Owning a home is a huge goal that many of us spend a great deal of effort to achieve. Closing on a home is a happy occasion and one that we often enjoy accomplishing. But at the same time, owning property comes with some risk. As an owner rather than a tenant, you’re liable for fixing any issues that arise. This means that home ownership can be costly! Especially if you stumble across a range of common home problems and issues with your kitchen, bathroom, electric, or even structural issues.
In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at exactly what happens when you find one of these common home problems and what you can do about it.
What are common home problems?
Let’s look into some of the common issues you might find around a home. Understanding what could happen will help you identify what might be happening in your home. And knowing about these potential issues will help you be prepared to prevent these problems from cropping up.
1. Plumbing Problems
First of all, issues with plumbing and water leaks can be devastating in terms of the damage. It can also majorly disrupt your life. When you find a leak, turn off the water before you do anything. You can turn off the main, or the supply to the fixture that’s leaking. If the leak is in the foundation, it’s important to consider your key slab leak repair options to get this fixed as quickly as possible.
2. Electrical Problems
Another big issue can be electrical problems. Like water issues and leaks, electric issues can be dangerous and faulty electrical can cause fires and sufficient damage to your home. You may also find that you end up with a power outage, which can be problematic in your day-to-day life. Turn off the breaker to that circuit–part of the electric system–before you do anything else.
3. Pests
Next, depending on where you live, pests can be attracted to your home, especially in inclement weather. Having a pest infestation can be incredibly stressful. Plus, pests could have settled into your attic or other parts of the house before you moved in. Pests inside walls or in the attic can be destructive and carry disease. It will be important to get this resolved as soon as you can.
4. Mold and Mildew
Another common concern is mold and mildew. This can be unsafe—especially if a family member has allergies. If walls or parts of the home get damp and can’t dry out due to poor construction detailing, it can start to grow. But there are ways that you can avoid and prevent this from happening with exhaust fans and dehumidifiers. And a licensed contractor can fix what’s causing the mold and mildew.
5. Energy Inefficiency
Lastly, another home issue is leaking too much energy. Common in older homes, this can end up costing you a lot of money in wasted resources. From having poor insulation in your walls and roof to insufficient windows to drafts that may come under doors, there’s a lot of ways to leak energy. And most of us want to avoid this as much as possible. Door sweeps, replacing caulking around windows, insulating light switches, and adding insulation to the attic can make a big difference.
How do common home problems arise?
Let’s take a look at why these big house issues happen.
Time and Age
First, it’s important to recognize that issues around the home aren’t usually your fault. In fact, many issues can arise over time and due to age. When it comes to your plumbing, electricity, property structure, and even the fittings and fixtures inside, everything will need to be updated regularly.
External Issues
Another cause of problems is from outside the home. For example, trees on your property can cause issues such as subsidence, cracks, or even branches falling onto your home. There are also natural disasters to consider, along with severe weather and rain. Being aware of this and preparing your property for expected weather conditions–trimming tree branches and putting outside objects in the shed or garage before a severe storm–can make all the difference.
Poor Maintenance
You may also find that issues around the home can crop up when you’re not conducting the proper care and maintenance. As homeowners, there are always key home maintenance jobs we ought to prioritize in order to keep things running well. If you are neglecting your home in any way, issues can crop up. From keeping it clean and tidy to having regular services done and updating things in good time around the home, this can help you avoid expensive problems.
How do you handle common home problems?
Finally, it’s important to know what you can do if any of these major issues happen in your home. Let’s uncover some of the key steps you can take if you find an issue in your home.
Call in an Expert for Common Home Problems
One of the first things you’ll want to do here is call in an expert. When something severe happens, you’ll need to get people in right away. It’s important to act quickly and where need be, make sure that the emergency services are on site too (particularly with fire, if anyone is harmed, or if a natural disaster has happened).
So before the emergency happens, make sure you have a list of reputable contractors in your area. Keep at least two of each in your contacts list, because when an emergency happens you don’t want to find out that your plumber is on vacation.
DIY Common Home Problems
Another option is for you to do the majority of the repairs yourself. There will likely be things that you cannot do or jobs that require tools that you don’t own. If you don’t already have extensive experience, anything related to water or electricity should definitely be left to the trained experts. But there are often smaller home repair jobs that you can take on yourself. DIY projects are not only rewarding, but they can often save time and money, too.
Prioritize Ongoing Maintenance and Care
But you’re also going to want to make sure that you’re taking the best possible care of your home. While not all issues that arise will be due to poor maintenance, ensuring that you keep on top of things is a very important preventative measure. Keeping your home clean, updating it regularly, and looking to promptly deal with any issues that arise can help you to keep things under control.
