With homeownership comes the added responsibilities of yearly home maintenance. If you’re a new homeowner, the addition of new household upkeep chores may seem overwhelming or complicated — especially if you’ve never owned a property before. However, there’s no need to panic as homes tend to follow a steady schedule of operations each season that will help you create an annual schedule that’s easy to follow.

Making a home maintenance checklist of the tasks you need to complete each year will help these chores become streamlined habits. Once you have the big stuff nailed down, your home maintenance will run smoothly and you’ll only have to worry about the occasional monthly cleanings or repairs.

Follow our tips and tricks to help you conquer your yearly home maintenance requirements. If you want more information about homeownership or the home buying experience, explore Bungalo’s blog for customer stories and more tips.

Why home maintenance is so important

Not many people want to spend their weekends draining boilers or emptying a clogged gutter, but completing these tasks can help with home upkeep and its value over time. It can be hard work, but it’s also one of the key ways to save money as a homeowner as yearly maintenance will prevent major parts of your home from breaking down before they should. It will also help you flag any potential future problems and solve them before they become costly repairs. For example, clearing a clogged pipe will be much easier and more affordable than fixing a burst pipe.

Annual maintenance can also help your home run more efficiently, which can lower your monthly utility costs. Simple tasks like cleaning your fridge’s evaporative coils will help keep your food cool with less energy, which may then lower your energy bill.

By creating an indoor and outdoor checklist of the important maintenance actions that need to be done, you’ll be able to keep your home in its best condition year-round.

Maintenance outside the home

Exterior maintenance is essential to keeping your home in its best condition. As weather and other outdoor factors impact your home, your yearly maintenance checklist will help you preserve your property while helping preserve — or even grow — its value.

Consider these tasks to keep your house in prime working condition:

Landscaping

If you have a front or back yard area, it’s important to trim any vegetation that may negatively affect your home. This means inspecting for any wayward branches or trees that need to be cut down or simply making sure that vegetation isn’t damaging your exterior walls. Loose branches can damage your roof or windows, especially in inclement weather, so it’s important to take care of those as soon as you notice them.

Also, take a look around your foundation and the ground that surrounds your home. Remove any fallen branches and remove leaves in your yard. If there’s been rain or snow, check for any potential pools of water that may cause harm, such as breeding mosquitoes or causing leaks into your basement.

Gutters

You’ll want to check and clean your gutters about twice a year — more if you live in a rainier area. Your gutters are extremely important to your home as they protect your house, roof, siding, and foundation from rainwater. If gutters are left untreated, they can become breeding grounds for mold, rot, and pests, and potentially cause flooding.

By cleaning them and checking for damage, you can prevent clogs that will allow water to enter your home and cost a lot in repairs. If you don’t feel comfortable on a ladder or clearing gutters yourself, consider hiring a professional gutter cleaner who can safely and efficiently remove accumulated debris.

Siding, Roof and Chimney

Take time to inspect your home’s exterior, especially the siding, roof, and chimney.

If you catch any potential issues with your home’s siding early, it can help you save large amounts of repairs and money in the future. Look out for any signs of cracking or mildew, so you can repair or replace that siding immediately. If the exterior paint is peeling, make sure to replace it to protect your home’s siding from future water damage.

For your roof, keep an eye out for loose or broken shingles that need to be repaired. It’s better to make small repairs every year rather than let them pile up and end up having to replace an entire roof. A professional inspector can also help you lookout for any signs of sagging, decay, or other damage.

If your home has a chimney, it will need an annual checkup — even if you don’t use it that often. Make sure it’s functioning properly and clear it periodically to ensure it’s carrying any dangerous gasses out of your home.

Maintenance inside the home

Once you’ve gone over your home’s exterior, it’s time to take an inventory of what needs to be done to maintain the interior. Just as your house’s roof and walls protect your home from outdoor forces, your indoor operations help to keep your home running throughout the year.

Below are areas you should include in your yearly maintenance checklist:

Hot water heater

Most water heaters have a long life where they can work well for a decade or more without needing any repairs. However, if you take time each year with minor upkeep, it can extend your water heater’s life, as well as improve its heating efficiency.

Each year, test the pressure-release valve and replace it, if necessary. Make sure the valve is on and working correctly. Then drain your hot water heater since sediment can start to collect and negatively affect its lifespan. Be careful as the water may be hot.

Plumbing

Go through your home’s plumbing system to check for any signs of leaks around or near pipes. This means checking under sinks, looking for water stains on walls or ceilings, and checking the toilet for any worn-out parts.

If there are water stains on any of your walls, it’s a surefire sign of a leak somewhere in your house. Fix what you can, but don’t hesitate to call a plumber for additional opinions and/or repairs to your plumbing system. A leaky faucet can quickly turn into costly water damage.

Since all homes offered on our platform are Bungalo Certified, we can guarantee that every home on our website has had a home inspection (multiple times) before you view them. We also offer 90-day post-close protection and a one-year home warranty so that you can feel extra peace of mind with your new home purchase.

Windows and doors

Maintaining the quality of your windows and doors can massively improve the efficiency of your home as they keep out weather, pests, and other harmful environmental factors.

Take a tour of your home and check each window and door for drafts. If you’re not sure whether you can feel a breeze, an easy trick is to hold a lighted candle to the edge — if it flickers, there’s a draft. Once any gaps are located, apply caulk, if possible. If your windows or doors have wooden frames, they may have water damage that can lead to rotting. In those cases, you’ll need to either remove all of the rot and apply a wood filler or replace the entire window or door. Yearly check-ins with your window and door frames can prevent that worst-case scenario from occurring.

You can also look into annual weatherstripping of windows and doors to block out heat or cool air loss throughout seasonal changes. Weatherstripping can conserve energy and improve climate control within your home.

Last, but not least, clean the interior and exterior of your windows and doors. By doing an annual deep clean, you can protect the entry points of your and prevent any buildup of harsh elements, such as pollution, rust, etc.

Maintenance that you should do more often

Beyond annual maintenance tasks, there are some chores that should be done more often throughout the year to properly care for your home. Luckily, these tasks tend to be easier and less time-consuming than annual maintenance and will also help improve your home’s value and prevent future costly repairs.

Explore our more regular maintenance must-dos below:

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are essential tools to have in every room of your home. First, if you don’t have a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide detector— go get at least one of each now! A home is a major investment, so why not do everything you can to protect it and yourself?

Next, try to check your detectors at least twice a year. A good rule of thumb is to test them at the same time you change your clocks each year. This way it becomes a regular habit that you don’t have to think too much about. Each detector will have its own instructions to easily test that they’re functioning properly. Similarly, change the batteries whenever needed. They’re designed to loudly inform you (through repetitive beeping) when batteries are low, so that won’t be easy to forget.

Kitchen appliances

Your kitchen appliances are constantly in use throughout the year, so it’s essential that you check in with their needed upkeep each month to keep them running smoothly.

For your dishwasher, take 15 minutes each month to clean the filter. Although the dishwasher cleans your dishes, it still needs to be cleaned itself. Remove and clean the filter each month and it’ll be able to run more efficiently and probably have a longer lifespan.

Meanwhile, another kitchen mainstay, the garbage disposal, should also be regularly cleaned. Since kitchen disposals can hold food scraps and bacteria, taking the time to clean it will help to sharpen the blades and help it work — and also prevent any unwanted smells in your kitchen.

Fire hazards

There are some fire safety tasks that you should practice regularly to ensure your home is safe. One quick task is to purchase a fire extinguisher or check the expiration dates of any that you currently own and replace them as needed.

Cleaning your dryer vent is an essential monthly chore. You should already be regularly cleaning your lint filter after each use as built-up lint is an instant recipe for home fires. To clean your dryer’s vent, remove it from the back of the dryer and use your vacuum to remove any excess lint and debris. This will both prevent any fires from occurring and improve your appliance’s efficiency.

Home maintenance is the key to good homeownership

With proper home maintenance and cleaning, homeowners can expect to see their properties improve and grow in value. Following a consistent checklist will help your home stay in prime condition, while also improving its efficiency — ultimately reducing future utility and home maintenance costs.

However, if any of the tasks seem out of your skill level, don’t hesitate to reach out to professional services to help you preserve the quality and integrity of your home and appliances.

Bungalo is an all-in-one homebuying platform that helps users search, tour, finance, and close on homes, which is how we know what it takes to maintain a home.

We have a team of dedicated experts that guide users through every step of the process, as well as inspect and renovate every home on our platform. Discover a new, streamlined way of purchasing a home and explore our easy step-by-step process through the home buying journey here.

This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, real estate, insurance, or investment advice. Bungalo always encourages you to reach out to an advisor regarding your own situation.