Indoor Summer Maintenance Projects (and safety tips)

With Fall right around the corner, this is a great time to make sure some of the “little things” indoors are in tip top shape. You may not realize it, but some of the simplest fixes, if delayed, can lead to big problems. Here are five tips many people don’t think about. Make sure you check into these potential problem areas before it’s too late.
 
1. Check your Dryer Vent
 
If you’re like most people and you have the convenience of a clothes dryer indoors, it is very important to be sure that dryer vent is regularly cleared out. Symptoms of a blocked vent include clothes taking longer than normal to dry and (yikes) a hot burning smell when you dry your clothes. Blocked dryer vents are a major source of house fires! You can purchase a kit at most hardware stores fairly inexpensively.
 
Be sure to include vent cleaning as part of your regular indoor maintenance routine. AND never leave your dryer to run while you are away or while you are sleeping. Safety First!!
 
2. Clean or replace your air filters
 
If summer air conditioning is bringing on the sneezles and sniffles, maybe your air filter is to blame! Standard replacement/cleaning suggestions for your home air filter range from every 6 months to one year if you have no pets or allergies to every 30 days if you are a pet owner or allergy sufferer.
 
If you have one of the fancy cleanable kind, now is a great time to take it outside, lean it up against a convenient tree and hose it down! If your system uses a disposable filter, consider replacing it now before it’s time to close the doors and windows to crank up the heater this winter.
 
And be sure to add a cleaning/replacement schedule to your list of home maintenance items so your filter is clean before you begin to suffer.
 
 3. Hardwood floors
 
What better time to renew the finish on those hardwood floors?
 
Every wood floor needs to be refinished periodically, but the trick is to get to the job before the old finish wears through. If you do, you can apply a fresh coat without messy sanding. You can extend the life of your floor by decades if you’re able to refinish before you have to sand.
 
If your floor is in good condition, repair any scratches and apply a hardwood floor refinisher. If it’s really scratched up, you may need to call in a professional to buff the floor and apply a fresh finish.
 
If you put it off, the result can be an expensive sanding job, or you may even need to replace the flooring!
 
4. Check for appliance recalls
 
Consumer Reports recently announced during a recent 3 year period over 150,000 faulty appliances caused 3,670 injuries, 150 deaths and over $547 million in damage. Many of these appliances had been recalled by the manufacturer!!
 
Take a moment now and check your appliances for recall by going here:  http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/
 
You’ll be glad you did!
 
5. Check for leaks
 
It’s that time of year again! Look for leaky areas under your sinks, dark spots under pipes, inside cabinets, stains on ceilings and drips.
 
And it’s more than just water damage that’s a concern. Termites and certain kinds of ants LOVE to munch on soggy wet stuff.
 
If you’d prefer not to be sticking your head under cabinets looking for leaks (and or munchy bugs) we’re here to help! Call in your favorite Fix-It Professional for our August Special Price and you can enjoy the last few weeks of summer and let us do the work.
 
Read on for our August Special!