If you are anything like me, a millennial, home repairs have always been “what adults do,” chores to complete or a reason to call the local repair man. However, things have changed, and now it’s our time to do these home repairs ourselves.
Whether you’re a millennial like me or you’ve simply never owned a home before, I’m going to help you ease into this transition and avoid rookie mistakes by giving you some pointers that will make you proud to be a new homeowner.
Easy Starter Home Maintenance Tips
1. Learn the Best Ways to Clean
Now that you’ve achieved homeownership, you must get past the days of cleaning your home to look “just good enough.” You’ll take pride in your new manufactured home and want to show it off, so you must be able to properly clean up every area of your home.
- In your bathroom, you’ll need to learn how to clean your toilet, how to check it for leaks, how to clean your bathtub and more.
- In your kitchen, you’ll need to learn how to clean your stove, your kitchen sink, your countertops, your fridge and everything else.
- In your bedroom, you’ll need to learn how to clean your flooring, your windows and other areas.
2. Fix Squeaky Doors
Eventually, the doors could start to squeak. Spray some lubricant on the hinges and then move the door back and forth. Repeat if necessary.
3. Clean Your Gutters
It’s important that you clean your manufactured home gutters and downspouts from debris, because you never know when a rainy or snowy day might come. You can remove leaves and other debris by hand or you can use a leaf blower. Doing so will help you avoid unwanted water leaks in your home and prevent gutters from freezing in the winter.
4. Take Care of Your Flooring
Whether you have tile, carpet, hardwood or vinyl tile flooring in your manufactured home, you must remember to care for your floors so they’ll last and look great for years to come. Sweep, dry mop or vacuum your floor every few days.
For a more thorough cleaning of your hard surface flooring:
- Add a mild detergent to a bucket and fill with warm water.
- Dampen the mop in soapy water and wring thoroughly to avoid putting excess water on the floor. Do not use abrasive cleaners like bleach.
- Wipe one section of the floor at a time, rinsing your mop before each section. Do not let water sit on your floor.
- Spot clean with a mild detergent, warm water and a rag when necessary.
Use our flooring care guide for specific cleaning instructions for different types of manufactured home hard surface flooring.
Easy Home Fixes You Should Know How to Do
1. Unclog a Toilet
Knowing how to unclog a toilet is one of those things that you never think about until it’s too late.
- When you notice your toilet is clogged, don’t flush it anymore. This is to keep it from overflowing.
- Next, insert the plunger into the toilet bowl, making sure it’s completely in water. If you’re pushing and pulling air, not water, then you should add more water to the toilet bowl.
- Finally, start slowly pushing and pulling the plunger to loosen the clog until it’s free.
- Once you’re finished, flush the toilet to make sure the drainage works properly.
After it’s happened once, you’ll never be caught off-guard again.
2. Fix a Leaky Faucet
- Start by turning off the water valve and turning on the faucet to completely drain the water line.
- Then, plug the drain to prevent from dropping anything into the drain while you’re working on it.
- Next, unscrew the handle(s) and find the rubber washer around it and replace it with a new one.
3. Install a New Thermostat
Whether your old thermostat isn’t working or you’re simply upgrading to a new thermostat, replacing one isn’t too difficult.
- Start by turning off the breaker.
- Then take the thermostat off the wall. You should leave the wires exactly like they were, which will help you when installing the new thermostat.
- Follow the instructions given with your new thermostat to ensure it’s installed correctly.
- Once you’ve put the new thermostat on, you can turn the breaker back on and begin using your new thermostat!
If you feel like you’ve got a pretty good handle on these easy manufactured home repairs, you can take the next step, and find an area of your home that you believe needs improvement.
Consider tackling an easy home improvement project to help make your home your own and boost your first home investment.
Easy Home Improvement Projects
1. Fix a Hole in the Wall
Accidents are bound to happen, such as someone putting a hole in the wall, especially if you have children. However, if you do find yourself in this situation, you can take the initiative to patch the hole in the wall yourself.
If you have finished drywall wallboards, use drywall tape and a drywall patch kit to repair your hole. If you have paper on gypsum or vinyl over gypsum wallboards in your home, follow the steps below.
How to Repair a Hole in Gypsum Wallboard
- First, call your home manufacturer to see if they have matching panels available for your wall.
- Carefully remove the area around the hole in the wall.
- Install the new panel. Apply the panel adhesive on the exposed wood and place the new panel on top.
- Hammer in the finishing nails to secure the panel.
- Add the finishing touches and paint the area if needed.
