Maintaining your house often means an endless list of chores that won’t end until either you or the house is gone, whichever comes first. Luckily, most maintenance tasks aren’t done daily or even weekly (except, of course, for cleaning), but this is also the reason why a lot of vital maintenance tasks are forgotten about.

Unfortunately, all sorts of problems can result from forgetting these maintenance tasks, and you probably won’t know you’ve forgotten about them until there’s an issue. Hence, to keep your house in good working condition, remember to accomplish these maintenance tasks that many homeowners tend to forget:

1. Cleaning the gutters

Many homeowners don’t clean their gutters until fall comes, and there are also some homeowners that don’t even see their gutters for months after their metal roof installation project is done. If you belong in this group, you may be putting your gutters and roof at risk of damage from accumulated debris.

Cleaning the gutters may seem like a daunting chore, but it’s easier than it looks. With a ladder, a tool to dislodge the debris, and a hose, you can clear your gutters in no time and reduce the risk of debris-related damage to almost zero.

2. Flushing the water heater

This particular task only needs to be done at least once a year, which is why it is so easy to forget about it. However, flushing the water heater is essential to avoid the buildup of sediments inside and lengthen the lifespan of your unit. Moreover, doing this task regularly makes every flush easier to do, as sediment buildup can make it harder to flush the water from inside the heater.

If you fail to flush your water heater regularly, the bottom of the tank will eventually rust due to the accumulation of sediments, resulting in a premature need for a new water heater.

3. Dust the refrigerator coils

You don’t see the back of the refrigerator, so it may not cross your mind to look behind it and see if the coils are too dusty. If you leave the coils uncleaned for too long, the refrigerator’s performance will eventually decline and you may need a replacement sooner than you’d expected.

Clean your refrigerator’s coils every three months to keep them functioning normally. Since they are designed to emit excess heat, cleaning the dust will ensure that the compressor doesn’t have to work harder to cool the refrigerator due to the heat being unable to escape.

4. Clean the drain holes on windows

Windows have drain holes in the bottom of the frame to drain water that has entered the inner channel of the window. Over time, these holes accumulate dirt, debris, and insects that cause them to get clogged, often leading to water leaking inside the house.

Make it a point to clean your windows’ drain holes at least once every six months. The task only requires a paperclip, which you use to push out any debris that may be clogged inside the holes. It is so simple, in fact, that you can get the rest of your family to do it on their own bedroom windows to save you time.

5. Lubricate the springs and rollers on the garage door

A poorly lubricated garage door can get stuck or make a lot of noise while and closing. If you don’t want to find yourself with a garage door that refuses to cooperate when you’re already running late, don’t forget to lubricate the springs and rollers on your garage door. In doing so, you’re preventing the garage door from failing and extending its lifespan at the same time.

6. Sanitizing the trash bins

Cleaning the trash bins may not seem like an important task since they will still get filled with trash, but you never know what kind of residue or debris has ended up inside after all this time. If you don’t clean them out, you could end up with nasty smells emanating from them every time you open the lids or worse, attracting all sorts of pests to your property.

Avoid these problems by cleaning and sanitizing your trash bins every three months or so. Spray the inside and outside of the bins with an appropriate cleaner, scrub the walls, and then use a hose to rinse them out. Repeat the process if any residue or smell lingers.

With so many household chores and maintenance tasks to do, it’s no wonder why we forget some of them. However, forgetting these tasks, in particular, can result in bigger problems, so pencil them into your calendar lest you forget.