk: Water intrusion is one of the most, if not THE most destructive issues we face as homeowners. Prevention of water intrusion can come in multiple ways but, something we can perform as homeowners ourselves comes in in the form of a simple, cheap maintenance item – caulk! Showers, tubs, sinks and backsplashes are primary areas that require caulk that is intact…and it’s a quick and easy task too!

Vacuum Attachment: This one is something that we all tend to overlook but, can be one of the biggest safety hazards in our homes. Cleaning the clothes dryer filter with each use is not enough to prevent ‘straggling’ lint from accumulating just beyond that filter, filling the vent and potentially causing fire damage. Purchase a narrow attachment for your vacuum cleaner and USE IT regularly! You’ll be amazed at the amount of lint that you’ll remove when you actually get beyond the removable filter!

These simple items can be used routinely to maintain your most expensive investment – your home! For more maintenance items that require contractors assistance, give us a call; we have a list of preferred professionals that we can recommend to you!