Washington Federal : 5 Myths that Can Devalue a Home

You've saved for a down payment, searched for a house, kept your fingers crossed during bidding wars, and you've finally got it…the perfect home! Now you want to make sure you're taking care of it, right? Unfortunately many age-old methods of homecare may actually be doing more harm to your house than good.

Adding 'nice-to-haves' - sunroom, pool, or outdoor kitchen.

If you're considering making some updates to your home, then you should be thinking about the future financial impact of your changes as well as today's wants. While some remodel projects may pay themselves off when it comes time to resale, like an updated kitchen, others are much more likely only to give you a return by way of personal enjoyment.

In general, niche, specific updates and remodels that don't have mass appeal or use probably won't allow you to recoup the cost of the change.

What are those? Adding a sunroom, pool, outdoor kitchen, or home office have some of the lowest ROIs.

The numbers of people that may be interested, and willing to pay for, those features are fewer, whereas almost everyone uses the bathroom or kitchen or appreciates an additional bedroom.

'Cleaning up' rusty railings.

Let's face it - rusty, chipped railways outside a home just look bad. While the fastest way to get rid of this unsightly situation may be to simply add a fresh coat of paint, you could be making things worse. Unless you completely scrape off the rust, it will prevent your new paint from holding - which means you'll be right back where you started in no time.

Adding another bedroom is the best remodeling ROI.

While the number of bedrooms is top of mind for many house hunters when deciding whether or not to view a home, it's not everything. If you are remodeling with the future in mind, there are some projects that you may want to consider before adding another bedroom to your house, like new insulation or roof.

Check out Remodeling Magazine's 2017Cost versus Value Survey for inspiration. The top three projects with the most future value include attic insulation (with fiberglass), entry door replacement (with steel) and manufactured stone veneer.

Putting lemon rinds in your garbage disposal.

Sure it may smell good, but putting lemon rinds in your garbage disposal can also clog things up and could leave you with a hefty plumbing bill. For a better solution, try baking soda and white vinegar.

Using the wrong cleaning products.

Using white vinegar is a great, toxic-free way to clean up your home, but be careful where you're using it, like on grout, where it can cause yellowing and make it crumble. What else could you be cleaning wrong? Here's a list to help.