Things that silently damage the house that few people realize

Actions that seem normal but in the long run can damage your home. Below are things to avoid to keep your home neat, clean and durable .

Many financial advisors recommend spending about 2% of the purchase price of a home on maintenance each year. It's worth it, as it prevents small problems from becoming bigger ones and keeps the home in good condition so you can actually enjoy living there.

It would make sense to assume that if you do minimal home maintenance, you’ll have peace of mind. But even if you make necessary repairs and perform all the recommended annual inspections and maintenance, you can still damage your home in countless ways. That’s because there are many things homeowners don’t think about that can actually damage a home in the long run.

Doing these things occasionally may not be a big deal, but over time and when repeated, they can cause headaches when it comes to budgeting for home repairs.

Things you should not do regularly to protect your home

• Using too many bath effervescent tablets
• Use chemical drain cleaners
• Misplaced device
• Paint on bricks
• Paint the rotten spot

Using too many bath effervescent tablets

If you're trying to soothe your nerves by taking a hot bath that's been spiced up with a colorful, bubbly bath bomb, you could be slowly destroying your plumbing. Bath bombs often contain ingredients like citric acid, cream of tartar, Epsom salts, and baking soda, not to mention scented oils, glitter, or other decorations meant to give your bath a romantic feel. Over time, all of these can easily solidify in your pipes or get stuck in existing clogs, making them worse. An occasional bath bomb won't cause much trouble, but using one regularly could put you at risk of paying a plumber a lot of money.

Use chemical drain cleaners

If your drain is clogged and you use a chemical drain cleaner to clear it up, you probably won’t destroy your house in the process. But if your drain is constantly clogged & it’s constantly exposed to that chemical, you’re not only temporarily solving a bigger problem (why is my drain always clogged?) but you’re also probably damaging your pipes. Most store-bought drain cleaners are either corrosive or oxidizing, and both release heat as part of the process of turning the clogged material into something more soluble and easier to drain. That heat can soften PVC pipes & warp metal pipes over time. If your drain is consistently clogged & slow-flowing, it’s probably best to call a plumber and do some basic maintenance.

Misplaced device

Almost every appliance in your home, from your refrigerator to your television, generates heat as it operates. If you have one or two appliances near your home’s thermostat, it can have a real negative impact on two things: Your energy bill and the lifespan of your HVAC system. That’s because the heat from the appliance tricks your thermostat into making your home hotter than it actually is, causing your AC to run more in the summer and your heating system to run less in the winter. Your HVAC system will experience more wear and tear, leading to a shorter lifespan, more repair bills, and more frequent replacement costs.

Paint on bricks

If you have exposed brick on the inside of your home that you've painted, it could be the trigger for an expensive home improvement bomb. Brick is a porous material and needs to "breathe" properly. Paint can seal the brick, trapping moisture inside, which can lead to brick deterioration, mold growth, and peeling paint. The problem is worse when it's an exterior brick wall, but even a completely interior wall can slowly deteriorate if painted incorrectly.

If you must paint that wall, prepare the surface carefully and use a paint designed for masonry work. Then keep an eye on it. Check regularly for bubbles, peeling, and brick dust—all evidence that moisture is tainting your walls.

Paint the rotten spot

Speaking of paint, it’s important to note that paint isn’t magic. If you notice a little bit of wood rot on the interior or exterior of your home, cleaning and repainting certainly won’t stop the process. In fact, it will make things worse because paint traps moisture, potentially accelerating the rot that’s eating away at your home—plus, that trapped moisture will cause the paint to blister and peel prematurely. Even if the rot is minor, you’ll need to find where the moisture is coming from and treat it, then repair or replace the wood as necessary before painting.