- HOUSE-A-TOSIS If your home has an odor it's best to discover the source and eliminate it before hiding it with scented candles and air fresheners. Try closing the doors to each room for a few days to see which room the odor is concentrated in. If the odor seems to come from everywhere check the heat and air system. Common sources are mold/mildew, moisture, animals or pests. A lesser known tip is if you have little used bathrooms, the water can evaporate from the drain traps of sinks, toilets and bathtubs. Sink traps are not really designed to catch wedding rings. They are there to trap water and keep the sewer gases and pests from entering your home. It's a great idea to run the sinks and tubs at least once per week to keep water in the drain traps.
- HOUSE MUST BREATHE: If your home has a crawl space, make sure that it ventillates well. Especially in the hot summer months. Often the foundation vents are blocked with shrubs and bushes. Keep the vents cleared and consider replacing the solid crawl space access door with one that has a screen in it during the hot months. Have the crawl space checked at least twice a year, and have the moisture readings checked.
- Don't forget to LOOK-UP: FALLING OBJECTS Recently, a close friend was killed in an accident by a falling tree branch. Tree branches can fall anytime. look up in the trees in your yard often and remove dead branches. Even fairly small branches can poke a hole in your roof. So remember to "look-up" . Keep a safe home.
- PLAN YOUR PLANTING: If your planting trees or shrubs remember to plan ahead and allow for the plant to grow. I inspected a home that had crape-myrtles planted down the side of the home, two feet from the foundation. In a few years these will grow very large and can cause damage to the foundation, soffits, eaves, and roof. So plan ahead and plant those new trees and shrubs as though they were already 20 years old.
|
