7 Home Maintenance Tasks That Can Pay for Themselves

Take these steps to catch problems early, cut your utility bills and prolong the life of your home's HVAC system

Josh Garskof,

AARP

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En español

Published February 18, 2025

a house with tools coming out of the roof

Rob Dobi

It’s easy to overlook home maintenance when everything around the house is working fine. “But just like preventative healthcare, doing some routine tasks now can avoid big problems later,” says Gino Goe, a property manager in Santa Barbara, California. “These are simple steps you can take to catch trouble early, prolong the life of equipment and slash your energy bills.”

Read on for seven vital home maintenance steps that will pay you back. Some are easy enough for a handy homeowner to do themselves, while others require a professional at any age. All of them are essential self-care for your home.

Protect your investment

Trim trees

Mature trees can add curb appeal and shade, but when they get too close to your house they can bring bugs and damaging moisture to the roof and siding — and unhealthy limbs can cause devastating damage if they fall in a storm, Goe warns.

Hiring an arborist to inspect and prune a tree costs $270 to $1,800 on average, according to the contractor-referral website Angi, depending on species, size and accessibility, but it can prolong the life of your roof (a nearly $9,500 replacement job on average) and gutters (typically about $1,200 to replace), while also slowing the growth of the tree’s roots, which could save you $5,000 or more in foundation damage. Purdue University’s College of Agriculture recommends having an arborist inspect and prune trees surrounding your home every five years.

Clean out gutters

It’s essential to clear your home’s gutters of leaves, bird nests and other debris annually — or two or even three times a year if your house sits underneath a canopy of deciduous trees. “Otherwise they will clog up, causing rainwater to back up under the roofing, into the walls or against your foundation, where it will find any crack or crevice and seep inside,” says Todd Mailloux, owner of Mr. Handyman in Birmingham, Michigan. Those water intrusions could lead to around $3,800 in repair costs, so gutter cleaning is a relative bargain at $100 to $200 for a pro to do the job.

Thinking of clearing out the gutters on your own? Know that no amateur, of any age, should climb on a two-story roof or a ladder a couple dozen feet off the ground, Mailloux says. But if your home has low eaves, it may be possible to do this job yourself with a step ladder and some heavy-duty waterproof gloves.

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Prep outdoor spigots for winter

If you live in the snow belt, make sure to get your hose bib ready for the cold season. You do this by turning off the water valve inside your basement or garage that feeds the spigot. Then open the spigot to let the remaining water drip out, and leave it open until spring. This will cost you nothing and save you from a frozen pipe that could cause thousands, or even tens of thousands in damage to your home. If you need help turning the shutoff valve — it could be stuck and require elbow grease to shut — and don’t have a friendly neighbor you can ask, expect to pay a handyman’s minimum fee, typically $100 to $200.

Cut your power costs

Service the heating system

Natural gas, propane and electric heating systems need annual tune-ups to maintain peak efficiency, says Jim Godbout, a plumber and heating expert in Biddeford, Maine and former president of the Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors of Maine, a trade association. And if your home relies on oil for heating, the soot that collects on an oil burner can reduce the machine’s efficiency by about 5 percent in a year, by about 10 percent after two years and so forth, Godbout adds. For the average household, that third year could add $250 in heating costs.

Tasks like scrubbing burners, checking fuel pressure and replacing furnace filters are not do-it-yourself jobs. You’ll typically pay $175 to $350 for heating system service, according to Angi, but that’s usually less than calling a contractor out for a midnight breakdown ($100 to $500) or replacing the entire system because it wears out prematurely ($2,500 to $15,000). Plus, the work usually comes with an annual service contract that covers you for repair calls 24 hours a day.

Tune up the air conditioning too

The average household spends $2,364 a year on electricity for air conditioning, EnergySage reports. But if you don’t clean the system’s coils at least annually, the efficiency could diminish by 20, 30 or even 40 percent, Godbout says. Worse yet, mold spores can build up on the coils if you don’t get them cleaned. “That can be a health hazard, especially for those who are immunocompromised or have mold allergies,” he says. You’ll likely pay $150 to $275 for the service, according to Godbout, depending on the type of system you have and its size.

This is a hire-it-out job, but there is something you can do yourself to keep your AC running efficiently: change the filter on a regular basis. “They typically cost $15 or $20 at the home center, and you just slide a new one into place,” Godbout says. “Doing it every three months can save you 5 to 20 percent in electricity costs, especially if you have a dog or cat, because a clogged filter makes the motor work harder to pull air through it.”

Extend the life of hardscaping

Protect the driveway

Even little cracks and pores in an asphalt driveway let water in, and that can eventually undermine the substrate below, leading to sunken areas and potholes. You can protect against these problems — and shield the surface from sun damage — by applying a new coat of sealer every three to five years, or whenever the blacktop begins to fade to gray, recommends Mailloux.

Some homeowners do this themselves, but it’s a full-day job — and the tar will ruin everything you wear, even boots and gloves, says Mailloux. Hiring a handyman to do the job costs around $500, including materials. A professional can also patch cracks and divots before sealing. Just make sure the surface is dry, there’s no rain in the forecast for several days, and that you keep cars and people off the driveway for at least 48 hours.

Seal the deck

The best way to extend the life of a wood deck is to seal it every year or two, says Goe. This often requires scraping, sanding or washing away the old finish, as well as repairing some damaged boards, so it’s a project best left to a handyman, painter or general contractor, who will do the typical job for around $1,200. That’s still a bargain, considering the cost of a new wood deck averages around $14,600 to $17,600, according to Remodeling Magazine. Just make sure they use the right type of sealer. “The biggest threat to a wood deck isn’t rain,” Goe says. “It’s ultraviolet light, so whether you choose a clear finish or one with a stain, it’s essential to pick a product that offers UV protection.”

“I’m 66, and I still seal the deck myself,” says Goe. “But I’m a professional. Sometimes it’s better for a non-pro to pay a little to hire an expert, know it’s done right, and know you won’t wind up postponing it for far too long due to procrastination.”

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