Tuesday Tip: Home Maintenance Skills You SHOULD KNOW

The moment you decide to buy a home is somewhat similar to the moment when you decide to get married-- a commitment to "be there no matter what" is required. Home maintenance is an essential part of home ownership; if you don't want to drain your savings by frequently calling the plumber or your contractor for home repairs, it might be useful for you to master these most common home maintenance tasks:

1. Hanging Pictures

You have to "nail it" [hanging pictures] by successfully doing three things: installing the hooks you need securely, making sure that whatever you are hanging will appear balanced, and keeping your painting/picture/whatever display you have securely on the wall to prevent hazards. A traditional level or a level app on your smartphone can help you achieve task number 2; installing the hooks where the hidden wood frames are instead on just plain dry wall is essential for number 1, and; to secure whatever you plan on displaying on the wall, you have to use the right-sized hook, depending on the weight of what you plan to display.

2. Gutter Upkeep

No one wants to clean gutters-- it's a dirty, annoying, springtime-cleaning job. However, failing to clean up the debris of leaves and dirt that clogs your gutter may result to more expensive repairs when water gets trapped and starts seeping into your house. Find time to clean your gutter in the dry season to get ready for whatever the rainy season will bring.

3. Understanding Your Circult Breaker 

A circuit breaker prevents home fires due to electrical overload. The system is designed to "trip" and cut off the electricity in the area where there is an electrical fault. You have to learn how to reset the breaker (and learn which area/s may have a problem) if you would like to enjoy having electricity in your home for an indefinite period of time.

4. Declogging Drains

Drains eventually become clogged when water combined with other debris eventually turns into a horrible gunk that prevents waste water from flowing out to the sewage system. The easy way out is to hire a plumber, but drains get clogged way more than you think; acquaint yourself with several chemical drain cleaners that you could use for mildly-problematic drains. For more serious clog problems, the use of a "declogging snake" may be required to mechanically remove the blockage.

5. Water Supply System Knowledge

A house can easily turn into the Great Poseidon Adventure if a pipe bursts and you just decided, then and there, to locate the main valve to shut the entire water supply off. As soon as you move into a new home, find the main valve and remember where it is. If there is an urgent need to turn off the water supply, you can do so without waiting for an indoor pool to form in your living room.

Keeping a home in top condition is hard work, but your home is an investment that deserves your care if you want to enjoy living there. For more tips on how to take care of your house, you can check out our blog or read the original article from which this post was based here.