Spring is right around the corner!
With spring coming our way soon, we wanted to give you some spring cleaning tips and shed some light on some common things people don't even realize need some maintenance.
One of the most important things that requires changing is something that we have already alluded to in a previous post, smoke & CO detector batteries. Clocks will be changing next week and that means its time to swap out all batteries in your detectors in the whole house. Forgetting this is a literal life & death matter in many cases, so this is of paramount importance. Besides changing batteries, there are several other items of high importance that we will discuss that most homeowners tend to miss or forget.
First, you want to check on your roof & gutters. Shingles, roofing & gutters can be easily damaged during winter months from ice and the enormous weight that snow puts on the roof itself. Also, the summer months will put extreme heat on the roof which would lead to decaying shingles which could have easily been replaced before the warmer months.
Next, you will want to check the wood around door frames and windows to see if there has been any decay or rotting. These may also be affected during the winter months from snow and ice, and dry rot can become much worse as access is usually limited. Repairing or replacing these items can help save you on energy costs during the summer months.
Having your chimney inspected is also a great idea. Again, snow & ice can damage your flue which could lead to increasing energy costs to cool your home. We also recommend cleaning your chimney to prevent fire risks if you burn natural wood (as opposed to gas logs). We will visit this in a future blog post as well.
Checking your homes foundation for signs or cracking and for any other damage or areas that need cleaning is also a great thing to tend to during spring cleaning. Concrete is susceptible to cracking from ice expanding during the winter, and may need spot repairs and re-sealing after a good cleaning to increase its longevity.
Our final tip is to check your central air unit (if you have one). This may require some routine maintenance from a certified repairman in order to ensure that it will run smoothly for the entire summer. Make sure to have a repairman come out to see if everything is in order.
Before we wrap up, there is also an alternative to spring cleaning, which is to have a home inspection done by an ASHI certified home inspector. With less than 35 percent of homeowners actually completing a spring cleaning of their home, ASHI recommends that you hire an inspector to come out to identify which areas of your home require attention so that when you begin your spring cleaning regimen you can target the problem areas without wasting time on something that does not require any attention. For more info, visit this webpage: http://www.homeinspector.org/The-Spring-Cleaning-Alternative-Home-Inspections-a-Quick-and-Simple-Alternative-to-Traditional-Spring-Cleaning
We hope that all of this information was helpful! Keep a look out for our next post regarding AC & central air maintenance coming next week!
