There are some home repairs that you can put off for weeks or months while only causing yourself a mild inconvenience. However, there are others that you should never delay. Putting off these repairs could be expensive and potentially dangerous. Below are 7 examples of the types of home repairs you shouldn’t put off.
Repairing a noisy/smelly HVAC system
If your HVAC system is making odd noises or producing odd smells, this is not something that you should ignore. There could be a major problem with your HVAC system that could be negatively affecting the air quality. In other cases, your HVAC system may even be a fire hazard. Alternatively, your HVAC system may not be working as efficiently, in which case it could be guzzling more energy than necessary, resulting in higher energy bills.
Patching up a plumbing leak
If a pipe or plumbing fixture is leaking, it’s worth looking into emergency services. A leak could cause water damage to your walls, floorboards and other parts of your home, which could weaken the structure of your home and result in expensive repairs. A leak could also encourage mold growth, which could be a health hazard if you’re constantly breathing in spores. Finally, even if it’s a leaky faucet over a basin, there’s the issue of water waste, which could result in an expensive water bill. All in all, it could be costly and dangerous to ignore a leak.
Repairing a leaky roof
Leaks can sometimes be caused by rainwater seeping through a damaged roof. As with a plumbing leak, this can cause a huge amount of water damage and encourage mold growth, so is something you don’t want to ignore. A leak in an old roof could be a sign that you need to replace your roof. That said, this may not be necessary and the fix could be something as small as sealing a small crack.
Unclogging your guttering
Gutters help to redirect rainwater runoff from your roof into a drain. This stops water pooling around your home and damaging your foundations. A common gutter issue is blockages of leaves and twigs, which can cause water to flow over the sides and seep into your foundations. People underestimate how quickly this can cause damage – as soon as your gutters encounter a blockage, it’s worth unclogging them.
Fixing flickering lights
If one light in your home is flickering, it could just be a faulty outlet. If lights are flickering throughout your home, it could be a sign that your entire home’s wiring is old and worn. This is a sign that your home needs to be rewired – delaying it could increase the risk of an electrical fire occurring, so you should try to hire an electrician to take a look as soon as possible.
Replacing a broken window
It’s generally a good idea to cover up a broken window immediately so that cold air, bugs and rainwater doesn’t get in. At this point, it could then be important to look into window repair/replacement as soon as possible. Broken windows can be a security risk – burglars are much more likely to target a property that has visibly damaged windows. The same goes for doors.
Repairing damaged foundations
Foundation repair is one of the most expensive repairs you can carry out on a home, so it’s no wonder many people put it off. Unfortunately, delaying it can be very dangerous and expensive – your foundations hold your entire home together and the more you ignore foundation issues, the more likely you are to experience cracks in walls and doors that don’t shut properly. Eventually your home may even collapse (although few people let it get to this point). Even if your home doesn’t experience any subsidence, cracks in your foundations could let in water or pests. All in all, foundation repair is not something you should out off.