When you own a home for many years, you tend to put off the required maintenance. Putting it off another year saves you money and time, or so it seems. Neglecting home maintenance tasks can actually be very expensive in the long run, and can cause your house many hazardous damages. Keep up with your housing tasks by creating a schedule and completing certain, necessary tasks each month. Sticking to this schedule can prevent many problems from occurring.

Fire hazards
Furnace maintenance is important for more reasons than upkeep. Your furnace is responsible for putting heat into the house through the vents. The upkeep often includes yearly inspections of the actual furnace and the thorough cleaning of the air vents. Over time, the air vents become filled with dust and other household debris. The build up of these substances over many years can become a fire risk, increasing the chance of fire in your house.

Significantly increased energy bills
When you put off household maintenance tasks, such as your furnace maintenance, you are likely to see a significant increase in your heating and cooling bills. This could often be prevents with minor tune ups. Instead, the furnace is required to work harder, for more often, thus increasing the energy bills. A furnace maintenance inspection can also ensure no furnace repairs or replacements are needed.

Frozen pipes
If you have ever dealt with frozen pipes, you understand the severity of the issue. When your pipes are frozen, you are unable to get hot water and they are at a risk of bursting. A freeze break repair in the plumbing often includes an emergency plumber call and extensive plumbing work. You may also need a hot water heater repair during this time. Regular hot water heater maintenance and annual inspections can prevent this.

It is also important to regularly use the plumbing system in a house throughout the cold months. The flow of hot water can prevent the freezing from occurring. It is surprising that about 93% of all water damage can be prevented with regular maintenance. Instead, homeowners are left with excessive amounts of water damage, expensive repairs, and the destruction of all of their belongings.

Backed up sewers
Many of today?s homes were built over 20 years ago. This means that they are also equipped with outdated plumbing systems. Over time, they are likely to back up and become clogged, causing either flooding or backed up sewers. Although a full replacement of the plumbing system can be very expensive, homeowners can prevent plumbing problems with regular maintenance and inspections. The Civil Engineering Research Foundation reports that the number of backed up sewers is increasing at an alarming rate of about 3% annually, making regular maintenance an even more important task.

Uncomfortable home temperatures
Regular furnace maintenance and inspections reduces the chances that your heating system will stop working in extreme cold weather. It actually better prepares you for the winter weather. Some HVAC experts say up to 75% of no heat calls in the winter are related to a lack of maintenance. Left unserviced, a furnace can stop working suddenly, leaving your family in the cold.

Owning a home can be a wonderful thing, but it comes with its own set of responsibilities. You no longer have a landlord that is responsible for upkeep and repairs. Instead, if a problem occurs, the repairs come out of your own pocket. Regular home maintenance tasks, such as annual furnace maintenance and plumbing inspections can help to prevent problems from occurring, or minimally, from getting out of hand. These regular maintenance tasks can prevent dangerous and expensive house problems from occurring and save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.