When you think of homeowners insurance claims, you might jump to big, dramatic accidents such as a storm damaging your roof. However, damage to your home can often occur slowly over time, and regular maintenance can help you prevent homeowners insurance claims in the future. If you’re curious about how basic cleaning can save you time and money, explore this spring-cleaning guide to learn more.
Spring Cleaning: The Foundation for a Safer Home
If you’re wondering how cleaning can prevent homeowners insurance claims, it’s important to understand the connection between basic maintenance and long-term damage. If you don’t regularly clean your home, it can build up more-than-normal wear and tear over time. This can eventually lead to major damage to your plumbing, HVAC system, foundation, roof and other core elements of your home.
This damage isn’t just expensive — it can even affect your health and safety. By implementing a regular spring cleaning schedule, you can ensure your home is safe and in tip-top shape, helping you avoid having to file homeowners insurance claims.
Interior Maintenance Tips for Homeowners
Start your spring cleaning routine by creating a plan for the interior of your home. Here are a few of the tasks that can help you avoid the most expensive damages in the future:
- Clean the dryer link hose on your dryer to keep your home safe from fires.
- Swap out your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector batteries.
- Refresh the caulk in your bathroom and kitchen to prevent cracks and water damage.
- Replace weather stripping on your windows to improve your insulation.
- Clean mildew from your tile and siding.
Exterior Cleaning Checks to Protect Your Property
Spring cleaning doesn’t just apply to the inside of your home. In fact, some of the biggest claims are connected to the exterior of your property. Keep these tasks in mind as you develop your cleaning plan:
- Clear out your gutters to remove clogs.
- Look at your roof for missing shingles or other damage.
- Repair any cracks in your driveway to remove tripping hazards.
- Look for rotting wood on your home’s siding, porch or deck.
Mechanical Systems Maintenance to Reduce Risk
Your plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems in your home can have some of the most expensive repair costs. Putting in the effort to check up on these systems can ensure that they last for years to come without any major issues. Here are some of the regular maintenance tasks you can add to your spring cleaning checklist to protect your home’s mechanical systems:
- Replace your air conditioner’s filter.
- Clear brush or debris away from your outdoor A/C unit.
- Clear out slow drains in your shower, bath, or sink to eliminate serious clogs.
- Flush out your water heater to keep rust from gathering in your tank and reducing its efficiency.
- Check your pipes for corrosion, rust and discoloration.
- Fix or clean any leaky or rusty faucets.
- Have an electrician inspect your electrical system.
Annual Deep Cleaning Strategies
If you want to avoid homeowners insurance claims with cleaning, it’s important to be consistent and to go beyond these seasonal home maintenance tips. Use these methods to ensure your spring cleaning goes smoothly each year:
- Make a checklist of yearly maintenance tasks to make sure you remember everything.
- Do your deep cleaning and maintenance tasks at the same time of year to stay organized.
- Create a cleaning fund to pay for any tools, equipment, or professional support that you may need.
- Check the bulk pickup trash day for your neighborhood to ensure you can dispose of any trash you accumulate while spring cleaning.
Insurance Policy Review: Cleaning Impact on Coverage
Keeping up with home maintenance can influence your insurance coverage. Your homeowners insurance is designed to help you pay for unexpected damage. If damages occur because you don’t maintain your property, your insurance provider could potentially deny your claim. For example, if you have excessive clutter to the point that it becomes a fire hazard, your insurer may not fully cover your claim if a fire does occur. So, to ensure your homeowners insurance is worth the cost, it’s critical to address small problems as they crop up and keep up with your routine spring cleaning.
Protect Your Home This Spring with Affordable Homeowners Insurance
Next time you ask yourself, ‘Why should I do spring cleaning?’, remember that it can help you avoid insurance claims and keep your premiums low. Even if you are a spring cleaning expert, at Freeway Insurance, we can set you up with a comprehensive home insurance policy to keep you covered when the unexpected happens. Call our team at (800) 777-5620 or request a free Freeway Insurance quote online so we can help find the right policy for you. You are also welcome to stop by for an in-person visit at one of our conveniently located offices.
