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I Used AI to Help Me Stay Ahead of Home Maintenance. Here’s How

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By news.saerio.com

I Used AI to Help Me Stay Ahead of Home Maintenance. Here’s How


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Your home can be a worthy adversary in the battle of time suckage: Gutters need clearing, railings need securing and walls need painting. But the worst home maintenance of all is the invisible kind. The leaky pipe in the crawl space that silently betrays you while you’re focused on increasing curb appeal.

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AI Atlas

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It’s not just that you don’t want to do it. You probably don’t, but anyone who’s ever snaked a clogged drain  knows the longer you wait, the messier the job gets. The good news? AI tools can give you a leg up, helping you use your elbow grease and rainy day fund wisely.

Here’s how to use AI to keep up with home maintenance.

Take your insurance seriously 

Homeowners insurance isn’t just there to cost a fortune. Theoretically, you should be able to make a claim and recoup certain costs, but wading through the jungle of legalese and policy inclusions can tax even the sharpest of homeowners’ minds. 

AI tools can help you crawl your homeowners insurance policy for benefits you might be missing out on. I used Microsoft Copilot to review a 29-page standard policy in Ohio and generate an easy-to-reference breakdown of what those large homeowner payments actually cover.

Microsoft Copilot's analysis of a homeowners insurance document.

Important documents such as homeowners insurance policies can be complicated, but an AI chatbot can help summarize them and point you to the parts you need to know. Just be sure to check what the AI says against the actual document.

Copilot/Screenshot by CNET

I was surprised to find volcanic eruptions listed as covered damage in an Ohio insurance policy — but anything is possible, I guess. The policy also covers damage from failing HVAC systems and spoiled food if the power goes out. That’s good to keep in mind as we head into what’s already shaping up to be a record-breaking heat season.

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Microsoft Copilot's advice of insurance perks for home maintenance

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A chatbot can pull out any potential insurance programs that can help you with home maintenance.

Copilot/Screenshot by CNET

The known unknowns

A lot of new homeowners aren’t yet hip to the potential horrors that come with the pillar of the American dream known as homeownership. You may have always dreamed of owning a house with a pool, but I’ll bet those fantasies didn’t include chlorine tablets and flooded water pumps.

AI can help you take stock of your home’s quirks, danger zones and risk factors. I asked Google’s Gemini to round up the trouble that might be waiting around the corner.

Gemini's answer to a prompt about likely home maintenance issues and risks for a 1940s Los Angeles home.

Gemini has some guesses about what problems a particular type of home might have.

Gemini/Screenshot by CNET

Gemini was spot-on when it came to the plumbing, which was mercifully replaced with copper in the early 2000s. The note about adding French drains was also accurate, as we had one installed just last winter, right in time for two straight weeks of heavy rain 

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Copilot's suggestions for seasonal home maintenance.

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–> Copilot/Screenshot by CNET

The note about the electrical panel was timely, and the termite inspection raised the hairs on the back of my neck. We’ve never had the house inspected for termites, and seeing “high-activity zone” definitely makes the need feel urgent.

Mountains to mole hills

Sometimes a gopher pile is just an isolated eyesore. Other times, it’s a sign of something way more serious happening right under your feet. Waiting to find out could be a recipe for a destroyed lawn and an expensive fix. 

I used AI to give me some tips about how to deal with a creature I assumed was a gopher I’d noticed in my garden. Claude AI was able to ID the little bugger from a few screenshots in a nighttime video I took, and told me it was most likely a vole and not a gopher.

A chatbot interface with some pictures of a rodent of some kind, with Claude identifying it as a vole.

I asked Claude to identify what I thought was a gopher and to come up with a strategy for keeping it away.

Claude/Screenshot by CNET

The tool also generated some options for deterring and dealing with the creatures so they don’t destroy my poppies and flowering plants. 

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A plan for deterring voles, including barriers, habitat modification and repellents.

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–> Claude/Screenshot by CNET

Spoiler alert: The only thing I’ve found that actually works on gophers and voles is underground mesh, but bless Claude’s heart for being optimistic about castor oil.

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