Home Maintenance for Those Living Alone
Home maintenance especially for someone that is living alone can seem like a demanding task. You’re constantly worried about the pipes bursting, the water flowing, the electricity going off in the middle of the night and Worse off, the repairs are going to cost you your entire month’s spending.
We all know that house repairs are unavoidable as the older and more use the house gets, the more repairs it will need. Also, these repairs will be coming in turns as they are bound to be more or less the same age as the other.
Did you know that you can avoid having to pay for exorbitant repairs if you do maintenance every now and then? House maintenance is important not only to avoid paying expensive bills but to also ensure everything in your house is running smoothly and is safe to use.
A well-maintained house lasts longer and needs less upgrading. Whether you are a handyman or not is another matter. Here is the top 5 house maintenance checklist that does not even require you to use a power tool.
Home Maintenance Checklist for Those Living Alone
- Check for Pipe Leaks
- Detect Electricity Theft
- Inspect walls and windows
- Fix light fixtures
- Clean out washer and dryer
- Gardening
Check for Pipe Leaks
Pipe leaks will be your biggest enemy if the damage goes untreated, most leaks even the smallest one can cost hundreds of ringgits. There are many causes of leaks but most of them are all manageable if treated early.
To avoid expensive repairs, the best way to detect a leak is to check your water meter. Your water meter serves as the main pipe that allows water to flow in your house.
Turn off all faucets, pipes, and showers. Stop any running water for an hour and check your water meter again. If there are no changes or if the meter is still running then there is a leak somewhere in the house.
If you are a tenant what you can do is to inform your landlord of this and work out a way to detect the source of the leak. If this is your own home, then this is the best time to call for a trusted plumber.
If you do not know any, and you happen to live in a condo or apartment, you can file a complaint to the building’s management so they can help you conduct a proper check to detect the source.
Detect Electricity Theft
Electricity theft has always been a long standing problem for homeowners and tenants alike. Though this may rarely happen but it’s always good to be prepared for the worst. Detecting this early on can go a long way in saving you hundreds on stolen electricity.
How to detect if there is electricity theft? Check your electricity bill and monitor your consumption. If your bill is way more than what you usually pay and there are no major changes in terms of the number of people residing and using electricity in the house then this might be a sign of electricity theft.
If you suspect your electricity meter has been tampered then your best answer is to report to your energy commission and prepare the documents required such as your previous month’s bill receipt to allow for a further investigation.
Inspect Walls And Windows
It sounds silly, right? Looking at your walls and windows. But it is necessary for you to do so to detect any damages.
Both walls and windows might have tiny cracks that can grow into bigger ones and eventually become holes. Window cracks have risks of breaking into glass shards while holes in windows can invite unwanted bugs and other critters into your home.
You need to detect cracks on your walls to prevent any short hairline cracks from growing and reaching your ceiling or floor. You do not have to worry, it is not a safety hazard, but it does leave your walls looking ugly with the textures.
You have to replace the window completely to prevent it from breaking further but the walls are repairable so you do not need to go breaking down any walls.
Fix Light Fixtures
Lights are one of the more important things in your house that you need to upkeep. No lights meaning you cannot see what you are doing when it is dark out.
House light bulbs have a lifespan ranging from 1,200 hours to 25,000 hours depending on the type of bulb. Different bulbs have different wattages as well and you need to be careful when buying replacement bulbs for your house as the wrong bulb is a safety hazard.
Other than, having good enough lighting is necessary to avoid injury and straining your eyes to see what you are doing. Light bulbs are easy enough to find at your nearest hardware store, if not online.
Clean Out Washer And Dryer
You did not expect that the device that has been cleaning your laundry would need some cleaning too huh? But it does. Lints, dirt, loose threads and other things get caught up in the washer after every wash, likewise for the dryer.
If those foreign items are not cleaned out, you will find that even after washing your clothes multiple times that it is still dirty. Some will even find dust particles on their newly-washed laundry.
Other than collecting dirt, mold, mildew and soap deposits will also start to collect around the machine. Further sullying your clothes with each wash.
Well cleaning the washing machine does not require rocket science nor does it require you to dismantle the device.
The easiest way to clean your machine and dryer is to wipe its exterior with a microfiber cloth and run hot water or clothes soaked in hot water, washing machine cleaner plus bleach on one empty cycle. This will enable the machine or dryer to cleanse itself from the inside, removing moulds and other things.
With regular upkeep, your machine will run as good as new and for a longer time than most.
Gardening
We have been concentrating on the inside of the house we forgot about the outside, the garden. Gardening needs the most upkeep as it has living beings that constantly grow.Â
An unkempt garden also invites unwanted critters to make itself at home, as it indicates that no one will encroach on their premises.
You might ask what are the basics of garden upkeep? Well it is pretty simple, weeding out invasive plants from your garden is one, watering your plants, fertilising them and if you have tiles put out, it means grouting them too.
You may also wonder why we need to maintain the garden? That is a pretty simple answer too, the garden represents the house, it is the first thing strangers and visitors would see when they pass by. A well-kept garden meant that the inside would be just as clean right? And a less-loved garden probably shows what the inside of the house is like too.
There are many benefits in maintaining a garden, one of which is that it allows you to grow your own crops. Fruits and vegetables that you otherwise would have to purchase from a market. You save more money that way too.
Upkeeping a house is not necessarily an everyday chore, it requires a day at most for you to settle most things. A well-loved house will not only last longer for you to stay in it but it is also a safe space with no safety issue.
