Spring cleaning doesn’t just mean cleaning out your closets and sweeping your garage! If you own a home, don’t neglect to take tackle these home maintenance projects; they could save you money AND a potential disaster!

1. Filters collect dust particles, which clog the filter and decrease airflow resulting in less heat. I learned this the hard way when my furnace just stopped working because the filters were clogged. (Save $50 + a year)

2. Snow buildup along the edges of homes will freeze and thaw. Water seeps into foundations and no one wants to start spring off with water damage! (save $100's maybe $1000s in damage control)

3. Basements and foundation walls hold a myriad of overlooked energy loss due to improper sealing of dryer vents, pipes and windows. Insulating my crawl space saves me about $200 a year in heating costs.

4. After heavy spring rains, examine your attic, crawl spaces and basement floors, walls and corners for damp spots and address any moisture issues right away. Check your bathroom areas for signs of mold and clean surface areas immediately before they become a hazardous and expensive problem. This can be dangerous for your health, destroy property and be a deal killer if you are selling your home.

5. Insulating your water heater, particularly heaters made before 1992, will reduce the heat lost through the walls of the tank by 25- 40 percent. (Lowes and Home Depot and Ace sell hot water blanket insulators) I noticed a savings of at least $10 a month by doing this–the hot water heater runs all year)rse this advice.