Home improvement, as we all know, means home repairs too. Added to that must also be maintenance - pre-emptive maintenance too.

The goal is to make some effort to catch trouble before it catches you. This is the kind of do-it-yourself work that you can really save money by doing it yourself. To pay someone to wander around your house looking for things that may fail some day is not very wallet-wise.

It would take an army of professionals and tradesman from several areas and it would cost you big. You can walk around the outside of your house to check for leaking taps or garden hoses that need to be put away for winter. You don't need a plumber for that. If a hose is left out connected to the tap is could freeze and burst a pipe that would cause crazy expense in repair and clean up.

You don't need a furnace tech or a HVAC guy to change the furnace filters either, that's easy to do and very important too. It could mean the efficient operation of your heating system and also could affect the air quality in your house. I feel strongly that a furnace filter should be changed every month during the season that the furnace is operating.

These filters are cheap and easy to install. A dirty filter can cause the airflow to be reduced and the furnace to work much harder than it needs to when trying to force the air through the duct work. While you're there at the furnace have a close look to see if it needs a quick visit from your vacuum.

If your furnace is making noise that you don't think it should then call a service man to have a look. Boy, what an issue it would be if it failed in the depths of winter when you need it most. The service tech will also check for ai flow trouble and wear and tear on the belts and pulleys.

Filters play an important role wherever they are in your house. Be it water filters, air filters or even the little screen filters on your taps at the sink. A dirty filter or one that is filled with debris will cause a decrease flow or air or water. Of course, that makes perfect sense.

These filters around the house often go unnoticed because, well, who thinks of things like that? I do, because I get calls all the time about tap sets that don't work or water that doesn't flow. Yes, if the filter is plugged up it won't flow. I'll bet if you go to the kitchen tap right now and open up the screen filter you will find debris in the screen.

Every house has it, new or old. It comes from the pipes, not anything in your house. That's why the filters are there. If you have a water treatment system or you are on a well that has a filter system it can shut down your whole house. My friend had this happen just last week. He was caught by surprise when he wanted to flush the toilet and it wouldn't fill back up.

Some houses on a well may have to change the filters more often because the water quality is more tainted than in other areas. When you see what these filters look like after they have been changed you soon find a fresh motivation to pay closer attention to the filter maintenance schedule.

If a water filter didn't catch these particles then they would end up in your drinking water or your bath; Yuck, more motivation. They will also add years to the life of your faucets and shower heads too when they catch the debris before it enters the system.

Your hot tub will have a filter too, so add that one to the list. Some of these water filters can be a little expensive but a lot less than repairs I assure you. This is an important part of the basic preventative maintenance around everyone's house so don't let these little filter creatures grab a piece or your wallet.