My house is pretty expensive to maintain and when I look at all the things I'm supposed to do, it would take every weekend and hundreds of dollars to do! But I question how many of these regular maintenance things are really needed.
HVAC Systems:
Growing up, no one ever "serviced" the furnace. When it broke, you called "the guy". He fixed it, and then you went another 10 or 20 years before it broke again. Those fixes were expensive, but you didn't pay any money for 10 years, then it kind of evens out.
Now, I have two systems in my house and am expected to have both of them serviced, twice per year. The going rate (if you sign a long term contract) is $500-600 per year for both systems. Our units are 5 years old and low quality installed by the developer. There is a known defect in one of the systems, which seems to kill the system at about the 5 year mark (more than 45 instances of this in my smallish neighborhood). 4 years ago, I decided to stop paying for the twice/year service calls. I'm pretty sure in this case I made the right call. I change the filters pretty regularly, but don't do anything else.
Have: is anything more than changing filters really needed?
Dishwasher: I've never done anything unless there is something visibly wrong (water pooling or a smell). Some places tell you to disassemble the filter once a month.
Faucets: no changing/cleaning of aerators or washers unless a problem. Some people change these once per year.
Water heater: I think I will flush the water heater this year, but I've never done it before. I never did it in my condo, and it lasted the "normal lifespan" of a water heater.
Caulking of windows: I think I should have this done, but can't find anyone willing to do the outside upper floors. It's going to be expensive because it will require scaffolding.
So how many of these systems really need the recommended maintenance and how many can go without?