It's that time again! A fresh start towards reaching your goals and bringing in a new year. While you, your family and colleagues are making resolutions, you should also consider making resolutions for your home and office. Maintaining simple goals throughout the year will help reduce the chances of a fire or water damage, potentially saving you money and helping you keep peace of mind. While you stay safe by practicing these resolutions, you will have a happy, healthier home and office. 

Check out Mr Restore’s resolutions for homeowners this year:

       1. Maintain Your HVAC System Throughout The Year

It’s easy to forget about your HVAC system when it is outside of your home. However, properly keeping up with the maintenance of your HVAC can improve the quality of air in your home, keep temperatures comfortable, and help you save money on energy. 

You can easily look over your HVAC system once a month by looking for the following things:

• Check the filters – you should replace or check your HVAC filters every 6 months for optimum use

• Listen for any strange noises – if something sounds “off,” contact your heating and cooling specialist

• Check for standing water near the air-handler – Leaks around your HVAC system could indicate that something is wrong, but it could also lead to mold growth and water damage to your home

        2.  Create/Update your home inventory

Another great resolution to set for yourself this year is to set up a home inventory. If you have already created one, now is a great time to update with any new items. Home inventories are a detailed list and description of all of the items in your home. They are very important to have before an emergency strikes. If your possessions or home is destroyed in a fire or a flood, your home inventory will provide information about all of your things, such as the serial number and cost of the item. Home inventories are especially useful when you move and for insurance companies after an emergency. 

We suggest using an electronic tool or app to create and organize your home inventory. This way you always will have access to it from many locations and you can update it easily. Check out our thorough guides on how to choose the right home inventory app and how to create a home inventory.

        3. Keep Your House Safe with Fire and Carbon Monoxide Detectors 

You should already have fire detectors in your home, but you should be sure to check them regularly. Test and change the batteries at least three times this year. We suggest installing one in every room to be sure you are safe and protected. You can never be too safe!

We also suggest adding carbon monoxide detectors to your home as a resolution. Anything that uses fuel can produce dangerous levels of CO gas. Carbon Monoxide is very dangerous and can lead to serious permanent injury and even death. Because CO is odorless and tasteless, it is very difficult to detect. You should have one carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home to keep you safe. 

       4. Organize Your Home

You may already have this as one of your New Year resolutions. Organizing and decluttering your home is a great way to reduce risk in case of an emergency. If your family needs to escape your home fast due to a fire or CO leak, you don’t want to climb around clutter and other obstacles to escape. Not to mention, it feels great living and working in a clean environment!

Once your home is organized, create an escape plan with your family so everyone knows where to go in case of an emergency. Discuss where you will all meet outside of the home in case of a fire, who will grab what items, and what routes to take from each room. 

We hope that you have a fantastic 2020 and that you and your friends and family stay safe this year. If you find yourself in the unfortunate event of fire or water damage, contact Mr Restore. Our experienced technicians will arrive at your property in less than 60 minutes to assess the damage and get your life back to normal…faster!