---
title: Everything a House With a Car Needs: 56 Maintenance Items and Intervals
source: https://tended.mintbyte.app/everything-a-house-with-a-car-needs
description: The complete recurring maintenance list for a house with a yard and a car: 56 items across six areas of life, with intervals and reasons.
---

# Everything a house with a yard and a car needs

August 2026 · 56 items, from the Tended catalog

A house with a yard and a car needs 56 recurring maintenance items across six areas of life. That is seventeen more than a rented flat: the roof, the gutters, the water heater, the lawn, the insurance and everything the car asks for. The whole list is below with intervals and reasons.

Owning rather than renting does not double the work, and adding a car does not either. It adds seventeen specific things, most of them annual, several of them the kind that cost four figures when they are missed — a water heater nobody flushed, a dryer vent nobody cleaned, a recall nobody looked up.

The intervals are the ones Tended schedules, and the sources are linked per row where a recognised authority has published guidance.

## Home 25

| What | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Clean bathroom | Weekly | Bathrooms give mold its two favourite things, damp and warmth. A weekly wipe denies it a foothold. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Do laundry | Weekly | Cold washes leave far more live bacteria on fabric than hot ones, and it spreads between garments. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Mow the lawn | Weekly | Cutting more than a third of the blade in one go stresses the grass and weakens its roots. [EPA](https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/what-you-can-do-your-yard) |
| Toss expired fridge food | Weekly | The average American wastes about $728 a year in edible food, much of it at the back of the fridge. [FoodSafety.gov](https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts) |
| Vacuum floors & carpets | Weekly | HEPA vacuuming weekly cuts dust-mite allergen levels by 80% or more. Your nose notices before you do. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Change bedding | Every 2 weeks | You shed hundreds of thousands of skin cells and half a pint of sweat a night. Dust mites feast on it. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Replace kitchen sponge | Every 2 weeks | Over 75% of kitchen sponges carry coliform bacteria, and 86% test positive for yeast or mold. |
| Clean dishwasher filter | Monthly | A clogged filter turns trapped grease into mold fuel, then redeposits it on the next clean load. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Clean garbage disposal | Monthly | That smell is sulfur-producing bacteria in low-oxygen pockets, the same compounds as rotten eggs. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Clean washer door seal | Monthly | The rubber door gasket is where most washer mold starts, because the seal traps detergent and damp. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Descale coffee maker | Monthly | About half of coffee-maker reservoirs harbour yeast or mold. Dark, damp and warm is their ideal. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Test smoke alarms | Monthly | Two-thirds of fatal home fires with alarms fitted had alarms that had failed. The test takes five seconds. [USFA](https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/prepare-for-fire/smoke-alarms/index.html) |
| Clean oven | Every 3 months | Cooking equipment starts more home fires than anything else, and baked-on grease is the fuel. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Purge pantry | Every 3 months | Oil past its prime oxidises into aldehydes and free radicals. It stops being food quietly. [USDA](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/shelf-stable-food-safety) |
| Replace HVAC filter | Every 3 months | A clogged filter can add 5-15% to your heating and cooling bill, because the fan has to fight for air. [ENERGY STAR](https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/heating-cooling/maintenance-checklist) |
| Change alarm batteries | Every 6 months | Dead or missing batteries are the single biggest reason smoke alarms fail during a real fire. [USFA](https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/prepare-for-fire/smoke-alarms/index.html) |
| Change fridge filter | Every 6 months | Most are rated for 200 gallons. Past saturation the carbon can shed back what it already caught. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Clean gutters | Every 6 months | Clogged gutters send water at the foundation instead of away. Water-damage claims average $13,954. [HouseLogic](https://www.houselogic.com/organize-maintain/home-maintenance-tips/how-to-prevent-water-damage/) |
| Check fire extinguisher | Yearly | An extinguisher that looks perfectly fine on the wall can quietly lose pressure and do nothing. [NFPA](https://www.nfpa.org/news-blogs-and-articles/blogs/2020/10/30/guide-to-fire-extinguisher-itm) |
| Clean dryer vent | Yearly | Failing to clean the vent causes about a third of the 2,900 home dryer fires reported each year. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/when-and-how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-home.html) |
| Flush water heater | Yearly | Sediment cuts efficiency by 10-30% and can take a tank's life from 15 years down to about seven. [Energy Trust of Oregon](https://www.energytrust.org/tips/drain-flush-and-save-water-heater-maintenance-101/) |
| Inspect roof | Yearly | A cracked shingle caught early is a cheap patch. Missed, it's a replacement averaging $9,500. [American Family Insurance](https://www.amfam.com/resources/articles/at-home/how-to-check-your-roof-for-damage) |
| Review home insurance | Yearly | About 60% of homeowners are underinsured for what rebuilding their house would actually cost today. [Insurance Information Institute](https://www.iii.org/article/how-often-should-i-review-my-insurance-policy) |
| Schedule HVAC service | Yearly | A maintained HVAC system runs 15-25% more efficiently than a neglected one, worth $150-450 a year. [ENERGY STAR](https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/heating-cooling/maintenance-checklist) |
| Test garage door reverse | Yearly | Every opener since 1991 must reverse within two seconds of hitting something. If it still does. |

## Health 4

| What | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Skin self-exam | Monthly | Melanoma caught early has a 99% five-year survival rate. Once it spreads, that falls to about 35%. [American Academy of Dermatology](https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/find/check-skin) |
| Replace toothbrush | Every 3 months | Bristles lose their plaque-fighting stiffness in two to three months, long before they look worn. [ADA](https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/toothbrushes) |
| Dental checkup | Every 6 months | Nearly half of American adults over 30 have some gum disease, and it often develops with no pain. [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/prevention/oral-health-tips-for-adults.html) |
| Annual physical | Yearly | Seven in ten US deaths trace back to chronic disease, most of it manageable when caught early. [USPSTF](https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/hypertension-in-adults-screening) |

## Digital 7

| What | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Install software updates | Monthly | Attackers exploited unpatched software in 20% of breaches, up 34% in a single year. [CISA](https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/update-software) |
| Restart your router | Monthly | The FBI once asked everyone to reboot their router after malware infected 500,000 of them. |
| Review free trials | Monthly | 42% of people admit they kept paying for a subscription they had already stopped using. [FTC](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/getting-and-out-free-trials-auto-renewals-and-negative-option-subscriptions) |
| Verify backups | Every 3 months | 54% of people have lost data, and backups fail silently. One you've never restored is a guess. [CISA](https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/data_backup_options.pdf) |
| Audit subscriptions | Every 6 months | People guess they spend $86 a month on subscriptions. The real average is $219, or $1,600 a year. [FTC](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/getting-and-out-free-trials-auto-renewals-and-negative-option-subscriptions) |
| Check for data breaches | Every 6 months | Over 17 billion breached accounts are now catalogued. Statistically, some of yours are in there. [CISA](https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/use-strong-passwords) |
| Free up storage | Every 6 months | About 22% of phone users run out of storage monthly, which quietly blocks backups and updates. [CISA](https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/data_backup_options.pdf) |

## Car 7

| What | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Check tire pressure | Monthly | Tires underinflated by more than 25% are three times likelier to be in a tire-related crash. [NHTSA](https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/tires) |
| Check car battery | Every 6 months | Most car batteries quit somewhere in year three to five, without warning, on the coldest morning. [AAA](https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/10-car-maintenance-tips-to-help-prevent-major-repairs) |
| Check car recalls | Every 6 months | Over 50 million US cars are driving around with an open safety recall. The repair is free by law. [NHTSA](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls) |
| Check tire tread | Every 6 months | At 4/32-inch tread, wet stopping distance grows by up to 87 feet. That's longer than a semi-trailer. [NHTSA](https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/tires) |
| Get an oil change | Every 6 months | One driver skipped oil changes for two years and seized the engine. $7,500, or about 100 oil changes. [AAA](https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/how-often-should-you-change-your-oil) |
| Change engine air filter | Yearly | A badly clogged air filter measurably dulls acceleration, even on modern engines. A new one is $20. [AAA](https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/10-car-maintenance-tips-to-help-prevent-major-repairs) |
| Review auto insurance | Yearly | A lapse in coverage raises premiums by about $251 a year, even if you never filed a claim. [Insurance Information Institute](https://www.iii.org/article/how-often-should-i-review-my-policy-0) |

## Supplies 5

| What | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Restock detergent | Monthly | About 90% of a washing machine's energy goes into heating water. Cold-wash detergent saves nearly all of it. |
| Restock paper towels | Monthly | Cloth kitchen towels carry coliform bacteria in most homes tested. Paper gets thrown away instead. |
| Restock toilet paper | Monthly | 141 rolls a year is the American average. The 10pm corner-shop run costs about 70% more per roll. |
| Restock trash bags | Monthly | A 56-gallon bag holds about 40 pounds, but the corners are where it tears, usually mid-carry. |
| Check medicine cabinet | Every 6 months | FDA testing found 88% of drug lots still effective past the printed date. Which is not all of them. |

## Finance 8

| What | How often | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly money check-in | Weekly | Charges too small to notice one by one add up to a $133-a-month gap between what people guess and what they spend. [CFPB](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/budgeting/) |
| Review card statement | Monthly | Americans reported $12.5 billion in fraud losses in 2024, up 25% in a year. Statements are where it hides. [FTC](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/using-credit-cards-and-disputing-charges) |
| Check FSA balance | Every 3 months | Half of FSA holders forfeit money back to their employer every year. $441 on average. [IRS](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969) |
| Check rewards & gift cards | Every 3 months | The average American sits on $244 in unused gift cards, plus unredeemed points and cash back on top. [Nerdwallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/travel/learn/when-do-your-frequent-flyer-miles-expire) |
| Check property tax bill | Yearly | 30-60% of US properties are over-assessed, yet under 5% of homeowners ever appeal. Appeals are free. |
| Open enrollment review | Yearly | 9 in 10 employees just re-elect last year's benefits, and half spend under 30 minutes looking. [HealthCare.gov](https://www.healthcare.gov/quick-guide/dates-and-deadlines/) |
| Organize tax documents | Yearly | 1.1 million people forfeited over $1 billion in refunds for one tax year, mostly for want of paperwork. [IRS](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records) |
| Pull free credit reports | Yearly | 1 in 5 credit reports carries an error. 1 in 20 has one big enough to raise what you pay to borrow. [FTC](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports) |

---

### Related

- [Everything a rented flat needs](https://tended.mintbyte.app/everything-a-rented-flat-needs)
- [What to check on a used car](https://tended.mintbyte.app/what-to-check-on-a-used-car)
- [The full home maintenance calendar](https://tended.mintbyte.app/the-full-home-maintenance-calendar)

---

## About Tended

Tended is an iOS app that ships with a researched catalog of 241 recurring maintenance
items across six areas of life: home, health, digital, car, supplies and finances. Every
item carries a recommended interval and the reason it matters, and most cite a named
source. The intervals quoted on this page come from that catalog.

Setup is a short conversation: you pick the part of life to start with and answer up to
seven questions about it, and the app spreads the items that apply across the next twelve
months. $39.99 a year with the first month free, or $6.99 a month. iPhone, iOS 26 or later.

https://tended.mintbyte.app