Tag Archives: Home maintenance tips

Home-Maintenance Tips

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Maintaining your home on a regular basis not only keeps it in its best shape, but will also make your home more desirable when it is time to sell. Here are some maintenance tips to follow:

Air Conditioning Repair

HVAC
Heating and cooling systems should be professionally maintained twice yearly. On a monthly basis, be sure to check the filter to see if it needs to be replaced.

Drains
Maintain a clear pathway in your drains with this monthly activity: Pour one tablespoon of salt down the drain, then slowly pour one quarter cup of white vinegar. Let this set for one hour and then flush with hot water. For more serious clogs use a drain snake to pull debris out. Be sure to flush thoroughly with water.

Garbage Disposal
Flush out the disposal on a monthly basis with hot water and baking soda. This will eliminate odors and avoid chances of clogs in the system. To clean the teeth of the grinding blades, drop in a half dozen ice cubes along with a couple of lemon wedges. Run cold water into the disposal for a minute until the wedges are ground up. The ice will clean the grooves of the blades and the lemon freshens the disposal.

SmokeDetector

Smoke Detectors
Replace smoke detector batteries twice a year.

Hot Water Heater
Flush the buildup in your hot water heater twice yearly.

washing machine

Clothes Dryer
Remove lint from the exhaust duct once a year.

Refrigerator
Once a year, vacuum the refrigerator coils underneath this appliance.

Fireplace Chimney
The chimney should be inspected and cleaned every year.

Need help with your home-maintenance needs? Contact Sibcy Cline Home Services.

 

Choosing the Right Furnace Filter for Your Home

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Furnace
The importance of a fresh furnace filter cannot be overstated, and choosing the right one for your home is also crucial.

To choose the right furnace filter, research your options. Purchasing the correct filter is important, because they affect both air quality and the cost of heating the home. Oftentimes better (thicker) filters keep harmful particles out of your home but sometimes the thicker filters decrease the energy efficiency of the unit. On the flip side, homeowners who are more concerned with efficiency may be able to purchase less dense filters on a more frequent basis in order to balance clean are and efficiency. Base your filter choice by determining your priorities. Below are brief descriptions of some of the furnace filter types available to homeowners:

  • Disposable pleated: This sort of filter is a popular choice. It is relatively affordable and effectively blocks small particles. However, it has to be changed often and may actually hinder air flow, which could make heating more expensive.
  • Disposable fiberglass: This option is also inexpensive and the go-to option for many homeowners. This sort of filter is more than serviceable. Particularly, for homeowners without asthma or allergies. Fiberglass allows for more efficient airflow, but typically doesn’t block the smallest particles.
  • Disposable electrostatic: These filters are made of material that actually attracts small particles and catches them, making them solid choices for homeowners seeking clean air. However, they can be expensive to replace, especially for furnaces requiring custom sizes.
  • Permanent electrostatic: Similar to the filters described above, these products are washable, which means there’s no need to spend money replacing them regularly. However, they are less effective than the disposable variety. Similar to disposable electrostatic options, the permanent sort is also quite expensive if you need a custom size.

These are some of the more popular furnace filter options. Consider your needs in terms of air quality and filter size, among other things, to choose the right one for your home.

Brought to you by our preferred Partner, HMS Home Warranty  HMS is an industry leader with over 30 years of creating success for clients and providing peace of mind for customers. To learn more click www.hmsnational.com.

Time to Change the Air Filters and Other House-Maintenance Reminders

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Furnace filter
Many homeowners use the bi-annual time change as a reminder to change the batteries in their smoke alarms. The following are three more home maintenance items that you may want to add to a twice-yearly ritual.

Changing air filters
Every few months, the air filter in a home’s heating system needs to be cleaned or replaced, depending on its type. Failure to do this can result in a less efficient heating system, overworked fans and a significant decrease in air quality. Filters are readily available in your local home improvement stores, and perhaps even in the home cleaning aisle of your local supermarket.

Cleaning dryer ducts
While anyone who has done his or her own laundry knows that a dryer’s filter screen needs to be cleaned between loads, even experienced homeowners don’t know that it is important to regularly clean out the vent to the outside of the home. Over time, bits of lint that aren’t caught by the lint trap will coat the inside of the dryer vent. If left like this, the dryer will work less efficiently, but more importantly, there is a significant risk of fire.

Draining the water heater
Over time, water heaters accumulate sediment toward the bottom of the tank. This sediment can decrease a home’s hot water quality and diminish the heater’s ability to work efficiently. This sediment removed through yearly draining and cleaning, but many homeowners neglect this vital task. Draining the water heater on a consistent schedule will provide better water quality, lower energy bills and a longer lifespan for the appliance.

Remembering to take care of these items will significantly help improve the efficiency and the longest possible useful life of these devices.

HMS Home Warranty is an industry leader with over 30 years of creating success for clients and providing peace of mind for customers. To learn more click www.hmsnational.com.

60-Minute Home Improvements

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60MinuteMaintenanceMany of us know all too well how difficult it can be to find the time to make home improvements, updates, or repairs. If you’re anything like me, you will spend more time considering all the options, costs, and the potential hang-ups of a project than it would probably take to complete it. Below is a list of quick remodel and maintenance projects you can complete in under an hour.

60-Minute Maintenance
– Clean Dryer Ducts
– Pressure Wash
– Replace Furnace Filter
– Drain Water Heater
– Shampoo Rugs

60-Minute Remodels
– Paint an Accent Wall
– Switch Out a Faucet
– Update Cabinet Hardware
– Install a Programmable Thermostat
– Install Light Dimmers

Here are some more ideas and instructions for 60-minute home improvements.

Still don’t have time to tackle all the projects on your list?
Contact Sibcy Cline Home Services.