5 Brilliant Maintenance Hacks from Long-Term Homeowners

Good home maintenance will help you keep your home looking great for longer, extend its life, and help you save thousands in potential home repairs. One of the most important parts of your home is the roof, and it is one of the most expensive to repair or replace. That’s why it’s so important to develop a good roof maintenance routine. You can work with a roofer to ensure the maintenance gets done, or you can do some of it yourself.

Long-time homeowners learn some of the lessons about poor maintenance the hard way. Here are some of the brilliant roof maintenance hacks that they share that helped save them money and heartache over the years:

Get a Seasonal Roof Inspection

The best thing you can do for your roof is to get it inspected by a professional roofer in Phoenix at least yearly. Your roofer will look for any signs of damage or decay to your roof, such as cracked or missing shingles or tiles, cracked flashing, moss or other greenery on the roof, ponding water, soft spots, or degrading roof materials. By identifying these problems early, your roofer can perform the appropriate repair and save your home from more extensive damage.

Arizona has an intense climate that may make it necessary to have more frequent roof inspections. The summer is incredibly hot, and it can lead to the breakdown of roofing materials. The summer is followed by the monsoon season, which can damage roofs with its heavy rains and high winds. At any point, damage to your roof can also reduce the energy efficiency of your home, which can send your utility bills sky high.

Keep Your Gutters Clean

You know that your gutters play an important role in keeping water away from your foundation, but you may not realize that they can also impact your roof. If your gutters are clogged with leaves and other debris, the water will not run off the roof and into the gutters and the downspout. Instead, the water will flood over the debris and the gutters. Sometimes, the water floods to the ground, and sometimes, it gets pushed back up under the roofing materials. Over time, clogged gutters can contribute to the rotting of roofing materials and to water damage of walls and ceilings.

Check your gutters seasonally to ensure that they are free of debris. Or hire someone to come clean and inspect your gutters for you.

Trim Trees and Remove Yard Debris

When the monsoon season rolls through Arizona, everything around your home can become a projectile. Yard furniture and children’s toys can be swept up by the wind and then rain down on your roof, causing all kinds of damage. Tree branches that hang over your home can crack and fall onto the roof, leading to holes in the roof or broken tile.

Keep your yard free of debris, and make sure that any trees near your home stay trimmed. Not only will your yard look better, but your roof will be safer.

Clean the Roof

Moss and algae can form on shingle roofing in Phoenix, causing the materials to decay, and stains can appear on tile roofing, causing the curb appeal of your home to go down. You must clean your roof periodically to keep away these damaging agents.

Of course, we don’t recommend that you clean your roof yourself. Not only could you damage the roof by using the wrong cleaning agents or breaking a tile while walking on it, but you could also seriously hurt yourself by slipping or stepping on a broken tile and falling off the roof. Always hire a professional roofer to clean the roof or to perform any other maintenance.