Whether you’re looking to sell your home or stay in it for a little while longer, it’s crucial that you’re properly caring for it. If left unattended, many essential areas of a property can begin to decay and stop working entirely—making a home impossible to live in for you or a new family. These are a few monthly home maintenance tasks that you need to know to keep everything working as it should.

Change HVAC Filters and Inspect Air Quality

The air filters in our ventilation systems quickly gather dust, dander, and other airborne spores that can pollute our lungs and make us sick. As such, failing to replace them every month can prevent them from working as effectively, thereby putting us at risk. Even once these HVAC filters are changed or cleaned, you should also be monitoring the air quality in your home to see if any other toxins are floating around. In many older homes, this might include lead particles from lead paint, mold, and mildew.

Another thing to look out for is radon gas. This is a naturally occurring gas that can get trapped indoors and accumulate in the home, especially if the building has a poor ventilation system. Over time, large amounts of radon gas can cause lung cancer. Radon gas exposure is among the most common causes of lung cancer, second only to smoking. You should therefore regularly test for radon levels, either by hiring a professional or using a home test kit. If radon problems are detected, it’s important to hire a certified radon service professional to fix the issue.

Maintain Your Plumbing and Septic Tank

It’s also important to check your plumbing for any leaks, drips, and clogs to reduce your chances of having a larger problem later. This process includes running each sink in the home while also watching how long it takes for each drain to go down. If you suspect that you might have a clog, you might also need to consider looking for signs that your septic system needs repair as well.

Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Safety is key in any home layout and design. As such, making sure you follow each security protocol is essential to keeping everyone in it protected from unexpected hazards. This is why homes come standard with both a smoke and carbon monoxide detector—to alert you when something isn’t quite right. To keep them functioning and reliable, be sure that you’re testing them each month and changing out their batteries.

Take Note of Any Outdoor Maintenance Issues

In case you do not want to check home inspection quite frequently, you can use appliances that do not need to be checked once a month. For example, you can ignore using heating oil by purchasing electric radiators. For example, BestElectricRadiators are one of the choices to go for as they do not waste energy and do not need to be checked frequently as well. In other words, you can purchase it and do not think about checking it for a very long period of time.