New year, new home? Well, maybe not. Maybe your new year’s resolution is to get your house in order. While organizing your home is definitely a project worth undertaking, don’t forget to keep up with its regular maintenance. While you probably don’t have major repairs on your new year’s resolution list, regular home maintenance can help prevent some major repairs or at the least catch the repairs early before they get out of hand. For your convenience, we have turned this checklist into a PDF so you can print it out.
If you’re just joining our monthly home maintenance checklist series, you should read up on the monthly home maintenance items.
January Home Maintenance items
January is normally one of the coldest months, so it makes sense to ensure that the heating elements in your home are all in working order.
- Check furnace and replace filters according to manufacturer recommendations.
- Check water heater.
- Look for any leaks.
- Drain the water from the water heater to eliminate the sediment on the bottom. Continue to let the water drain until the water runs clear.
- Test the temperature relief valve.
- Clean burner and ports if it is a gas water heater.
- Consider buying a water heater blanket (as discussed in our 10 Tips for Homeowners) if you haven’t already.
- Check water softener, if you have one.
- Check weather stripping around doors and windows. Replace if it is deteriorating or if you can feel air escaping or entering your home.
- Tighten and/or repair storm windows and doors.
- Check attic vents for any damage.
- Check attic for signs of roof leaks.
- Check exhaust ducts. If you live where there is snow, make sure that they have not been blocked by built up snow.
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