How to Know If Your House Needs Maintenance

Owning a house means keeping up with your responsibilities to maintain the structure. You need to know how to perform maintenance on every component of your home in order to prolong your structure’s life. You must also know how to detect any problems in your house and learn how to fix them. Here are the top issues that you may encounter and need to resolve immediately.

Flickering Lights

If you notice that your light bulbs keep flickering, take it as a sign that your home has an electrical problem. While it can sometimes be normal for bulbs to flicker when they are nearing the end of their lifespan, when the bulb is loose, or your switch is faulty, it still helps to check. If you’ve checked everything and the flickering persists, you may want to consult an electrician to do an audit, mainly if flickering occurs when you turn on an appliance. Take the issue seriously if you notice the flickering along with a burned plastic smell, as it can indicate that your home has some faulty electrical wiring that needs to be addressed immediately. Take note that electrical problems are fire hazards. It is important to trace their source before it can cause significant problems. 

Mold Growth

If you have to constantly deal with mold problems in your house, it means that you have a humid environment. There are many reasons for this. It could be because your home has poor ventilation or that you have a leaking roof that needs to be attended to by professionals. If the latter is the case, it would be best to consider choosing a roofing contractor to assess your roofing system, identify possible issues, and address them. These professionals are also well-versed when it comes to ensuring that your roof has the proper ventilation to prevent recurring mold. 

Smelly Basement

Basements are one of the least visited places in a house, and sometimes homeowners may ignore its smell. This location may have moist air that can cause mold or mildew buildup into the walls. If there is intense humidity, these can create a foul smell, and there could be cracks on the floor and walls, along with broken fixtures. If you can sense a foul smell in your basement, it would be best to search for cracks, leakages, and other abnormalities such as warping, bowing, or bulging of walls. These situations may indicate serious foundation problems.

Ceiling Deformities

You should also observe your ceilings around your home if there are stains, or signs of sagging and peeling. These deformities show signs of problems that can lead to more significant damage, which may cause you to replace the whole ceiling system.

There could be water in your ceiling that causes deformities, indicating an ice dam, clogged gutters, or roof damage. Other reasons that cause ceiling deformities may be from leaking bathroom fittings and broken pipes. It can be practical to fix simple problems yourself, but you can seek help from a professional plumber if the problem is too heavy.

Warping of Floors

Warping of floors is an irregularity that can give you significant expenses in fixing it. If your house has wooden or engineered wood flooring, moisture and humidity can damage these materials. This problem can be irreparable, which will lead you to replace a portion, or worse, the whole affected area. To prevent warping of your floors, look for sources of moisture such as leaks, stagnant water, or cracks on your walls and floor. Patch all sources of leakages, regularly regulate humidity levels, and dehumidify.

These are just some telltale signs that your home has issues that need immediate attention. While some problems may be simple to repair, others require an expert. Consider doing regular home maintenance.