Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County
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    • New Members
    • COVID-19 Related News
    • HBA Membership >
      • Membership Benefits
      • Member Savings Program
      • Membership Q & A
      • Get Involved
    • Councils >
      • Triangle Sales and Marketing Council >
        • TSMC Events
        • Sales Performance Awards
        • 2021 MAME Awards >
          • MAME Awards
        • MAME Sponsorships
        • Mentor Program
        • Big Give Back
        • About the TSMC
      • Remodelers Council >
        • Council Membership
        • Wake County Remodeling Awards
        • Remodelers Home Tour
      • High Performance Building Council
      • Professional Women in Building
    • Member Directory >
      • Find a Member
    • Job Bank
    • Member Login
    • Community Involvement >
      • Operation Coming Home >
        • Upcoming OCH Events
        • About Operation Coming Home >
          • Apply for a Hero Home
          • Get Involved with OCH
        • Meet Our Heroes
        • Meet Our Partners
  • Homeowners
    • Home Building Resources >
      • Benefits of a New Home
      • Tax Benefits of Buying New
      • Not So Obvious Benefits of a New Home
      • High Performance Homes
      • How to Choose a Home Builder
      • Questions to Ask Your Home Builder
      • Top Home Buyer Features
      • Advice on Financing Your New Home
      • Before You Move In
    • Homeowner Resources >
      • Routine Home Maintenance
      • Exterior Home Painting Tips
      • Interior Design on a Budget
      • Avoid Summer Lawn Stress
      • Protect Your Home from Severe Weather
      • After a Storm
      • Avoid Contractor Scams
    • Remodeling Resources >
      • Remodelers Home Tour
      • Thinking About Remodeling?
      • Hire a Professional Remodeler
      • 10 Tips To Remodel
      • Aging in Place Design
      • Understanding Remodeling
      • Wake County Remodeling Awards
  • Events
    • Calendar >
      • January - 2021 Kickoff Event
      • February - Member Meeting
      • March - The Masked Singer!
      • May, September - Golf Tournaments
      • June - Battle of the Builders
      • August - New Home Expo
      • October - Grill 'N' Chili Challenge
    • Education >
      • Classes
      • Designations >
        • Types of Designations
  • Advocacy
    • Local Issues
    • Vote
  • Home Tours
    • Parade of Homes
    • Remodelers Home Tour >
      • Virtual Home Tour Entries
      • Featured Remodelers
      • Remodeling Resources
      • Featured Vendors
    • High Performance Home Tour
  • About Us
    • Leadership 2020
    • Staff
    • Home Club
    • Join the HBA
    • Contact
    • Past HBA Presidents
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Routine Home Maintenance

Routine Home Maintenance

Your home may be the biggest investment you will ever make. Taking good care of it with regular maintenance is necessary to preserve its value and ensure it will provide a comfortable, safe shelter for you and your family for years to come. 
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Maintenance Inside the Home

Air Filters
Many types of heating and air conditioning systems contain filters to remove dirt and dust from the air. Check the instruction book or search online by model number: In many cases, the home owner should change filters at least every three months.

Sinks
It's also a good idea to clean your faucet's aerator — which is the spring inside the end of the faucet — every three to four months.
To maintain your garbage disposal, you should run cold water through it during use.

Fireplaces
When you're ready to use your fireplace, be sure to build the fire on the andirons or grate, never on the fireplace floor.
To prevent soot and to add color to the fire, throw in a handful of salt.
Store your firewood outside, away from the house and not directly on the ground.
Have a CSIA-Certified chimney sweep inspect your chimney and fireplace annually, especially if you build a lot of fires in the winter.

Floors
To maintain unpainted concrete floors in your basement or garage, first apply a concrete sealer, which makes them easier to clean. When you're ready to clean them, use a solution of four to six tablespoons of washing soda in a gallon of hot water. Add scouring powder to the solution for tough jobs.
For hardwood, be sure the floors have a polyurethane finish before cleaning with water. Hardwood floors that do not have a polyurethane finish will need to be waxed periodically. Use liquid or paste "spirit" wax.
The best polish for vinyl floors in water emulsion wax.

Walls
Masonry walls sometimes develop a white powdery substance. This is called efflorescence, a crystallized soluble salt that can be removed by scrubbing with water and a stiff brush.

Safety and Security
If you have a home security system, regularly check the alarms and circuit breakers to ensure they are in working order. Inspect the sensors one by one. 
The batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should also be checked twice a year to ensure they are operable. Hard-wired and battery-powered detectors should be replaced every 10 years.
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Maintenance Outside the Home

Roof, Gutters and Downspouts
A qualified roofer should inspect your roof every three years. Skylights should also be inspected each time your roof is inspected so leaks don't develop from cracks and interruptions around the seals, caulking and flashings.
Make sure that gutters and downspouts do not get clogged with leaves or other objects.

Windows and Doors
Inspect exterior windows and doors yearly to see if the caulking around them has split and cracked. If so, replace the caulk and clean any mildew.
For a simple solution to wash extremely dirty exterior windows, combine equal parts vinegar and water or three tablespoons of denatured alcohol per quart of warm water. Use a piece of crumbled newspaper to wash the glass to avoid lint left behind by paper towels.
To help a window slide easily, rub the channel with a piece of parrafin.

Siding
Inspect your siding yearly to determine if your wood-sided home needs to be repainted. Trim shrubbery away so that it does not touch the siding.
The exterior of your house is built to withstand exposure to the elements, but a periodic cleaning will improve the appearance and, in many instances, prolong the life of siding and other exterior products.

Garage
The moving parts of garage doors should be oiled every three months.

Simple Repairs

Faucets, Sinks and Toilets
If you have a water leak, the washer in your faucet usually needs to be replaced.
For clogged drains, use a plunger and/or a plumber's snake.
To unclog a toilet, use a coil spring-steel auger, which can be found at hardware or home-improvement stores.

Pipes
Noisy water pipes should be fixed promptly. The condition that causes noisy pipes may be accompanied by vibration that can cause fittings to loosen and leak.
Frozen pipes should be thawed slowly to prevent the formation of steam, which could cause the pipes to burst.

Walls
Use spackling to fill nail holes and cracks in plaster walls and gypsum wallboard.


Credit NAHB ​
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5580 Centerview Drive, Suite 115
​Raleigh, NC 27606

P: 919.233.2033 

Copyright 2016 Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.  
​All Rights Reserved.
5580 Centerview Drive, Ste. 115  |  Raleigh, NC 27606
Phone: (919) 233-2033  |  Email Us
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