7 January Home Maintenance Tips for Your East Texas Home
7 January Home Maintenance Tips for Your East Texas Home
7 January Home Maintenance Tips for Your East Texas Home
Happy New Year! Now that the champagne has bubbled and 2016 has begun, it’s a great time to get a few home maintenance items checked off that “to do” list!
Check out these 7 Tips for January home maintenance in your East Texas home:
- NO BEEP – Nothing is more annoying than a chirping smoke detector, so before it begins give it a look. Test the batteries in your smoke detector and if needed, change them out.
- CHIMNEY SAFETY— Chimney fires are easy to prevent with a little maintenance, so before you light that first fire of the winter, be sure to check your chimney for buildup (or better yet, have it professionally cleaned).
- PLANT RESCUE— Bring any warm-weather plants indoors or to the garage so they have a fighting chance to survive the winter (unless you’re like me and have already killed them…RIP). Add mulch to your flower beds to create a warm layer for the plants. It’s also a good idea to have a few blankets or towels ready for your most delicate plants, in case we have some deep or extended freezing weather.
- WINTERIZE—Make sure that all crawl space openings are closed to prevent cold air going under the house and straight to the pipes. Assuming you haven’t done this already, drain and disconnect your garden hoses and wrap/insulate all exterior pipes and install faucet covers to protect your spigots.
- FILTER CHANGE— This is a 2 minute fix! Hooray! Change out your HVAC air filter. It will help your system run more efficiently and save you some money.
- KEEP IT INSIDE— Now is a great time to start an interior project or two. You’ll be spending more time inside to escape the frigid weather, so might as well put the time to good use! Painting walls in a room or repainting woodwork are both great cold weather projects that don’t take too much time but offer a fantastic fresh update.
- APPLIANCE TIME—Another great indoor project during cold weather is appliance maintenance. Give your kitchen appliances a deep clean, including the refrigerator coils. Every model is different, so check your manufacturer instructions on how to do it. If you’ve lost the manual, google the make and model and you’ll likely find a free printable replacement manual. If your fridge has a water filter, check it to see if it’s time for a filter replacement.
If your New Years resolution was to stay on top of your home maintenance tasks, don’t worry, I’ve got ya covered. Cheers to a fantastic 2016!
Lisa E. Priest can’t believe its 2016 and is an East Texas Area REALTOR® with Picket Fence Realty, Inc. You can reach her via phone or text at 903-948-3343 or Read More at BuyPalestine.com.
