When you put your house on the market, you want it to look as close to perfect as possible to attract good offers and potential buyers. Regularly doing simple maintenance on your home will save you the headache and financial burden of repairs.
Here are six simple but important repairs that you should be doing now. Get these done often – not only will it keep your house in great condition, it will save you money down the road:
- Maintain garage door parts
The average garage door opens and shuts around four times a day and nearly 1,500 times a year. Garage doors operate through overhead springs that are placed under constant pressure each time the door moves. Eventually, all that tension and corrosion will cause the springs to break. Simply lubricating the springs will make them last longer. You can also use the garage door lubricant on the rollers, hinges, and track. - Remove stains from painted walls
Using heavy duty household cleaners can discolor the paint on your walls –and they tend to be expensive and toxic. Instead, you can use a solution of three tablespoons of white vinegar to a gallon of water. You can add more vinegar for those stubborn stains. If the dirt has crusted over, adding baking soda to the solution will get the job done. - Prevent pipe leakage
A plumbing problem doesn’t just cause structural damage to your house, it also costs an extra 10% in water bills, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most leaks happen under a sink due to loose compression nuts or a clogged P-trap (the curved, J-shaped pipe). Make sure to turn the water off, and then you can unscrew the compression nuts, clean the P-trap, and reassemble. - Keep mold and mildew off the caulk
Caulk lines the tiles of bathrooms and kitchen sinks. Constant exposure to moisture makes mold grow on caulk. You can clean moldy caulk by applying a paste of vinegar and baking soda to remove stains. Using gloves, scrub the mold off with a sponge doused in a bleach and water solution. Then, clean the remnants with an old toothbrush. - Clean your gutters
When gutters are clogged with leaves and debris, rainwater can’t reach the downspout. A clogged gutter causes the water to overflow, and this eventually leads to structural damage to your home such as roof and basement leakage, rotten wood, and cracks in the foundation. De-clog your gutters by scooping out the debris with a trowel or flushing them out using a garden hose. - Repair rotted window sills
Moisture from rain softens wooden window sills, causing decaying craters. With a putty knife, cut away rotted wood and paint from the area. Drill shallow holes into the affected area and then brush it with wood hardener. Mix some epoxy wood filler and cover the area with it. Leave the epoxy to cure and once it’s ready, you can sand down the window sill to keep it smooth.
Keeping your home in good shape will make it easier to find better offers when you’re ready to sell. Need more advice on how to make your home ready for sale? Call us – Dave Ricordati at 630-854-7676 and Kathy Ricordati at 630-915-8881. You can also reach us here.