New home checklist for the first week

Use the first week to find the shutoffs, test the alarms and write down how old the equipment is, before you need any of it in a hurry.

Safety

A smoke alarm with a dead or missing battery is the same as no alarm. Carbon monoxide poisoning not caused by fire kills more than 200 people in the United States each year.

• Test each smoke alarmReplace a 9-volt battery at least once a year. A hardwired alarm's backup battery also needs replacing once a year.
• Look for one in each bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level
• Check each smoke alarm's dateReplace any alarm 10 years past the manufacture date printed on the back.
• Check for a carbon monoxide alarm on every level and outside the sleeping areasUse battery-operated alarms or ones with battery backup. Interconnected alarms all sound when one does.

Shutoffs

• Find the main water shutoff valveIf a pipe bursts, it's the first thing you close. Tag it so anyone in the house can find it.
• Find the electrical panel and check the breaker labelsFill in any label you can work out.
• Find the gas meter and its shutoffLeave turning it to the gas utility unless it tells you otherwise.

The equipment

• Change the furnace filterYou don't know when the last owner changed it. After that, check it once a month.
• Write down the age of the water heater, furnace and air conditionerThe age is on each unit's label or in its serial number. A water heater lasts about 10 years.
• Gather the manualsLook for a drawer of them, or search each model number online and save the PDF.

Papers

• Put the closing papers in one folderKeep them with the house's records for as long as you own the house.
• Save the inspection reportIt lists what the inspector found and often the ages of the major systems. Keep it in the same folder as the closing papers.

The rest of the first month

Set up the monthly filter check, the monthly alarm test and the check-up for the coming season. Use the equipment ages you wrote down to plan the replacements.