Maintenance Tips

The following is a partial list of homeowner maintenance items.  These items are the homeowner’s responsibility to take care of.  If a warranty call results from neglected homeowner maintenance, the homeowner will be responsible for the cost of the repair work.  Your warranty manuals for each specific appliance and/or fixture will describe the frequency of required maintenance.

Furnace Filters

Furnace filters should be checked, and changed if necessary, every month in a new home.  After the first six months, the filters won’t need changed as often.  Dirty furnace filters can cause uneven heating and, in some cases, will cause the furnace to quit altogether.  Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for filter maintenance.

Light Bulbs

If a light in your home isn’t working, please check to make sure the light bulb isn’t burnt out before calling the Warranty Department. 

GFI Outlets and Breakers

If you have an outlet or outlets that do not work, please reset the gfi switch and check to make sure the breaker is on before calling the Warranty Department.

Garden Hoses

Please make sure to take all of your garden hoses off of outside spigots before winter.  Leaving hoses on throughout the winter will cause damage to the spigots.

Concrete Sealant

All exterior concrete, especially driveways, should be sealed with a ‘high solids’ sealer after the first six months.  This sealer should be applied every other year after the first application.  This will help prevent scaling and pop-outs of the concrete.  

Vinyl Flooring

Do Not place any rubber backed throw rugs on your vinyl floor covering.  The throw rugs may permanently discolor the vinyl flooring.

Winter Maintenance Suggestions

Roofs

Winter storms followed by relatively mild temperatures often cause freeze-thaw cycles that can create leaks in roofs. Shingle roofing generally does not provide a waterproof membrane. Rather, shingles are meant to shed water down their overlapping courses into gutters off the roof overhang. Erratic weather conditions can cause a buildup of water – either in gutters and downspouts or from snow or ice dams formed on the roof. This water backs up under the shingles or eventually seeps through the shingles, causing leaks.

Remove ice blockades from gutters, downspouts, and roof valleys and attempt to remove built-up ice and snow from the lower portions of the roof.

Pipes

Tips to avoid freezing pipes would include: Keeping your garage door closed as well as the doors to your furnace/water heater room; adding extra pipe insulation; a steady drip of cold water.

Exterior Light Fixtures

The Trinity Lighting Company has recommended applying a high-grade automotive wax to the exterior light fixtures to maintain their original finish. The polished brass fixtures are particularly susceptible to tarnishing in this climate.