Maintenance Tips for Your Home with Jenn Keesling of Van Metre Homes

One of the most important things you can do for any home is provide regular maintenance. Even new homes need love on a consistent basis. Listen to Jenn Keesling, Director of Customer Care for Van Metre Homes, walk you through some easy home maintenance tips.

Key takeaways:

• Consider the cabinets in your home. They definitely need to be cleaned. But certain cleaning products can have a negative impact on cabinets, by damaging their appearance and reducing their functionality. Be sure to wisely choose your cleaning products.
  
  
• Any granite countertops in your home need to be sealed on a regular basis.  Not just once, but consistently—throughout the lifespan of your home. Without reapplying a sealant on a fairly regular basis, food, oils, and even water can penetrate the top layer and cause discoloration of the granite.  
  
  
•  In order for your HVAC system to run as efficiently as possible, the filters need to be changed on a monthly basis. A clean filter allows more airflow and, in turn, your system doesn’t have to work so hard to push air through a dirty filter. Our HVAC vendors have found that even if a filter says it’s good for 3 months, the systems work better using a cheap filter—changed once a month.
  
  
• While not using your hose bibs in the winter, it is very important to properly winterize them. Otherwise, leftover water can get caught in the pipes and freeze, which causes the pipes to expand. Once the pipes start to thaw, you then have a leak on your hands. 
  
  
• Garbage Disposals require maintenance, too. Some easy things to do include: 1.) only use cold water when running the disposal; hot water can cause fat to conceal and stick to the blades, 2.) clean the blades with ice. Occasionally, put a small amount of ice into the disposal and run it. This will clean the blades and help free any obstructions, 3.) use a disposal cleaner or generic de-greaser occasionally to prevent fat build-up, and 4.) grind up citrus peels to keep the disposal smelling fresh.
  
  
• Click here to access "How To" videos available to watch at vanmetrehomes.com