During the holiday season, people’s free time often dwindles. People are shopping for gifts, preparing for their holiday guests, and celebrating a new calendar year. Because of this, the end of the year is often regarded as the busiest time of the year. But when the New Year comes, people tend to have more time again.

Many individuals will begin the year by setting New Year’s resolutions for themselves. These resolutions are set with the intention of bettering one’s self, but they don’t need to be limited to personal growth. The New Year is also a great time to work on improving other things, such as your home.

New Years Home Maintenance Tips

Throughout the year, you should have maintenance done on your home to ensure it is in good condition. At the start of the new year especially, it is recommended to conduct some home maintenance to ensure your property has minimal issues. The sooner you address potential concerns, the lesser chance there is for legitimate issues that could end up costing you.

With a new year underway, make the time to improve your home by following these home maintenance tips.

1. Clean the Kitchen

The holidays can be a time in which people do a lot of cooking. People host parties to celebrate the holidays and invite family and friends to celebrate with them. If you hosted and cooked for guests over the holidays, your kitchen could likely use a good cleaning.

Start by going through your food and discarding anything that has gone bad. Empty your refrigerator to give it a good cleaning. Thoroughly clean your stove, oven, sink, dishwasher, and other appliances in your kitchen. If you wait to clean these items, it will become harder to remove grease stains and caked on food. Any food that’s left to sit in the fridge for a prolonged period can spoil and cause lingering odors that are difficult to remove.

Wipe down and disinfect your kitchen countertops and table as well.

2. Clean the Bathrooms

With everyday use, bathrooms can become dirty rather quickly. If you have guests over for the holidays, the volume of use increases — as does the potential for dirt buildup. So it’s important to clean your bathroom regularly, but especially at the start of a new year.

Scrub down your bathroom sinks and countertops, toilets, tubs, showers, and tiles. Do a thorough cleaning job with the tub and/or shower to eliminate any dirt, grime, soap scum, and possibly mold. As you clean the tiles, inspect the grout lines and tile surfaces for damage and clean or replace them as necessary.

3. Inspect for Leaks and Other Types of Damage

While cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen, keep an eye out for any leaks from faucets, pipes, and or showerheads. If you find leaks or damage, make repairs or seek professional water damage services as necessary. For example, if tiles in the bathroom are cracked, take the time to replace them. If there are any leaks, get those looked at right away by a professional. Leaks can lead to water damage and eventually mold growth, which can cause further damage.

4. Check Alarms and Detectors

No one wants to experience an emergency, but accidents happen. This is why smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are installed in homes. However, those devices will be of no use if they do not work properly.

When conducting winter home maintenance at the start of the year, take the time to test your home’s detectors. You can start by replacing the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors that need it. If you encounter problems while testing the alarms, then purchase and install new ones right away. Don’t risk your family’s safety by going without functioning smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

5. Have Your Air Ducts Inspected and Cleaned

Having clean air ducts is important because it allows for clean breathing air and more efficient heating and cooling. Over time, the air duct system will inevitably take in dust and dirt that accumulate within the system. This will not only lead to poor air quality indoors, but also inefficient heating and cooling as the dust and dirt forces the air duct system to work harder to distribute the air. Because of this, your home’s energy bills will increase.

If return and supply vents and their covers are filled with dust, this is an indication that it is time for professional air duct cleaning.

Professional Help for Winter Home Maintenance

It’s important for homeowners to conduct winter home maintenance and the start of the year is a great time to perform such work. By following the aforementioned home maintenance tips, your home will be in good condition, minimizing the potential for issues throughout the year.

If your home’s air ducts need to be cleaned, call a professional that provides air duct cleaning services. With these services, the entire air duct system from the air ducts themselves to the cooling and heating coils will be cleared of contaminants, improving your home’s indoor air quality.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.