5 Easy Home Maintenance Tips

For many, owning a home represents stability, security, and a sense of real accomplishment. It symbolizes a place where families can build lives together, create memories, and establish roots within their communities. Additionally, homeownership is a path to wealth-building, as property values often appreciate over time, building valuable equity.

However, a home needs regular tending, i.e. home maintenance, to retain its value. Home maintenance is an essential aspect of responsible homeownership, ensuring the longevity, safety, and value of your property over time. Regular maintenance tasks, ranging from cleaning gutters to changing filters, can help mitigate potential hazards and costly repairs in the long run – not to mention, helping to keep curb appeal on point.

Yet, sometimes the list of tasks may seem overwhelming – especially when something big breaks or wears out. We get it, as decades of residential painting experience have taught us one valuable lesson – the better you care for your home, the better it will survive the wear and tear of living. That’s why we’re proud to announce the Hester Home Maintenance Program, our newest division devoted to helping homeowners maintain and protect their properties.

We’ve spent years becoming experts on home maintenance, including what it takes to preserve the integrity of such a large investment, and we’re sharing some of that knowledge with you today. These five straightforward but impactful tasks are essential to overall home maintenance, as well as part of our quarterly service program offerings. Staying on top of these critical items can help preserve your home’s structure and functioning while also keeping everything and everyone within safe and protected.

At Hester Painting & Decorating, we understand that keeping a home in top shape is no small feat. That’s why we’ve tailored the Hester Home Maintenance Program to be your ally, ensuring every corner of your sanctuary receives the attention it needs with ease and expertise.

Covers Over 30 Important Home Maintenance Items

The Hester Home Maintenance Program is like a safety net for your house. It tackles over 30 critical tasks to keep everything running smoothly. For example, our service includes checking and maintaining heating and cooling systems, ensuring sump pumps are ready for action, and inspecting water heaters so you never face an unexpected cold shower.

But that’s not all – our team cleans out dryer vents to prevent fire hazards, keeps kitchen hood vents clear for healthy indoor air quality, and so much more. From checking weather stripping on doors and windows to swapping out furnace filters to changing batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, we stay on top of lengthy home maintenance lists to ensure everything runs as it should, saving you time and headaches.

Quarterly Program

With the Hester Home Maintenance Program, your home regularly receives the attention it needs and deserves. Every three months, we check off key tasks on your list, so you can focus on home living rather than home maintenance.

By making sure everything from gutters and downspouts to smoke detectors are in good shape, we’re providing peace of mind that things around the house will work as they should when they should. Our visits mean you can relax knowing that things like water damage or a faulty HVAC unit won’t catch you by surprise.

Basically, we become your personal home maintenance crew, keeping your space safe while boosting its resale value every quarter.

We all want our homes to be safe and functioning like well-oiled machines. However, there is a lot of work involved in achieving this goal. With so many things to maintain and check, just figuring out where to start can be challenging. Whether you are a brand new homeowner or about to pay off a 30-year mortgage, there always seems to be something that needs attention in homes.

We get it, and we’re here to help! In this next section, we’re covering five key home maintenance tips we tackle that will help keep your home in tip-top shape.

Check The Operation Of The Sump Pump And Water Heater

Be honest, how much do you think about your home’s sump pump or water heater? It’s easy to take a dry basement or hot water for granted! As part of our home maintenance program, we’ll regularly check these critical components to ensure they’re running smoothly. After all, no one wants a flooded basement or an icy shower.

For the sump pump, we’ll test by pouring water into the pit until the pump turns on. If it doesn’t kick in, it might need fixing. Now, for your water heater – we keep an eye out for any leaks or weird noises, which is important because it keeps showers hot and prevents cold surprises.

Regular checks on these critical systems can prevent huge hassles down the road.

Clean Dryer Exhaust Vents And Kitchen Hood Vents

Clogged vents in the home present a fire risk, so part of our home maintenance program is ensuring that doesn’t happen in your house by cleaning out dryer exhaust vents and kitchen hood vents every three months. This includes the dirty work, i.e., clearing out any lint, debris, or buildup, to keep your clothes dryer and kitchen vent working as they should.

Keeping these vents clean also helps with energy efficiency. Your clothes dryer will dry faster and use less power when the vent is clear. The same goes for your kitchen hood, as it will eliminate smoke and any lingering kitchen smells more effectively when it’s clean.

With Hester’s Home Maintenance Program, you can relax knowing these important maintenance tasks are regularly tackled and checked off the list.

Check Weather Stripping On Exterior Doors

Checking weather stripping on exterior doors is key to ensuring your home stays cozy and energy-efficient. Proper sealing keeps out cold drafts in the winter and hot air in the summer. If you notice any cracks or gaps, it’s time to replace that weather stripping – a simple fix that can help you save on energy bills, while keeping the home comfortable in every season.

Fortunately, checking the weather stripping on exterior doors falls under our home maintenance routine, and it’s just one of the many small tasks that can make a big difference in your comfort and energy use.

Change Furnace Filters Regularly

We understand the importance of clean air in the home, so checking and replacing furnace filters is a must-do. Clogged filters make your system work harder, which can increase energy bills and lead to costly repairs. Therefore, keeping filters clean will help your heating and air conditioning system run smoothly year-round.

With the Hester Home Maintenance Program, filter maintenance is effortless because we come out every three months to change them for you. Forget about remembering when to change a filter or dealing with the hassle of finding the right size – we’ve got it covered! It’s just one of the many tasks we handle to make your home healthier and more comfortable all year round.

Change Batteries In Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Home maintenance is about more than just maintaining the function of critical systems – it’s also about safety. Case in point – smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are our silent guardians, always ready to warn us of danger. However, to keep them alert and effective, their batteries must be checked and changed regularly.

It’s a task that might seem small, yet its significance can’t be overstated. Imagine if you are fast asleep, and a gas leak occurs. Your trusty carbon monoxide detector will not sound an alarm if the device is faulty or the battery is dead. Therefore, Hester’s home maintenance includes the critical task of regularly testing the alarms and replacing old batteries as needed, which can save lives if the unthinkable occurs.

It takes a lot of time and effort to stay on top of home maintenance. However, taking regular preventative measures is the best way to avoid the kind of big issues that can cause serious headaches – and hit your wallet hard. We know life gets busy, so we’re here to prioritize these tasks for you and take the worry out of home maintenance.

Prevent Big Problems

The Hester Home Maintenance program focuses on the little things that make a big difference. After all, small issues can quickly turn into big ones if we’re not careful.

By changing furnace filters, checking sump pump function, and keeping smoke detectors ready for action, we help keep your house safe and sound. Our program is like having a superhero team for your home, always on guard against water heater breakdowns or carbon monoxide dangers. We trim trees before they threaten your roof and maintain weather stripping so ice dams don’t even get a chance to form.

With our help, you can avoid calls to expensive professionals for costly repairs. We’ll help you keep your investment in good health, saving you time and money while ensuring peace of mind.

Let’s keep our homes in top shape together. Remember to check sump pumps, water heaters, and all those vents. Don’t forget to swap out old batteries and filters, too. Are your doors sealing tightly? It only takes a moment to check.

Can we count on you to follow these tips every quarter? With Hester Home Maintenance, it’s effortless because keeping these systems in check is part of what we do.

We’ve been helping folks in Chicagoland with their painting needs since 1968, and now we’re taking home care to the next level with this extensive maintenance program. We cover all the essentials, so you won’t have to worry about unexpected home issues disrupting your comfort or safety.