Maintaining Your New Home

March 25, 2026  |  New Home Tips

Maintaining Your New Home

One of the most compelling reasons to purchase a new construction home is that every element of the home is new. So what can you do to keep it that way? Maintain it. Maintaining your new home is important for many reasons. Financially, a new home purchase is one of the largest purchases one makes in a lifetime and it is right to protect it.  And even more important, your home is where you go to rest and refresh. It’s our safe place, the place we gather with our family and friends. As Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz says, “There’s no place like home.”  We’ve put together a few basic tips for keeping your home in tip top shape. We even have a video series to guide you.

Home Maintenance Videos

Holiday Builders has a series of home maintenance videos starring our former Warranty Manager Doug Riedel. These helpful videos run between two and five minutes and include easy-to-follow instructions. Home Maintenance videos are housed on the Maintenance Videos page on our website. Additionally, they may also be found on the Holiday Builders’ YouTube channel. The Holiday Builders’ Home Maintenance videos cover valuable topics including Air Conditioning – replacing air filters and keeping mold out of condensation lines; repairing cracks in shower grout; fixing exterior stucco cracks; smoke detectors, squeaky door repair and resetting GFI outlets.

Caulking

Caulking of doors, windows, siding, countertops, sinks, and tubs is important to prevent water intrusion and leaking air. Be sure to use exterior caulking for doors, windows, and siding. Apply caulk to vinyl floors where they meet cabinets, around toilets, against tubs and showers, and at baseboards. Primarily, caulking prevents water intrusion that could loosen the flooring. Caulk around sinks in bathrooms and the kitchen. Apply caulking where the tub meets the tile. If you have a tiled backsplash in your kitchen, be sure to caulk where the countertop meets the tile.

Stainless Steel Sinks

The kitchen isn’t truly clean until you clean the kitchen sink. Just be careful when using SOS or Brillo pads on your Stainless Steel sinks. These abrasive scouring pads can leave remnants in your sink that will cause pitting or rust. The best cleaners for your Stainless Steel sinks are Soft Scrub or Zud cleansing powder.

Dishwasher

You use a lot less water when you run your dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand. However, your water heater temperature must be at least 120 for your dishwasher to function properly. Use only Dishwasher Detergent in your dishwasher.

Home Warranty

Holiday Builders provides homeowners with one year of floor-to-ceiling, transferable warranty coverage, and a 10-year Limited Structural Warranty on all homes. The warranty includes storm protection for all glass openings and a renewable termite bond. File a claim easily on our online Homeowner Portal where you can submit a request anytime, day or night, seven days a week.

Keeping your home as good as new, starts with you. Follow our advice for a happy, healthy, home. Visit HolidayBuilders.com to see our buildable floorplans, move in ready homes, and new communities throughout Florida.

This post was written by Tina Suiter.