Maintaining your mobile home is crucial for various reasons. Regular maintenance helps keep the value of your mobile home high so you can build more equity, ensure the comfort and safety of your home, and reduce the likelihood of more expensive repairs in the future.
Handling maintenance and repairs isn’t the most exciting part of owning a mobile home, but it’s an essential responsibility. And it doesn’t have to take long—a few hours of work a couple of times a year can bring you many benefits and prevent any damage from becoming worse.
Here are eight areas to check out every year and how to maintain them.
Related: Guide to Living in a Mobile Home
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Foundation
Your mobile home’s foundation keeps it level and solid—it’s one of the most important items to look at each year. You’ll want to check for any imbalances or cracks caused by settling. While re-leveling your home, it might best be left to a professional; you can watch for signs to get any issues handled immediately, which can save you a ton in the long run.
You can use a water or carpenter level to ensure everything is good. You’ll also want to watch for cracks, as they can cause problems, including making it so your windows and doors won’t shut properly, finding leaks or cracks in your walls, and letting air and humidity into your home.
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Skirting
Your mobile home’s skirting keeps out excess moisture, and it’s crucial to check for holes. At least once a year, look for cracks or holes in your skirting that might let moisture or pests into your mobile home.
Even though you don’t want cracks or holes in your skirting, you do need to ensure it’s properly ventilated. Skirting venting should take up about one square foot for every 150 square feet of space under your mobile home. Too much moisture, either from skirting damage or lack of ventilation, can cause issues with the foundation, flooring, and more.
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Roof
At least twice a year, you want to check your mobile home’s roof for damage, broken or missing shingles, and debris. You’ll also need to check the flashing to ensure it’s still in good condition and that there aren’t soft spots or cracks in the roof’s caulking. Any damage or weaknesses in your roof could allow moisture, air, or even rodents into your home.
It’s also a good idea to reseal or recoat your roof yearly, particularly if your mobile home has a flat roof. The coating is essential to keep your home dry and at the right temperature. Roof coatings vary depending on the material it’s made of—for example, you can’t use aluminum or asphalt coatings on rubber and PVC roofs.
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Gutters
Checking out and cleaning your gutters regularly is an easy way to help prevent roof and exterior damage to your mobile home. Clogged gutters can lead to leaks and water damage. And if you ignore them for too long, your gutters can break as they become heavy with debris. When they fall, they can also cause damage to other areas of your home.
Even if you don’t live close to large trees or structures, debris can easily travel with the wind, ending up in your gutters. If you live somewhere where rain, snowfall, or high winds are common, you should clean them out during the spring and before winter.
Related: Your Guide to Mobile Home Remodeling
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Siding
Cleaning your siding regularly is important, too—it helps you avoid mildew and mold on your home’s exterior paneling. When it comes to mobile home maintenance, siding is often ignored. However, it should be on your checklist each year. Vinyl siding is common for mobile homes, and luckily, it’s easy to clean with water and dish detergent.
Mildew and mold can be hard to clean off of your siding, but using a simple bleach and water solution can help break it down for easy cleaning. There are also special cleaning products designed to rid your siding of mold and rust that work exceptionally well. Keeping your siding clean helps keep your home looking nice and avoid exterior damage.
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Vent and Window Caulking
Especially before winter, you want to check your window and vent caulking. Extreme temperature changes can cause it to shrink or break down, resulting in gaps, cracks, or warping in the areas that protect your home. And when air enters through those damaged areas, it can make your home’s climate less comfortable and raise your heating and cooling costs.
Many mobile homeowners remember to check their window seals but forget about other seals, like those around ducts, vents, and other systems connected to the outside. Resealing these areas each year before winter can help you keep moisture and air out of your home, lowering your energy bills and making your house comfortable year-round.
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HVAC and Heating Systems
Cleaning your heating systems and air ventilation at least twice a year can help improve your mobile home’s air quality. And regularly changing your air filters helps keep your home feeling comfortable while decreasing the effects of asthma, allergies, and skin and breathing problems.
Changing and cleaning these filters is the first step—you also want to vacuum out the air systems yearly. You have two primary options: renting a heavy-duty vacuum and doing it yourself or hiring a professional HVAC company to clean out your vents and ducts. Replacing these systems is expensive, so the preventative maintenance costs are 100% worth it.
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Indoor Cleaning
Wiping down your walls, fixtures, and surfaces in your mobile home annually can help keep it in great shape and avoid discolorations. You want to use gentle products for most of the cleaning, as some contain chemicals that can cause parts of your home to look faded or discolored.
You also want to avoid using abrasive solutions whenever possible, particularly when cleaning fiberglass fixtures like tubs, showers, and sinks. Using corrosive chemicals indoors can cause them to become tarnished and age faster.
Looking for more mobile home tips? View more of our mobile home articles—From financing, buying, and selling to maintenance tips, we have it covered!
Related: Mobile Homes: Pros and Cons
