Home Maintenance & Upkeep

Make a maintenance list

Next time you are chatting with your parents about one of your home maintenance projects, ask about their house. Offer to make a list of its maintenance tasks on your next visit. When you visit, walk through the house using this guide.

Kitchen

• The smoke alarm, if there is one nearby. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends keeping smoke alarms at least ten feet from cooking appliances. Follow the alarm manufacturer's instructions and local requirements for exact placement. An alarm too close to the range may sound during cooking and be more likely to get disconnected; moving it to an appropriate location or choosing a listed nuisance-resistant model addresses the cause.
• The fire extinguisher. Mounted near the exit, not above the stove — you should never have to reach over flames to get it. Check that the gauge is in the green.
• The range hood filter. Remove and clean it according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the hood vents outside, check that the exterior flapper still opens.
• The stove. Burner igniters working, knobs not loose. If there is any memory concern at all, look into an automatic stove shut-off device — they sense an unattended burner and cut power.
• The refrigerator. Vacuum the coils. Test the door gasket by closing it on a dollar bill; if it slides out easily, the seal is gone. Fridge at or below 40 degrees, freezer at zero.
• The dishwasher. Clean the filter in the bottom — most people do not know it exists — and check the age of the supply hose.
• Under the sink. Feel for damp, look for staining on the cabinet floor, and turn the shutoff valves off and on. Valves that are never touched seize in place, which you discover during a leak.
• The GFCI outlets. Test and reset.

Laundry

• The lint trap cleaned after every load, and the vent duct cleaned all the way to the outside at least once a year or more often when the manufacturer or heavy use calls for it.
• The duct itself. It should be rigid or semi-rigid metal, not foil or plastic, with no screws projecting inside for lint to catch on. The permitted length and allowances for bends depend on the dryer's instructions and locally adopted code. A long or kinked duct behind a dryer is worth having a qualified professional correct.
• The exterior hood. Go outside while the dryer runs and confirm the flapper opens and air comes out.
• The washer hoses. Check for bulges, cracks, corrosion, or leaks, and replace them when damaged or when the washer or hose manufacturer recommends it. If replacement hoses are permitted for the machine, ask whether braided stainless hoses are appropriate.
• The floor. Any staining behind or under the machines means a slow leak somebody has been living with.

Bathrooms

• The exhaust fan. Hold a square of toilet paper to the grille — it should hold there. Then confirm it actually vents outdoors rather than into the attic, which is a very common and very expensive thing to leave alone.
• Caulk and grout around the tub, shower, and where the toilet meets the floor. Water getting behind these is slow, invisible, and structural.
• The toilet supply line and shutoff valve.
• Slow drains, which are easier to deal with now than at the point of backing up.
• Water temperature is covered on the Bathroom Safety ↗ page, along with everything else in this room that is about safety rather than upkeep.

Bedrooms

• A smoke alarm inside each bedroom — not just in the hall.
• A window that actually opens. Painted or swollen shut is a problem in a fire, and it is worth testing rather than assuming.
• Space heaters, if they are used: plugged directly into a wall outlet, never an extension cord or power strip, with three feet of clear space around them.
• Electric blankets. Inspect the cord, plug, controls, and fabric before each season. Stop using a blanket with damaged wiring, scorch marks, or inconsistent heating, and follow its manufacturer's replacement guidance.
• The lit path from the bed to the bathroom belongs to Fall Prevention ↗.

Living areas

• The fireplace and chimney. Damper opens and closes; annual inspection regardless of use.
• Extension cords doing permanent work. A cord that has been running a lamp for three years is a wiring problem in disguise, and a cord under a rug is both a fire and a trip hazard.
• Warm or discolored outlets and switch plates. This is not a maintenance item, it is a call-an-electrician item.
• Old halogen torchiere lamps, which run hot enough to ignite curtains and are worth simply replacing with LED.

Hallways and stairs

• Smoke alarms outside each sleeping area.
• Light bulbs — and notice which fixtures require a ladder, because those are the ones that will stay burned out.
• The thermostat. Fresh batteries, and an honest look at whether your parents can actually operate it. A programmable thermostat nobody understands gets set to one temperature forever.
• Handrails and stair lighting are covered on Fall Prevention ↗ and Mobility & Home Accessibility ↗.

Basement and the mechanical room

• Furnace or boiler serviced before the season, filter changed on schedule.
• The water heater. Look for leaks or corrosion, check for a drip pan where appropriate, and read the age from the label so nobody is surprised. Follow the manufacturer's instructions or hire a qualified professional for flushing and testing the temperature-and-pressure relief valve; hot water and a faulty valve can cause serious injury or damage.
• Carbon monoxide alarms. Install them on every level and in a central location outside each separate sleeping area. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and local requirements for exact placement.
• The sump pump. Pour a bucket of water in the pit and watch it run. If a finished basement or stored belongings depend on it, add a battery backup.
• The main water shutoff. Turn it off and on once a year so it does not seize, and make sure both your parents and you know exactly where it is.
• The electrical panel. Circuits labeled legibly, no rust, no scorch marks. Anything unusual is an electrician's job, not yours.
• The smell. Musty air, white powdery efflorescence on the walls, or staining low on the foundation all mean water is getting in somewhere.
• Radon, retested every couple of years.

Attic

Nobody's parents go into the attic. This is a once-a-year look by you or a professional, and there are only a few things to check: whether any bathroom fan is dumping moist air up there, whether the insulation is still thick and evenly spread, whether there are stains on the underside of the roof, and whether anything has moved in.

Garage

• The garage door auto-reverse. Follow the opener's manual. The CPSC's general test ↗ uses a 2-by-4 laid flat in the door's path; the door should reverse when it touches the board. If it does not, disconnect the opener until it is adjusted, repaired, or replaced. Also confirm that the photo-eye sensors are aligned and unobstructed.
• The emergency release cord — present, and reachable by someone who cannot stretch much.
• Never run the car inside, even with the door open. This is worth saying out loud rather than assuming.
• Fuel and chemicals. Gasoline in an approved container; propane tanks outdoors in a well-ventilated location away from ignition sources; and a look at how much old paint and solvent has accumulated.
• A clear path from the car door to the house door, which is a route walked while carrying things.
• The garage freezer, if there is one — check the temperature, because garage freezers fail quietly in extreme weather.

Outside

• Gutters, downspouts, and extensions that carry water at least a few feet from the foundation.
• The grade. Soil should slope away from the house, not toward it.
• Steps, handrails, and walkways. Loose rails, cracked treads, heaved slabs. This is where indoor fall prevention meets outdoor maintenance.
• Exterior lighting, including motion sensors at the doors your parents actually use after dark.
• Hose bibs shut off and drained before the first freeze.
• The roof, from the ground, with binoculars. Missing shingles, sagging lines, damaged flashing.
• Tree limbs kept back from the roof. For limbs near the electrical service line or other power lines, contact the utility or a qualified tree professional rather than trimming them yourself.
• The house numbers. Visible from the street, at night, from a moving vehicle. When an ambulance is looking for your parents' house, this is the thing that matters, and it is almost never checked.
• Dead vegetation cleared back from the structure, which is a small chore most places and a critical one in wildfire country.

Smoke alarms deserve their own section

If you do nothing else on this page, do this part.

Older adults die in fires at rates that should be better known than they are. According to U.S. Fire Administration data for 2014 through 2023 ↗, the risk of dying in a fire is 2.2 times that of the general population at ages 65 to 74, 2.9 times at 75 to 84, and 3.4 times at 85 and over. The fire death rate for the youngest of those groups rose 41% over that decade. This is not a stable background risk; it is getting worse.

Your parents may not be able to hear their own smoke alarm. Many alarms use a high-pitched signal that can be difficult for someone with age-related hearing loss to hear, especially while asleep. U.S. Fire Administration guidance ↗ recommends considering low-frequency notification devices for people with hearing loss; strobe lights, vibrating pads, and bed shakers are other options. If either parent has hearing loss, make sure the alarm system can wake them rather than assuming a standard alarm will.

Your parents' ladder days are over

My parents never liked ladders much, so this one was easy for us, but if your parents are used to climbing a ladder for chores, this may cause more disagreement. Age alone does not decide whether someone can use a ladder safely. Balance, strength, vision, medications, previous falls, the condition of the ladder, and whether another person is present all matter. If any of those raise concern, replace the ladder task rather than re-litigating it every autumn.

The CPSC estimates ↗ that adults 65 and older had an annual average of roughly 53,100 emergency-department-treated ladder-fall injuries in 2022 and 2023. Many ordinary chores involve the same hazards: an unstable surface, reaching away from the ladder, working alone, or carrying tools while climbing.

The list, by how often it needs doing

The room-by-room walk-through above explains what to inspect. This shorter summary is for a shared calendar. Not every item applies to every house, and the appliance manufacturer's schedule takes precedence.

Every month

• Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm with the test button
• Check the fire extinguisher gauge is still in the green
• Check the HVAC filter and replace it when needed
• Run water briefly in any sink, tub, or floor drain that never gets used, to keep the trap from drying out
• Look under sinks and around the water heater for moisture

Every three months

• Test the GFCI outlets — kitchen, bathrooms, garage, outdoors — with the test and reset buttons
• Test the garage door auto-reverse according to the opener's manual
• Clean the range hood filter

Twice a year, spring and fall

• Gutters and downspouts cleaned, and downspout extensions checked
• Check exterior handrails, steps, and walkways for anything loose, cracked, or heaved
• Check weatherstripping and caulk
• Test the sump pump by pouring a bucket of water into the pit
• Replace alarm batteries when the manufacturer requires it or when a low-battery warning sounds

Once a year

• Chimney inspection, with cleaning based on what the inspection finds
• Dryer vent cleaned all the way to the exterior hood
• HVAC service according to the equipment manufacturer's recommendations
• Water-heater service according to the manufacturer's instructions, done by a qualified professional when needed
• Roof checked from the ground with binoculars or by a qualified professional
• Tree limbs checked near the roof; contact the utility or a qualified tree professional for anything near power lines
• Exercise the main water shutoff valve, and make sure both parents and you know where it is
• Review the homeowners insurance policy against what the house is actually worth to rebuild — see Insurance Coverage ↗
• Clear dead vegetation away from the structure, which matters enormously in wildfire country

Longer-term dates to record

Write installation and service dates on the calendar. These intervals are planning guides; use the product label, manufacturer, service professional, and local requirements for the house.

• Smoke alarms — 10 years from the manufacture date printed on the back, no exceptions, even if the test button still beeps
• Carbon monoxide alarms — the manufacturer's stated service life, commonly 7 to 10 years
• Washing machine and dishwasher supply hoses — inspect regularly and replace when damaged or when the appliance or hose manufacturer recommends it
• Water heater and HVAC equipment — plan ahead as they age, using condition, service history, and a professional assessment rather than age alone
• Typical household septic system — professional inspection at least every 3 years and pumping generally every 3 to 5 years; alternative systems with pumps or mechanical components generally need annual inspection
• Radon — retest about every 2 years, and after foundation work, major renovations, or changes in how lower levels are used

Who does this now

At some point the honest answer stops being "my parents handle it." Better to name the replacement than to let things quietly not happen.

• One handyman on a standing schedule is the single best arrangement I know of. Two or three visits a year, a running list on the refrigerator, somebody your parents recognize at the door. Engage them for things you could do on your own while you build rapport. You’ll need them more in the future and it will be easier if your parents feel comfortable calling them directly before problems get big. Ask for a written estimate or agreed hourly rate and decide which materials require advance approval.
• The Area Agency on Aging often knows of low-cost or volunteer repair help, and the Eldercare Locator will tell you which agency covers their address.
• Rebuilding Together and similar nonprofits do free safety repairs for older homeowners who qualify, though the waiting lists are real.
• You, for some of it. Be realistic about what you can and should do on visits from out of town. It is easy to turn visits into projects, because that’s more satisfying and comfortable than sitting and talking with your parents. Resist the urge. Use your visit to hire somebody who is local. They can work while you’re there or after you leave.

Trusted resources

• U.S. Fire Administration — Smoke Alarms ↗
• U.S. Fire Administration — Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention ↗
• U.S. Fire Administration — Older Adult Fire Death Risk ↗
• Chimney Safety Institute of America — Homeowner Resources ↗
• Consumer Product Safety Commission — Safety Education ↗
• Rebuilding Together ↗
• Eldercare Locator — Find Local Aging Services ↗ — 1-800-677-1116

Next step

Go read the date on the back of every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in your parents' house. If any smoke alarm is more than ten years old, or any CO alarm is past the life its manufacturer states, replace it this week. Where compatible with the house and local requirements, a sealed ten-year smoke alarm can eliminate routine battery replacement; every alarm still needs monthly testing and replacement at the end of its service life.