Maintenance guides, item by item
Every guide answers the same question about a different part of your house: how often, and what exactly to do. Written one at a time, no filler. New guides land most weeks.
Once a year by a technician, booked in September. Glass every six months, and the vent and CO alarm checked before the first fire.
5 min readOnce a year, before the first hard freeze: supply off, every zone blown out with compressed air, backflow preventer insulated. Thirty minutes against a $2,000 excavation.
5 min readOnce a year, before the first hard freeze: hoses off, interior valve closed, line drained. Five minutes per spigot against a $1,000 repair.
5 min readOnce a year, every year, even if you barely burn. Twice if wood is your main heat. Book it in September, before the sweeps are booked solid.
5 min readA new filter every three months, a professional tune-up every fall. Two habits, and the difference between a 10-year furnace and a 25-year one.
5 min readTwice a year for most homes, more under trees, once a year with guards. Here's how to know which house is yours.
5 min readTest monthly, replace batteries yearly, replace the detectors themselves every ten years. The last one is the step most homes miss.
4 min readEvery three months, with a bucket of water and five minutes. The one appliance whose failure you only discover during a flood.
5 min readOnce a year for most homes, twice with hard water. Plus the two five-minute checks that keep an 11-year tank running to 15.
6 min read