When Saturday morning rolls around, often the last thing you feel like doing is working on your home. Tasks like cleaning the windows, changing your air filter, and checking smoke detector batteries aren’t enjoyable, especially after a long work week. So, like many homeowners, you probably put these tasks off week after week, figuring you will get to them eventually. Maybe you do eventually get to your home maintenance, or maybe you don’t. Either way, delaying this work can have some pretty nasty consequences.
1. Safety Risks
In many cases, failing to properly complete home maintenance tasks can lead to hazards in the home. This applies when it comes to checking on equipment like your smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, and fire extinguisher. If you fail to check or change the batteries and you happen to have a fire or a CO leak, the equipment won’t do its job, and your risk of injuries increases.
Safety is also a factor with windows, doors, and railings. If you fail to care for wooden windows, for example, they may not lock properly, which may allow an intruder to enter your home. Unfortunately, when problems are due to lack of maintenance, homeowner’s insurance policies do not always cover the costs.
2. Increased Costs
The longer you wait, the more home maintenance tends to cost. For example, you might be able to get away with just caulking a leaky window now, but if you wait 6 months and let water continue to leak in, you may have to replace the window — which is more costly.
3. Further Damage
If you don’t take the time to maintain your home, minor damage can quickly worsen. After all, the goal of many maintenance tasks is to prevent damage. For instance, if you do not clean your gutters, water may accumulate on your roof, leading to leaks — and then you have to deal with clogged gutters and roof damage.
Use that as motivation to stop delaying your home maintenance. You can do a little now, or a lot later.
4. Non-DIY-Friendly Repairs
In some cases, if you put off repairs, you will end up at a point where the repairs are no longer DIY-friendly or able to be completed in the course of a weekend. You might be able to clean your gutters yourself, but if your roof becomes damaged, you’ll need to call in the pros.
5. Decreased Home Value
If you decide to sell your home, the lack of maintenance will come back to haunt you. It’s amazing how a few small issues, like poorly maintained landscaping or faucets with mineral deposits on them, can reduce the value of a home. On the other hand, put an hour or two into maintenance each month, and your home will fetch a fair price.
If you keep putting off home maintenance tasks, sadly, there are consequences. Contact Hassle Free Home Services if you need help getting to all the tasks on your list.
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