Have lint accumulation at exterior dryer vents cleaned/cleared away. Not only is it unsightly, but it prevents proper ventilation of the dryer appliance within the home.
It’s super easy to clean exterior dryer vents. Here’s a link I found online with some great tips and advice. Here’s how to clean your dryer vent in 5 easy steps – CNET
Caring for a home can be a daunting job, so it is helpful to break maintenance tasks down to monthly check lists. Here’s All Islands Home Inspections’ recommendations:
Hope you find this useful and timely informative! If you’re looking for a top notch home inspection in Anacortes, Washington or the San Juan Islands (including Orcas Island, Friday Harbor, Lopez Island, and Shaw Island) to keep you from buying “The Money Pit,” then you need Tim Hance of All Islands Home Inspections working for you! Over the past 8 years, we’ve protected over 3,200 buyers from unexpected post-closing expenses. Call (360) 298-1163 to schedule your Anacortes or San Juan Islands Home Inspection today!
October means it’s about to get cold and brings with it lots of homeowner tasks. Among other things, remember to:
The burners on an electric range get dirty with caked-on messes, often after a single use. The best way to keep your burners clean is to clean them after every use. Messes are much easier to remove when they are fresh. Make sure the burners have sufficiently cooled before attempting to clean. Use a kitchen towel to wipe the cool burners clean of any spills after use. Rubbing alcohol will remove caked-on messes and sanitize. For more difficult messes, soak a kitchen towel with rubbing alcohol and set it on top of the stain for an hour or two. This will soften the mess and make it easier to wipe away. For a detailed, soap-and-soda approach to clean the burners, see this Ehow article.
Here’s some great information about Home Maintenance that can go a long way to ensuring a clean home inspection.
ManageMyLife.com has some suggestions for home maintenance:
After all the holiday traffic your hardwood floors and carpets may be looking a little worse for the wear. Maintaining good hardwood floor care is not an easy task, but with these doityourself.com tips, you will be able to remove stains, polish, and keep your hardwood floor looking new. The site also has a good carpet cleaning article to help you clean, remove stains and extend the life of your carpets.
At a recent home inspection in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island, I discovered a gas fireplace clearly due for servicing and cleaning. When you begin to see a white, brown or black film beginning to present on the glass front of the fireplace, that’s your first sign that the appliance is due for servicing. As the video explains, it is highly recommended that you hire a professional to do so because if it’s not done properly, you risk carbon monoxide entering the home and soot byproducts outlining the ceiling and wall studs in the home. Manufacturers typically advise servicing annually.
Exposed fiberglass underlayment and granular loss were noted at a recent home inspection in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. This was likely caused by someone pressure washing moss off the roof system. The issue is that moss has rhizomes, or roots, that imbed into the roof coverings. When mechanically removed, they take with them the asphalt and granules from the roof coverings, exposing the underlying fiberglass mat, and rendering the roof system compromised. I strongly recommend against the practice of pressure washing as I’ve seen too many roofs destroyed by this practice. Treating your roof on a semi-annual basis with zinc granules is advised to help prevent moss growth. If the growth is pronounced, treatment more often will help speed the process, but it will take time. Personally, I like a perfect roof, so I treat my new roof four (4) times annually with zinc granules readily available at all hardware stores. Some homeowners prefer Tide with bleach, others say baking soda works. Treat, don’t pressure wash!
This video explains why it’s important to have your gas fireplace professionally serviced by a qualified contractor. If you clean the glass front and don’t properly seal the front, you risk combustion byproducts entering the home- which results in CO (carbon monoxide) entering the home- together with combustion byproducts “sooting,” or “ghosting,” your interior walls and ceilings (you’ll see the studs in the walls and ceilings outlined in black and need to repaint). So, this is best left to the professionals for safety and cosmetic reasons. Continue reading