Home Maintenance in America: Perception vs. Reality

Home maintenance isn’t anyone’s favorite weekend project, but skipping it can come with a cost. From cracked bathroom grout and worn flooring to disorganized storage areas, small issues left unchecked can lead to bigger problems that affect comfort, safety, and property value.

As a home remodeling brand, Renuity helps homeowners modernize and protect the spaces most prone to wear — like bathrooms, closets, and flooring. Understanding how Americans handle maintenance sheds light on where these problem areas often start, and how proactive upgrades can prevent long-term damage before it takes hold.

To understand just how far behind Americans might be on their home upkeep, we surveyed thousands of people across the country about how often they think common maintenance tasks should be done, and compared their answers to expert recommendations. We also asked homeowners how often they actually complete those tasks and what gets in the way of staying on top of them.

The results reveal a clear pattern: across nearly every state, homeowners are falling short of the ideal schedule. Some are months — while others are years — behind on basic upkeep. Below, we break down which states are the most overdue, how homeowners’ habits stack up against expert advice, and what these gaps mean for the long-term health of their homes.

The States Most Behind on Their Home Maintenance

Even the simplest home maintenance tasks can fall through the cracks. But over time, skipping those small jobs adds up. To see which parts of the country are falling the furthest behind, we surveyed people from every state about how often they think common maintenance tasks should be done and compared their answers to expert recommendations.

Using those results, we calculated each state’s total “maintenance debt,” or how many months per year residents are collectively overdue on routine upkeep.

States That Let Maintenance Go the Longest

Residents in some parts of the country are more apt to let even basic maintenance tasks go for much longer than suggested. The states below recorded the highest “maintenance debt,” meaning residents’ perceived upkeep schedules trail expert recommendations by up to two years. HVAC filter replacements, water heater flushes, and mold checks are among the most commonly delayed tasks.

1. 1. Washington – 24.5 months behind
      • HVAC filter replacement: 7.8 months overdue
      • Flushing hot water heater: 8 months overdue
      • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 1.6 months overdue
      • Checking for mold or water damage: 7.1 months overdue

       

   2. Oklahoma – 21.1 months behind
      • HVAC filter replacement: 6.4 months overdue
      • Flushing hot water heater: 6.5 months overdue
      • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0.9 months overdue
      • Checking for mold or water damage: 7.4 months overdue

       

   3. Hawaii – 20.8 months behind
      • HVAC filter replacement: 7.7 months overdue
      • Flushing hot water heater: 6.3 months overdue
      • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
      • Checking for mold or water damage: 6.8 months overdue

       

   4. California – 20.5 months behind
      • HVAC filter replacement: 7.6 months overdue
      • Flushing hot water heater: 7 months overdue
      • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
      • Checking for mold or water damage: 6 months overdue

       

   5. Vermont – 20.4 months behind
      • HVAC filter replacement: 7.3 months overdue
      • Flushing hot water heater: 6.8 months overdue
      • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0.6 months overdue
      • Checking for mold or water damage: 5.7 months overdue

Pacific and West Coast states lead the list, and their damp climate means delayed upkeep is more likely to cause swelling or warping in high-moisture areas like bathrooms or around windows and doors. When moisture seeps into flooring, framing, or behind old shower walls, damage often goes unnoticed until it becomes a larger structural concern. 

Remodeling these areas with durable, moisture-resistant materials can help homeowners stay ahead of hidden deterioration.

States That Are Most Up to Date on Home Maintenance

On the other end of the spectrum, we have states whose residents are more on top of their regular maintenance. Though they’re still behind overall, these homeowners keep closer to recommended schedules, particularly for tasks tied to preventing moisture and storm damage.

1. North Carolina – 12.9 months behind
   • HVAC filter replacement: 2.7 months overdue
   • Flushing hot water heater: 4.6 months overdue
   • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
   • Checking for mold or water damage: 5.6 months overdue

    

2. Florida – 12.9 months behind
   • HVAC filter replacement: 3 months overdue
   • Flushing hot water heater: 4.3 months overdue
   • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
   • Checking for mold or water damage: 5.7 months overdue

    

3. Louisiana – 13.5 months behind
   • HVAC filter replacement: 2 months overdue
   • Flushing hot water heater: 5.1 months overdue
   • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
   • Checking for mold or water damage: 6.3 months overdue

    

4. West Virginia – 13.6 months behind
   • HVAC filter replacement: 4.6 months overdue
   • Flushing hot water heater: 4.8 months overdue
   • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
   • Checking for mold or water damage: 4.2 months overdue

    

5. Mississippi – 13.9 months behind
   • HVAC filter replacement: 3.4 months overdue
   • Flushing hot water heater: 4.4 months overdue
   • Inspecting roof or attic for leaks: 0 months overdue
   • Checking for mold or water damage: 6.1 months overdue

Southern states tend to stay more current on home maintenance, likely because their warm, humid climates make it harder to ignore issues like mold or moisture buildup. Staying proactive about sealing showers, maintaining caulk, and replacing worn flooring helps prevent humidity-related damage that’s common in these regions. Consistent upkeep in these areas also supports better indoor comfort and energy efficiency, especially in older homes.

Across the country, even the most attentive homeowners are still months behind on simple maintenance. And while these small delays might not seem like much, they can lead to bigger issues over time — from warped flooring to failing bathroom seals or storage areas affected by dampness. For those realizing their home could use some professional attention, remodeling key areas like bathrooms or basement flooring can help prevent recurring maintenance problems and protect a home’s long-term value.

Next, we’ll explore what our homeowner survey revealed about how often people actually perform these tasks, and how those habits stack up against expert recommendations.

How Often Homeowners Are Doing Maintenance

Even the most diligent homeowners can lose track of how often routine maintenance should be done. Between busy schedules and the occasional “I’ll get to it later,” small delays can become long-term neglect. To better understand where homeowners stand at large, we asked them how frequently they perform ten common maintenance tasks and compared their responses to expert recommendations.

How Long Homeowners Are Putting Off Maintenance Tasks

Across nearly every category, Americans are letting simple maintenance slide longer than they should. While a few tasks are being done more often than recommended, most are happening months, or even years, later than experts suggest.

• Cleaning the washing machine
  • Recommended: monthly
  • Actually done: every 4.6 months 
  • 3.6 months late

   

• Replacing HVAC air filters
  • Recommended: every 3 months
  • Actually done: every 5.2 months
  • 2.2 months late

   

• Cleaning exhaust fans
  • Recommended: every 3 months
  • Actually done: every 8.1 months
  • 5.1 months late

   

• Cleaning the dishwasher
  • Recommended: every 3 months
  • Actually done: every 4.4 months
  • 1.4 months late

   

• Checking for mold or water damage
  • Recommended: every 3 months
  • Actually done: every 6.2 months
  • 3.2 months late

   

• Cleaning gutters
  • Recommended: every 6 months
  • Actually done: every 10.2 months
  • 4.2 months late

   

• Cleaning ceiling fans
  • Recommended: every 6 months
  • Actually done: every 5.8 months
  • 0.2 months early

   

• Flushing the water heater
  • Recommended: every 6 months
  • Actually done: every 12.5 months
  • 6.5 months late

   

• Deep cleaning the home
  • Recommended: every 12 months
  • Actually done: every 6 months
  • 6 months early

   

• Inspecting the roof for leaks
  • Recommended: every 12 months
  • Actually done: every 9.9 months
  • 2.1 months early

The biggest delays involve tasks that are out of sight and easy to overlook — like exhaust fans, water heaters, and hidden signs of water damage. Those same overlooked issues often affect high-moisture areas such as bathrooms or laundry spaces, where neglected caulk or tile seals can allow water to seep in unnoticed. 

Meanwhile, visible chores such as cleaning fans or deep cleaning the home are handled more consistently, suggesting that homeowners prioritize what they can see over what prevents long-term deterioration.

How Homeowners Approach Maintenance

When it comes to how homeowners feel about maintenance, most admit they could be doing better. While confidence varies, many still take a hands-on approach to basic repairs.

• Nearly 1 in 4 homeowners (23%) feel confident in their ability to handle home repairs, but just 7% say they’re very confident.
• Men (30%) are almost twice as likely as women (18%) to say they feel some level of confidence with home repairs.

The most common DIY maintenance tasks include:

• Changing air filters (89%)
• Replacing caulk or sealant in the bathroom (67%)
• Cleaning exhaust fans (62%)
• Cleaning gutters (51%)

Even with that confidence, more than half of homeowners admit they aren’t keeping up:

• 55% have intentionally put off home maintenance only to regret it later.
• 52% describe themselves as “reactive homeowners,” addressing issues only after problems arise.

When asked what’s standing in the way, the top reasons were:

• Cost (42%)
• Simply not thinking about it (22%)
• Time (21%)
• Lack of knowledge (15%)

That mix of cost, time, and awareness helps explain why many homeowners delay maintenance in areas that require regular attention, like bathrooms and garages. Left unchecked, small cracks in grout or worn floor coatings can let moisture spread beneath surfaces. The irony is that these problems often start small — a loose tile, an unsealed corner — and grow more expensive the longer they’re ignored.

Some homeowners would rather pay to skip the hassle altogether. On average, Americans say they’d spend nearly $6,000 to never have to do another maintenance task again, though some respondents said they’d pay tens of thousands for a maintenance-free home. Modern remodels that feature easy-clean surfaces, slip-resistant floors, and low-maintenance finishes offer a practical path for reducing upkeep while improving comfort and appearance.

Keeping up with maintenance is rarely exciting, but it’s essential. Regular care prevents bigger problems, protects property value, and extends the life of high-use spaces like bathrooms, laundry rooms, and walk-in closets. For homeowners whose repair lists have grown too long, remodeling those spaces with durable materials and updated designs can make ongoing upkeep easier for years to come.

Closing Thoughts

Across the country, homeowners are falling behind on even the simplest upkeep. From delayed HVAC filter changes to forgotten water heater flushes, routine maintenance often slips through the cracks, and those small lapses can turn into big repairs over time.

Our study shows that while most people understand the importance of home maintenance, the gap between what should be done and what actually gets done continues to grow. Especially in the rooms that see the most daily use. Bathrooms, laundry spaces, and entryways are particularly vulnerable to moisture and wear, and neglected upkeep in those areas can quietly affect a home’s comfort, safety, and efficiency.

For homeowners ready to close that gap, proactive remodeling can make a lasting difference. Upgrading old bathrooms with waterproof materials, refinishing worn floors with protective coatings, and improving storage solutions are all ways to reduce future maintenance and make everyday care easier. These updates not only refresh how a home looks, but also strengthen it against the problems that build up when small repairs are delayed.

Renuity helps homeowners modernize the spaces they rely on most — from bathroom renovations to flooring and home storage upgrades. By addressing long-term maintenance issues through durable design and quality materials, Renuity helps create homes that are easier to maintain and built to last.

Methodology 

To learn more about home maintenance perceptions across the U.S., we surveyed over 3,300 people in total, asking them how frequently they believe basic home maintenance tasks should be done and compared their answers to generally accepted recommendations of how often they should actually be done. We segmented responses to those questions by state and found the parts of the country with the widest gaps in home maintenance knowledge.

We also surveyed a population of homeowners, asking them how frequently they actually do basic home maintenance tasks, how confident they are in maintaining their home, and what the biggest barriers to proactive home maintenance are.

To measure how far behind each state was on upkeep, we created a maintenance debt metric. For every task, we compared the state’s average reported cadence to the recommended cadence, calculated how many months per year that task would be overdue, and summed those delays to find each state’s total number of months behind on maintenance.

States not included due to insufficient survey respondents: Alaska and Wyoming.

Fair Use 

You are welcome to use, reference, and share non-commercial excerpts of this study with proper attribution. If you cite or cover our findings, please link back to this page so readers can view the full methodology, charts, and context.