Routine checks you should do in your home

With regular checks on your property, you can avoid spending huge sums on repairs, ADEMOLA ALAWIYE writes

Every home requires maintenance; if your home is your biggest investment, it is only sensible to set money aside for the needed repairs before they occur, or you’ll be playing catch-up forever.

Across the country, several buildings that were once sparkly and beautiful stand in ruins. They present drab and in some cases offensive pictures that reflect nothing of their once glorious appearances.

While many people attribute the state of these buildings to wear and tear, or age, experts say it is down to poor maintenance culture – the consequence of delaying or ignoring maintenance.

Experts who espouse the latter view support their argument with the fact that there are several buildings that are more than 100 years old across the world today that still retain their spark because they are properly maintained.

They observe that many homeowners often make the mistake of ignoring minor faults, which can easily be fixed, in their houses, reacting only when a problem becomes major and the cost of fixing it has soared.

While experts admit that it is easy to ignore routing and basic home maintenance requirements, they stress that doing so would be a mistake financially. This is because when minor problems are allowed to become major, professionals will be required to fix them and this can be very expensive.

 Some of the common maintenance mistakes homeowners make are:

 Not taking electrical safety seriously

Quite a number of fire outbreaks have been attributed to electrical problems. While the nation’s power company often takes the blame for this, experts say sometimes the blame lie with homeowners, who pay little attention to electrical safety, ignoring warning signs such as flickering lights and opting for cheap and substandard electrical devices, such as sockets, lamp holders and wires.

 Ignoring loose fittings and crevices

Houses have many fittings. From the finishing and décor to tiles, they can easily come loose. Problems such as loose tiles are not likely to be given a serious attention by homeowners. Many consider them too minor to be fixed. But they can lead to bigger problems. When tiles and fittings come loose, they can lead to crevices or cracks on the floor or walls of a house. These crevices in turn can lead to water and structural damage. As a result of large cracks, such things as water faucets can easily come loose. When this happens, it in effect means a problem that could have been solved with just glue has become one that costs thousands of naira.

 Allowing dust to accumulate

This may seem like a harmless mistake, but it is not. Allowing dust to accumulate in a house has several implications. It can make the house hazardous health-wise (for people with respiratory problems) and damage electronic devices. Many people have no clue the amount of dust that had accumulated in their homes until they take an electronic device such as a DVD player for repairs.

To prevent the accumulation of dust, it is advised that homeowners should consider vacuum cleaners as important tools to have in their homes.

Ignoring leaks

Many homeowners will admit that leaks are common problems in houses; drainpipes have a way of leaking now and then. From toilet systems, to kitchen sinks, and tap heads, leaks have many places they can occur in the house. Sometimes a leak can be very minor that a homeowner would not hesitate to ignore it, failing to realise that it doesn’t take long for a minor leak to become major. People have come home to find their home flooded because the washing machine hose had come loose or a leak in the toilet has worsened.

According to experts, what many would consider as a minor leak is capable of causing a serious damage – to the walls and the floor, among other things. When walls become damp due to leaks, they are likely to lead to the growth of mold, which in turn can damage vital documents and clothes.

To prevent leaks from worsening and leading to extensive damage and expensive repairs, it is advised that homeowners should fix them as soon as they are spotted.

Just as drainpipe leaks can be costly, so also are roof leaks. In fact, a roof leak is considered capable of leading to a greater damage as it can eventually leave you without a roof over your head, with your property exposed to rain.

 Allowing gutters to get blocked

Many people allow gutters in and around their homes to get blocked. Some have the gutters sealed permanently, believing they won’t need to clean them. Events in the last few years have shown how dangerous it is for homeowners to have clogged gutters in or around their houses. Following heavy rainfall in Lagos and some other states, many homes that were not in flood plains became flooded because of clogged gutters.

The damage was extensive; from soaked furniture to damaged electronic gadgets and documents, people suffered losses. Even cars with low ground clearance in such homes were affected as water got into the engine.

 Failing to maintain the roof

According to experts, one of the most neglected parts of a house is the roof. Some people will live in their homes for years without inspecting the roofs. The only time they do so is when they spot a leak. Experts, however, say it is important for homeowners to regularly inspect their roofs to ensure that they are free of debris. Also, they say it is important for people with trees in their houses to ensure that they trim the branches of the trees to prevent part or parts of them from resting on the roof. They explain that when a tree rests on the roof, it can lead to the accumulation of debris and allow insects to get into the roof and do damage.

 Leaving wood décor unprotected

For houses that have wooden decoration, experts recommend that the owners should protect the wood by spraying or painting it. When this is done, they say it is important to inspect it now and then to ensure that the paint has not faded or peeled off. If that is allowed to happen, especially when the wood is part of the exterior decoration, water or extreme heat can cause it to wear faster.

Failure to lubricate door/gate hinges

Keeping the hinges of doors and gates and the likes lubricated does not only prevent homeowners from the creaking noise that the doors would eventually start to make if left dry, it also protects them from damage, thereby saving the expenses that would have gone in replacing them at a faster rate.

Copyright PUNCH.