Nobody said that running a home was going to be cheap. Houses are the most substantial investment most of us will make in our lives. From the initial down payment to the running costs, they’re a constant investment that likes to keep us on our toes. What’s one thing you want to do with an investment so substantial? Protect it.
Below, you’ll find the budget homeowner’s guide to keeping a home safe.
The Prime Danger Suspects
Many things can compromise the safety of you and anyone else inside your home. The first is one that many wouldn’t consider prime, but factoring in that more than 50% of houses in the US have mold damage to some degree, we’d call it a prime danger. Mold is a pesky type of fungus that grows everywhere and is typically harmless until they find a nice damp spot to set up camp in.
Once they land on a damp spot – they grow. When they develop in the damp, it becomes dangerous to stay near them because it’s easy to inhale the mold spores thanks to the humidification of the air. Plus, the large black spores characteristic of mold aren’t the prettiest to look at. Mold typically invades the structures of your home, such as the walls or floorboards, which can compromise the integrity of the said structure.
Mold isn’t the type of thing you wait to go without intervention, and insurance that covers mold is few and far between. One-part bleach to four-parts water is an effective killer, but for mold that has infiltrated the plaster of the wall, you might find you need the plasterboards replacing.
That’s why it pays to check whether the home insurance you have covers mold or not. Most policies discount mold unless it has caused damage to the walls, ceiling, or floor. To protect against mold, ensure rooms are properly ventilated, especially in the kitchen or bathroom, to prevent steam from settling onto surfaces and forming a nice damp spot for mold to move to.
Another prime danger suspect is fire. In the US, an estimated 358,500 homes fall victim to a house fire which sometimes causes irreparable damage. Of course, most home insurance policies do cover fire damage, but prevention is key. Fire safety experts recommend switching plugs off, limiting the number of appliances linked to one outlet, and minimizing the use of fire hazards such as candles.
Experts also recommend that homeowners run a monthly check of their fire alarms to ensure they’re working. A simple monthly alarm check saves millions of lives a year.
Protecting The Structure Of Your Home
Multiple issues could compromise the structure of your home, so let’s start at the top. In the US, the natural elements can wreak havoc on roofing, causing broken tiles, roof collapses, and many other problems that a homeowner shouldn’t have to deal with. Keeping things on a budget, you can protect the roof by ensuring you carry out regular inspections to check for loose or broken tiles or anything that might mean the roof structure has been compromised.
While a damaged tile might not seem like a big deal, it can lead to leaks, further damage and might prove detrimental if a storm comes along. A broken roof and a tropical storm are a recipe for disaster. Staying on the topic of roofing, you can enquire about applying metal roofing. Metal roofing is far more robust than tiles and might be a better roofing material if you live in an area that’s prone to hurricanes, for example.
Keeping Intruders Out
One of the obvious safety risks of owning a home is the danger of intruders. According to statistics, there are roughly 2.5 million burglaries a year in the US, and the number only seems to be on the rise. There are obvious precautions you can take that don’t cost a dime. For example, you should ensure every door is locked before you go out, not just the front and back door. The garage door is often forgotten about, as is shutting all the windows.
Homeowners can also keep social media content about holidays to a minimum, change the locks every few months, and limit the number of people who have a key to the house.
Moving more upmarket — but still cheap for a budget homeowner’s guide — fake security cameras can also deter people away from your home. When big brother is watching, people are less likely to come knocking – or barging in where burglars are concerned. Amazon has a large array of fake home security cameras that look like the real deal.
Experts think up to 67% of break-ins could be prevented with a home security camera system.
A home should be a haven. A place you can go to at the end of a busy working day and feel at peace – yet every homeowner knows multiple things can burst that peaceful bubble. The tips above are just a few of the measures homeowners can put in place to keep their homes safe on a budget.