Home Ownership Is Never Dull…
One night in the recent past, I was awakened by my wife. She had heard a noise in the garage and after taking a look she woke me up to let me know that I our water heater had flooded the garage. Fortunately the damage was minimal other than a lot of water in the floor of the garage but it made me realize I was fortunate to know where the water shut off and electric panels were located so we could minimize the damage. It also became the inspiration for this weeks blog post on 3 things every home owner should know about their home.
1-Water shut off
HYPOTHETICALLY let’s pretend that your water heater started leaking water. There would be water shooting in multiple directions….lots of water. A similar story (also from my past) was a toilet supply line had been over tightened on our first home. We were very fortunate that my wife and young son were home to hear it happen. My wife was able to fight through the water and turn it off. (Theres a movie scene there somewhere but I can’t place it)
I think its also very important to know where the main turn off is outside of the home. If a main line was broken before the turn off valve, the valve is going to have zero impact. You would need to know where the main valve coming into the house is and how to work it.
2-Circuit breaker
Do you know where your circuit breaker box is located? Most folks know how to reset a tripped breaker but do you also know how to kill the power to the whole home? If there is a major electrical problem you can kill the power to the home or to an individual appliance, hopefully before any long lasting problems occur. It helps tremendously to have your electrical panel fully and properly labeled.
3-Where are your HVAC intake and filters located?
A clean HVAC system is important now to your health and to your future buyers. When was the last time they were changed? A savvy home owner understands that the HVAC is one of the most expensive systems in your home. A home owner also knows that changing those filters regularly can save expensive repairs and headaches down the road. A few dollars and a little time invested regularly can pay dividends over the life of the entire system.
More coming
If you like these videos you know there’s more on the way. I am workong to get to episode 100 this year. You can check out the previous episodes and some other great content on my web site at ChrisWhitehurst.com I am also on most popular social media sites like on Facebook, YouTube (and slowly moving into Instagram). Until nect time…..Welcome Home!
Chris Whitehurst
Rose & Womble
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