Housecleaning and maintenance don’t magically disappear once you move into your new Florida home. Sorry! We know you don’t want to think about the boring, grungy stuff. And you should take a few weeks or months to get acclimated — decide which pantry shelf should hold the cereal boxes or throw one more housewarming party, just because. But, once your household has settled into beautiful new spaces, it’s a time to ward off future grime. Use our list of preventive tips and tricks to keep your new home looking great.
Safety First
House model with tools isolated on white background
These are potential life-savers. Check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms for fresh batteries. Note when you change batteries so those alarms always operate at full power. Consider buying an easy-to-operate fire extinguisher for the kitchen, garage and outdoor living space. Put safety first and you’ll always be prepared.
Replace Your Filters
They’re more utilitarian than a smoke alarm, but regularly replacing filters benefits both your safety and your power bill. A clogged dryer vent can spark a fire. A dirty heat-pump filter forces that system to work harder than it should. Note every filter in your new home and the manufacturer recommendations of when to replace them. Be a filter ninja!
Check Your Chimney
If you have a fireplace, keep it clean. Don’t allow ash and soot to pile up. Close the damper (those out-of-sight metal flaps above the fireplace floor) when the fireplace isn’t used. It keeps valuable air-conditioning or heat from escaping up the chimney. Schedule a professional chimney sweep for an annual chimney cleaning.
Be Your Own Home Inspector
Home inspections aren’t only for that clean bill of health after construction is complete. Once you’ve “broken in” a new home, regularly checking its systems, appliances, windows and doors can help you spot problems and keep your home in top shape. Start with your windows and doors. Do they seal tightly? Operate easily? Can you feel drafts around their edges? Tackle your refrigerator next. Grab a dollar bill or similarly sized paper. Shut your fridge door on it. If you can remove the dollar or paper without effort, replace the seal around your fridge door. Turn your light fixtures on and off. Everything works? Great! If something doesn’t, replacing dead light bulbs is a breeze. But, call an electrician for that odd buzzing sound in a socket (unless, of course, you are an electrician).
Be Your Own Touch-Up Artist
It’s less onerous than you think. Do the easy parts first, such as wiping fingerprints from appliance handles and doors. Then, track down heavier-duty smudges — your dog’s paw prints through the kitchen, or baseboards that attract black marks from items being banged against them. Dents in your drywall? Fill them in with spackling and re-paint. In fact, your paint brush is your friend. Use it regularly to refresh your new home’s painted surfaces.
Keeping track of cleanliness and routine maintenance pays off big-time for your new Florida home. You can enjoy that “new” appearance long after your contractors depart, plus outsmart future problems before they begin.
