It’s no secret making home improvements can be a costly process. But home maintenance projects can be costly as well. Many of you have the skills necessary to take care of home maintenance issues on your own, but there are some jobs that are you’ll likely want handled by a professional. Small jobs like changing air filters, cleaning out gutters, and the like are simple home owner tasks. But don’t hesitate to get a professional out to handle bigger jobs. Whether you do it yourself or hire someone, here are a few home maintenance projects that can save you money in the long run.
Heating & Insulation
Depending on where in the country you live; winter can be particularly difficult on your heating system. If you have an older, less energy efficient system, it is going to have to work much harder, for a longer period of time to try to keep your home warm. Keeping your HVAC system in tip top shape is imperative to keep your home warm and your heating costs down. Finding a good HVAC company to service your heating and air conditioning on a yearly basis can help with keeping your unit running efficiently. This will keep those energy bills as low as possible.
In conjunction, not having the proper amount of insulation in your home can cause heat to escape and cold air to flood in. Check your attic space to be sure the insulation there hasn’t broken down or if it could be inadequate in any way. There are companies that will come and install the top rated rolled or blown insulation that will save you money on your energy bills long term.
Plumbing Issues
It’s not question that we use a tremendous amount of water around our homes. We lose gallons of water every time we flush our toilets. In reality, it doesn’t take as much water as older outdated toilets use to flush waste from our toilets. If you live in an older home, it’s likely you have a water guzzling toilet in your bathrooms. A more efficient, water saving, low flow toilet would save you water and money. If you’re not in the market to purchase an entirely new toilet, you can convert your existing toilet to a low flow toilet with a few supplies found in most DIY stores. With the right supplies and a few steps, you could be saving water.
You also need to fix any leaky faucets as well. Even a faucet with a small leak can cost you monthly in increased water use. A running toilet as well is sending water down the drain. These are usually quick fixes that the homeowner can do himself.
Lighting & Power
We are all guilty of leaving lights on in rooms that no one is using. Something as simple as turning off lights when a room is not in use can lead to money savings. Forgetting to turn off the porch lights when the sun comes up is a common waste of energy. It’s easy to forget to turn out the lights when you don’t notice them being on because the sun is shining brightly. By using timers, lights can come on and turn off automatically without having to worry about remembering to turn them off.
A programable thermostat is another great way to save electricity. If you’re home is empty during the day because everyone is at work and school, a programmable thermostat can turn the heating/ac off while the home isn’t occupied. Then, you can program it to come on an hour before everyone gets home so the house will be at the perfect temp. Not having the HVAC running while no one is home will save lots of money on monthly electric bills. And you don’t even have to think about it!
There are so many things that can help when you’re trying to save some money. These few simple home maintenance projects can save you money in the long run.