Homeowner poll: How often do you REALLY do.... xyz

[Anonymous]

If you have smoke/CO2 detectors that take replaceable batteries, they should be changed twice yearly when you set the clock back and forward for DST.

When they are beeping they are already operating sub-optimally and could fail to alarm in a fire. Something like 70% of American house fires involve disabled or malfunctioning detectors.

I’m paranoid about house fires since I was a kid and a neighbor died in one. These are the best detectors on the market according to my research - very unlikely to bother with false (cooking, steam) alarms and have built in batteries that last a decade. https://www.universalsecuritystore.com/store/category/smoke-detectors-and-fire-alarms.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQiAkeSsBhDUARIsAK3tieeVwYQJ8ejVqATO75leaDZn3QIjCqtunNBZJ0Fvw3Ug0MamBXMGC3oaAp7AEALw_wcB

I’m always mind boggled by people’s neglect of smoke detectors. Such a relatively cheap thing that can save your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We clean our gutters once a year.

We don’t do anything else on that list.

You don't change your air filters? That can be a costly mistake- your HVAC will freeze if the filter is too dirty.

And the blower will be so dirty that your air cycling through your home won’t be clean and will make you sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We clean our gutters once a year.

We don’t do anything else on that list.

Do you not have a HVAC system?

We do -- DH just said, "Yes, of course I change the filters." I didn't know. Sorry. I guess I'm more clueless than I realized about our home maintenance. He tells me he also cleans the dryer vent "when it needs it."

If it helps, my DH did it last time out of the blue, which was lovely, but I just went to do it again and realized he only changed one. There are five. He didn’t know. Oh well. I aim for every 3 months so it’s more like every six months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How often do you REALLY:

- change your air filters
- have someone clean your dryer vent
- clean your AC condenser
- check/clean your gutters
- clean your hot water heater
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors
- other (feel free to add your own)

Yearly. I have 3" filters.
Never. I checked when I replaced the washing machine this year. It was clean. I don't have corrugated pipe.
Cleaned last spring by me.
I have gutter guards that work. Yes, I checked.
I replaced the anode rode 10 years ago. It's getting time to change it again.
When the beep. 9Vs on hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have smoke/CO2 detectors that take replaceable batteries, they should be changed twice yearly when you set the clock back and forward for DST.

When they are beeping they are already operating sub-optimally and could fail to alarm in a fire. Something like 70% of American house fires involve disabled or malfunctioning detectors.

I’m paranoid about house fires since I was a kid and a neighbor died in one. These are the best detectors on the market according to my research - very unlikely to bother with false (cooking, steam) alarms and have built in batteries that last a decade. https://www.universalsecuritystore.com/store/category/smoke-detectors-and-fire-alarms.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQiAkeSsBhDUARIsAK3tieeVwYQJ8ejVqATO75leaDZn3QIjCqtunNBZJ0Fvw3Ug0MamBXMGC3oaAp7AEALw_wcB

I’m always mind boggled by people’s neglect of smoke detectors. Such a relatively cheap thing that can save your life.

My smokes are hardwired with a 9V as a battery backup. I can wait for the beeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How often do you REALLY:

- change your air filters
- have someone clean your dryer vent
- clean your AC condenser
- check/clean your gutters
- clean your hot water heater
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors
- other (feel free to add your own)

Filters: every 6 months. We run MERV 13 continuously.

Vent: DIY. It’s very short. Once a year or so

Gutters: covered. Had it done annually the first few years, but there was never anything for them to remove.

HWH: Never

Smoke detectors: every 6 months whether chirping or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised at the number of people who don’t have the 10-year smoke detector batteries.

They suck and routinely fail before 10 years. I would MUCH rather replace a battery than an entire detector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How often do you REALLY:

- change your air filters
- have someone clean your dryer vent
- clean your AC condenser
- check/clean your gutters
- clean your hot water heater
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors
- other (feel free to add your own)

Never needed to clean hot water heater. Have gutter covers, so rarely need to clean them. Others all on schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised at the number of people who don’t have the 10-year smoke detector batteries.

We don’t have them. All of our detectors take regular batteries.

[Anonymous]

- change your air filters- 3 months
- have someone clean your dryer vent- I do this once a year
- clean your AC condenser- basically never
- check/clean your gutters- once a year
- clean your hot water heater- 2x a year
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors- when they beep. Ours are hardwired too, not battery operated.

[Anonymous]

How often do you REALLY:

- change your air filters: monthly
- have someone clean your dryer vent: we have a short dryer vent and clean it out ourselves once a year with a vacuum attachment
- clean your AC condenser: we have a contract, they come twice a year
- check/clean your gutters: once a year, we have a lot of trees
- clean your hot water heater: we flush it once a year, does that count?
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors: we check them once a year and change when they start beeping
- other (feel free to add your own)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We clean our gutters once a year.

We don’t do anything else on that list.

You don't change your air filters? That can be a costly mistake- your HVAC will freeze if the filter is too dirty.

Her hubby does all the home stuff, because she's too dumb and helpless to do anything house related. She's just good for popping out babies and putting a casserole in the oven.

[Anonymous]

- change your air filters: once a year (and they are usually almost totally clean)
- have someone clean your dryer vent: every 5 years? maybe?
- clean your AC condenser: I assume our HVAC company does this when they service it...?
- check/clean your gutters: professional cleaning twice a year, check and DIY clean much more frequently when a lot of helicopters or leaves are falling
- clean your hot water heater: literally never
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors: when they chirp

[Anonymous]

Air filters: six months

Dryer vent: once. Had someone do it after living in house for six years and they were surprised to find very little lint.

AC: annually. System is over 20 years old so service it annually.

Gutters: never in seven years. We have guards but see some sticks coming out of them. Maybe I’ll do it at some point.

Water heater: never in seven years. Someone checked it recently due to a separate water issue and said it was working fine.

Fire detectors: Fairfax city had a program a couple years ago where the fire dept replaced them for free. I did that and haven’t had any chirping since.

[Anonymous]

change your air filters - monthly
- have someone clean your dryer vent - why would I need someone to do this simple thing for me. About twice a year.
- clean your AC condenser - never
- check/clean your gutters- maybe 4 times a year
- clean your hot water heater-clean it? What do you mean, clean it. I tap the valve at the bottom about every 6 months to remove any sediment in the tank. I never clean the tank.
- change the batteries in your smoke detectors - these days you replace the whole thing every ten years.
- other (feel free to add your own) De-worm outdoor cat every two months.
Change car air filter every 5000 miles or so, same as oil change, change cabin filter yearly, same as wiper blades. Clean filter in big a$$ dehumidifier every 6 months. Trim branches of huge Kwanzan cherry blossom trees every three years or so. Just makes it grow bigger.