Money Smart: How To Save Money On Your Household Repairs

| December 15, 2013

How To Save Money On Household RepairsNo matter how diligent you are in taking care of your home, there will still be accidents, old appliances and cleaning that you will have to attend to. You don’t have to cut corners when you are in need of some work done in your home. Doing home repairs can be very affordable with these tips:

Proper Maintenance

The easiest way to save money on home repairs is to maintain the home properly. Simple items such as an air filter for the climate control system may need to be changed due to clogging. If not maintained properly, worn gaskets, filters, and hoses could lead to much bigger repairs down the road when a simple replacement would have done the job in the first place.

Winterizing Cracks and Openings

For those that live in a cold climate, there are simple steps that can be taken to winterize your home, without undergoing major repairs on the roof or walls. Winterizing cracks around doors and windows has been shown to save over 20 percent in heating expenses and can be carried out with a handful of supplies such as a draft snake or pliable foam.

Finding Specialists

The avid handyman may want to jump right into any job, but this could be a costly mistake for those that are in over their head. This is especially true with problems that could lead to expensive and time-consuming repairs if done wrong, suggests plumbing service professionals. Issues that homeowners may want to hand over to a specialist include water heaters, hard water, deep clogs, and burst pipes.

Thoroughly Cleaning Appliances

Regular cleaning should go well beyond wiping down windows or vacuuming, and it could lead to huge savings over time. This is especially true for appliances that can turn into expensive hassles when not cleaned regularly such as stovetops and refrigerators. This doesn’t have to be as hard of a chore as we make it seem. With regular cleanings, it will be much easier to keep up with the maintenance.

Locating GFCIs

Even those that have purchased a relatively new home may find themselves plugging something in only to find that the outlet no longer works. While bigger issues may be taking place below the surface, this may be nothing more than an upstream circuit breaker. Homeowners should know where all GFCIs are located throughout the home and how to reset them after an outlet goes out.

Home repairs are going to be a simple fact of life for most homeowners, but not all of these projects must be expensive. Understanding the basic cleaning, maintenance, and layout of a home may be all that is needed to dodge larger renovations.

 

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Category: Home Improvements

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