Home maintenance that prevents expensive failures

A clogged filter strains the furnace, lint in a dryer duct can catch fire, and water from a blocked gutter can collect at the foundation.

The six jobs

1. Check the furnace filter monthly

Inspect, clean or change the air filter in a central air conditioner, furnace or heat pump once a month. Airflow problems can cut a system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.

2. Book a check-up each spring and fall

Book the cooling check-up in the spring and the heating check-up in the fall. The contractor checks the electrical connections and the refrigerant level, and on the heating side the burner and the heat exchanger. Heating equipment and chimneys also need a professional cleaning and inspection every year.

3. Clean the dryer vent yearly

From 2002 to 2004, clothes dryers caused about 12,700 home fires a year, with 15 deaths and 300 injuries. Failure to clean is the leading cause. Clean the lint filter on every load, and clean the vent duct once a year.

4. Test the alarms monthly

Test each smoke alarm once a month, and replace it 10 years after its manufacture date.

5. Keep water away from the house

Mold grows only where there's moisture. Have the gutters cleaned and repaired, and check that the ground slopes away from the foundation. Inside, keep the air conditioner's drip pan clean and its drain line flowing, and vent the dryer and stove to the outside. A humidity meter, about $10 to $50 at a hardware store in 2026, shows whether the house stays below 60 percent.

6. Watch the water heater

Corrosion on the tank or its pipes, a leak at a joint or seam, and rust in the hot water are all signs the tank is breaking down. So are less hot water than before and a rumbling sound. A tank more than 10 years old is near the end of its life.

An annotated example

What to do next

Add the six jobs as recurring to-dos, so each reminder arrives on its own. Book the check-up for the coming season now, because heating and cooling contractors get busy once the weather turns.