Home Maintenance Skills Everyone Should Know
Owning a home means you’re in charge of maintaining it—we know, shocking, isn’t it? Whether you’ve been a homeowner for decades or you just bought your first home, there are several basic skills you’ll need to maintain your home. If you’re wondering what home maintenance skills everyone should know, you can learn more in our guide below.
Cleaning Gutters
If your gutters are always clogged, you’re essentially asking for foundation problems and basement flooding. You’ll first need to learn how to lean a tall ladder against your home securely. Make sure you have someone at the bottom of the ladder to keep it secure and prevent an accident. Once you’re at the top of the ladder, cleaning the gutters is super easy.
Filling Holes and Dings in Drywall
It doesn’t matter how careful you and your family are—your drywall is bound to get a ding or nail hole in it at some point. Luckily, a little spackle and paint can take of the situation. That said, if your drywall ends up getting a larger hole in it, perhaps from a stray baseball (and yes, we’re speaking from personal experience), knowing how to patch drywall couldn’t hurt.
Shutting Off Your Water
Plumbing is a challenging skill to learn, but there are some basic repairs you might encounter as a homeowner, such as changing the fitting on a sink. However, don’t be the person who begins removing that fitting before shutting the water off! Depending on what you’re working on, you might be able to turn off the water right there. However, with some projects, you might need to shut off the water to your entire house temporarily. In other words, make sure you know where all your shut-off valves are.
Window Well Maintenance
If you have a basement, you probably have a window well. While window wells are great for letting natural light and air into the basement, a lot of homeowners never learn how to maintain a window well. The most important thing to remember about maintaining a window well is to keep it clear of debris. Of course, the easiest way to minimize debris is by getting a window well cover. Additionally, our first point about cleaning your gutters is crucial for window well cleanliness. How do gutters relate to a window well? We’re glad you asked. Let’s say it rains, and your gutters are clogged. If the water has nowhere to go, it’ll overflow and collect around your foundation and in your window well. While it might sound cool, your window well isn’t supposed to be an aquarium.
By taking the time to learn these home maintenance skills everyone should know, you’ll be able to handle many of the basic repairs for homeownership. Of course, these skills are only the beginning, so if you already know one of them, don’t worry. There’s always something more you can learn.
