Home Maintenance Checklist: What to Do After You Move In

Buying a house is the largest financial transaction most people ever make. Yet a surprising number of new homeowners do almost nothing to maintain it in the first year. They're exhausted from the move, overwhelmed by unpacking, and don't know where to start. The result is deferred maintenance that compounds quietly — a small roof leak becomes water damage, a clogged dryer vent becomes a fire hazard, an ignored HVAC filter becomes a $4,000 system replacement.

A home maintenance checklist doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to exist, and you need to actually use it. This guide covers what to do immediately after moving in, what to check monthly, and the seasonal tasks that protect your home's value long-term.

First 48 Hours: Safety First

Before you unpack a single box, run through these checks. They take less than an hour and cover genuine safety risks.

Locate all emergency shutoffs. Find the main water shutoff valve (usually in the basement, utility room, or near the water meter). Find the gas shutoff at the meter and at each appliance. Find the main circuit breaker panel. Write these locations on a sticky note and put it inside a kitchen cabinet. In a flood or gas leak, you won't have time to search.

Test every smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector. Press the test button on each one. Replace batteries in all of them regardless of their current state — you don't know when they were last changed. If any detector is more than 10 years old, replace the whole unit. Smoke detectors have a fixed lifespan regardless of battery freshness.

Change the locks. You don't know who has a copy of the previous owner's keys. This includes contractors, house cleaners, neighbors, family members, and anyone who may have been given a key over the years. Rekeying costs $50–$150 per lock cylinder. Replacing locks entirely costs more but gives you modern hardware. Either way, do it before your first night.

Check the water heater temperature. The recommended setting is 120°F (49°C). Settings above 140°F waste energy and create scalding risk, especially for children and elderly residents.

Run water in every fixture. Flush every toilet, run every faucet, run every shower. If any property has been vacant, this clears any buildup in the lines. You're also checking for slow drains, unusual sounds in pipes, or any signs of leakage under sinks.

First Month: Get Oriented

The first month is about learning your house — how it works, what condition it's in, and what needs attention soon.

Change the HVAC filter. Regardless of when it was last changed, start with a fresh filter. Write the change date on the filter with a marker. Going forward, check it monthly and change it every 1–3 months depending on your filter type, whether you have pets, and local air quality.

Clean the dryer vent. Clogged dryer vents are a leading cause of house fires. Disconnect the dryer, remove the vent hose, and clean it out. If the duct runs through the wall or roof, use a dryer vent cleaning kit (a long flexible brush available at any hardware store) or hire a pro. This should be done annually at minimum.

Test the garage door auto-reverse. Place a 2x4 flat on the ground in the path of the door. Close the door. It should reverse automatically when it contacts the board. If it doesn't, the safety sensors need adjustment or the sensitivity needs recalibration. A garage door that doesn't auto-reverse can injure a child or pet.

Inspect the attic and basement. You're looking for signs of moisture intrusion, pest activity, mold, or structural issues that the home inspection may have missed or that developed recently. Bring a flashlight and look at the underside of the roof decking for dark staining (water damage) or daylight. Check the basement walls for efflorescence (white mineral deposits) which indicates water seeping through the concrete.

Locate your main shutoff valves for individual fixtures. Under every sink and behind every toilet is a shutoff valve. Open and close each one to confirm they're functional. Valves that haven't been turned in years can seize up. If you have a leaking toilet at 2 AM, a seized shutoff valve means the water keeps running until you find the main.

Set up a home maintenance folder. Physical or digital — but somewhere you store appliance manuals, warranty documents, receipts for repairs, and service records. When you sell this house someday, a documented maintenance history is a genuine selling point.

Monthly Checks (15 Minutes)

These tasks are quick but need to actually happen. Set a recurring monthly reminder.

• HVAC filter: Check visually. Replace if gray or clogged. More frequent replacement needed in dusty climates, with pets, or with high-occupancy households.
• Under-sink inspection: Open cabinet doors under every sink and visually check for moisture, drips, or soft spots in the cabinet floor.
• Test GFCI outlets: These are the outlets with the "Test/Reset" buttons, found in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outdoor areas. Press "Test" — the outlet should lose power. Press "Reset" to restore. A GFCI that doesn't trip may be faulty.
• Check fire extinguisher pressure: The gauge needle should be in the green zone. If it's in the red, replace or recharge.
• Run water in unused bathrooms: If you have a guest bathroom that sees little use, run the sink, shower, and flush the toilet monthly. This prevents trap seals from evaporating, which allows sewer gases to enter the home.

Seasonal Checklist

Spring (March–May)

• Inspect the roof after winter. Look for missing or lifted shingles, damaged flashing around chimneys or vents. Binoculars from the ground work for an initial check. Hire a roofer for anything that needs closer inspection.
• Clean gutters. Remove debris accumulated over fall and winter. Clogged gutters cause water to back up under shingles and overflow against the foundation.
• Check exterior caulking and weather stripping. Look around windows, doors, and where pipes or wires enter the house. Cracked or missing caulk allows water intrusion and air leakage.
• Service the air conditioner. Replace the filter, clean the outdoor condenser coils (rinse gently with a garden hose), and check that the condensate drain line isn't clogged. Schedule professional servicing every 1–2 years.
• Test outdoor faucets. If you shut off exterior water lines for winter, restore water and check for any frost damage to pipes.
• Inspect the deck or patio. Check for loose boards, wobbly railings, and signs of rot. Sand and reseal wood decks every 2–3 years.

Summer (June–August)

• Trim trees near the house. Branches over the roof can damage shingles in storms. Tree roots near the foundation or sewer lines can cause long-term structural issues.
• Check irrigation systems. If you have in-ground sprinklers, inspect heads for damage and check coverage patterns. A sprinkler head spraying against the foundation is causing slow water damage.
• Clean window screens. Remove, wash with soapy water, and inspect for holes. Repair or replace before the full heat of summer when you'll want windows open.
• Inspect the attic for heat buildup. Proper attic ventilation keeps summer heat from driving up cooling bills and damaging roof shingles from below.

Fall (September–November)

• Service the furnace or heat pump. Have an HVAC technician inspect and clean the system before the first cold snap. This is the single highest-value HVAC maintenance you can do.
• Clean gutters again. After leaves have mostly fallen. Clogged gutters cause ice dams in cold climates.
• Shut off and drain exterior water lines. In freeze-prone climates, turn off the supply valve to outdoor faucets and open the outdoor faucet to let remaining water drain. Frozen outdoor pipes burst.
• Check weatherstripping on exterior doors. Slide a piece of paper under the door when it's closed. If it slides easily, heat is escaping. Replace worn weatherstripping.
• Stock emergency supplies. Before winter, confirm you have flashlights with working batteries, a few days of non-perishable food, and basic first aid supplies.

Winter (December–February)

• Monitor for ice dams. In cold climates, ice builds up at the roof edge when heat escapes through the roof, melts snow, and refreezes at the eave. Remove snow from the bottom 3–4 feet of the roof after heavy snowfall with a roof rake.
• Keep cabinet doors open during cold snaps. In extreme cold, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls to allow warm air to reach pipes.
• Check that the furnace filter is clean. Heating season puts the HVAC system under its heaviest load. A clogged filter reduces efficiency and strains the blower motor.
• Test the sump pump (if you have one). Pour water into the sump pit until the float rises and triggers the pump. Confirm water is being ejected outside. A sump pump failure during spring thaw can flood a basement.

Annual Tasks

A few bigger-picture items that shouldn't be ignored:

• Chimney cleaning: If you use a wood-burning fireplace, have the chimney cleaned and inspected annually. Creosote buildup is a fire hazard.
• Water heater flush: Sediment accumulates at the bottom of water heater tanks, reducing efficiency and shortening the unit's lifespan. Connect a garden hose to the drain valve, run it outside, and flush until the water runs clear.
• Septic system inspection (if applicable): Pumping frequency depends on household size and tank capacity, but every 3–5 years is common. Annual inspection is advisable.
• Pest inspection: In termite-prone regions, an annual inspection by a licensed pest control company is worth every dollar. Termite damage is rarely covered by homeowner's insurance.

Getting Started

The hardest part of home maintenance is building the habit. The easiest way to start is to not try to do everything at once. Work through the first-48-hours checklist this week. Set a calendar reminder for the monthly checks. Then work through the seasonal tasks as they come up.

For a complete moving-in checklist that covers everything from closing day through your first year of homeownership — including a budget worksheet and room-by-room setup guide — visit /moving-checklist/.

Your house is the largest investment you're likely to make. Treating it like one doesn't require much time — it just requires consistency.