What You Should Do to Maintain Your New Mexico Home
You must maintain your New Mexico home to ensure you do not have severe structural issues later down the line. Performing regular maintenance is necessary to prevent structural damage to a home. Periodic repair and upkeep also help keep systems running properly and save energy and money.
Maintain Your New Mexico Home: Insurance and Windfalls
In the Southwest, fall and winter are the most important seasons to perform these tasks. Thus, knowing how and when to maintain your New Mexico home is wise. This article covers practical ways to preserve homes and keep them in the best possible condition.
Having insurance can protect your home from long-term damage. Homeowners’ insurance can cover the basics, but you might need personal umbrella insurance to compensate for any gaps in the coverage.
Personal umbrella insurance extends your current liability coverage. It takes effect if your other liability policies are insufficient to pay for costs related to damage to your property.
Preparing For Cold Weather
Cold weather is the first thing you must account for as you attempt to maintain your New Mexico home. Additionally, you should clean your roof and gutter before the fall and the winter. You won’t want to put this off, as scooping leaves and debris in the dead of winter is no fun.
Most of this debris is generally harmless at any other time of the year. But the ice and frost that comes with winter could result in significant damage that could cost thousands to repair.
Check your trim and weather stripping. It would be an excellent opportunity to remove the caulking gun and inspect your home’s siding, windows, and doors for gaps. You could check for drafts with a lit candle. If the flame flickers, a crack probably allows drafts to enter.
Trim your trees and bushes. Your greenery has probably grown out over the past several months. It is better to trim them now rather than have them whipping your windows when the cold winds of winter arrive.
Spring Inspection Tips
Check your home’s exterior paint. Pay particular attention to cracks and chips. Allowing the paint to flake off could expose the woodwork and trim to dry rot. It could result in significant damage to the structure over time.
Try to paint over problem areas early in the spring. Doing so gives the fresh coat of paint sufficient time to dry before the weather changes again.
Summer Inspection Tasks
Conduct a test on your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to determine that they are in working order. If necessary, replace the batteries and put this on your calendar as a recurring task, so you’ll remember to do it next time. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) recommends testing smoke detectors once a month and replacing batteries several times a year.
Check the HVAC system. Experts advise having the HVAC system inspected once a year. It is generally best to have it checked before the beginning of summer. It minimizes the risk of breakdowns during the peak warm months.
Check your home for termites. Most exterminators provide this service for a minimal fee. This insignificant expense could save you the cost of more expensive repairs.
Termites can cause significant damage to furniture, walls, trim, and thresholds. It can result in thousands of dollars worth of damage. If you have a recurring pest issue, schedule an inspection with a professional pest control company as soon as possible.
About Daniels Insurance, Inc.
At Daniels Insurance, Inc., we have a unique understanding of the risks that businesses like yours face on a regular basis. With the backing of our comprehensive coverages and our dedication to customer service and quick claims resolution, your business will be fully protected. For more information, contact us today at (855) 565-7616.