March immediately makes me think of March Madness, the NCAA's single elimination tournament where the best in college basketball teams have a chance to win the national championship title. While I do enjoy watching NCAA basketball (especially Texas A&M), I never know enough about all of the other teams to fill out a bracket and guess at the beginning of the tournament who will be the champion. So, I have made my own bracket this year (unfortunately it doesn't involve eating hot wings or enjoying a cold beverage while cheering on my team) of home maintenance tasks. Each task I can eliminate will save me money and ultimately win me the national championship of homeowners title (yes, this is a cheesy stretch to try to make home maintenance fun!). :)
I started by using USAA's seasonal home maintenance suggestion list. Here are some of the items you should keep in mind for March:
- Daylight Saving Time begins (March 11). In addition to setting all of your clocks forward, use this time to check or replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Change or clean your filters in your heating/air conditioning system.
- Winter is (hopefully) coming to an end and snow can be very damaging to your roof, Make sure to check your roof / roof shingles for any damage. Look for an established, licensed professional contractor to help you if there is any damage. USAA can help you find a professional roofing contractor based on your needs and ZIP code.
- Think ahead and prepare for potential April showers and clean storm drains, gutters and remove debris from your property to allow free flow of potential floodwater.
Here is another reason to do home maintenance now and not wait until later: USAA has the costs of preventative tasks versus the cost of replacement task when the damage is too great. For example, replacing the caulking around your shower, sinks and tub will cost $4 to $16 per tube of caulk versus waiting until there are damages, costing $200 or more; depending on whether water damages are superficial or structural.
Hopefully you take some time to eliminate some of the March home maintenance tasks and still have time to catch the first basketball of the March Madness Tournament!
