Summer Home Improvement Basics–Essentials

Summer brings with it increased hours of daylight, lots more time outdoors and also time for some home improvement projects that may have sat on the sidelines for months, even years. In the winter it’s cold, it gets dark early, and our daylight hours are spent handling home emergencies. But come spring and summer, all this changes. We get excited, and just as we make resolutions after New Years about self-improvement, the same thing happens around this time of year regarding our most valuable property–our homes. Don’t make the mistake of trying to bite off some massive job unless the smaller things are in order. That means tackling that most boring of projects–maintenance.

The wear and tear our homes go through on a yearly basis is enormous. Roofs are aging, as are heating and electrical systems. Plumbing problems may have been accumulating without your even suspecting it. Painting jobs have faded and mold may have been accumulating on roofs and on siding in the humid areas of the country. The thing that’s crucial is to take some time to list all the areas that need to be maintained and the little cleaning jobs or sprucing up that is needed to make your home a smooth-running place of refuge and relaxation. It’s time to take a look around your house–the attic, the kitchen and bath, the ceilings and walls, and the fireplaces.

Maintenance should start with the major systems. The homeowner can do much of this. Check the filters and aerators on all faucets to make sure they’re not clogged with deposits. Clean them out or replace them. Check and replace leaky faucets and lose washers. Check and/or replace the filters on the furnace and close the flue of the fireplace. Replace filters on the window units of air conditioners. Vacuum the intake units in the ceilings to clean them and vacuum the fronts of window fans and the blades and motors of ceiling fans to make them run more efficiently. Check the filter in the vent-a-hood of the stove and replace or clean it, because it can be dangerous if left with accumulated soot and grease. Just changing filters, faucet fittings and aerators will mean fewer problems with these items down the road.

Now to a really grungy job that nobody likes–cleaning the refrigerator. Pull it out and vacuum the back carefully and thoroughly. The heat generated by the motor can really put a strain on this appliance if it’s not cleaned thoroughly and it will run less efficiently. Pull out and clean the drain pan. It will probably make you gag to see how absolutely filthy it has gotten. Once done with this, bite the bullet and clean out the entire inside of the refrigerator completely with ammonia and water. Place an opened box of baking soda at the back and replace all the food. It’s amazing how the life of any appliance can be vastly prolonged with some cleaning and vacuuming. Do the same with all filters for all appliances in the home.

Next, check pipes and wiring. Any leaky pipes should be noted and if you’re handy with a lug wrench and know how, tightening it may do the trick. If not, at least note which pipes are leaky and call a plumber later to see about them. Much of the wiring that can be seen is in the attic or basement. The rest is behind walls or under insulation in the ceiling. If you see frayed wires take note of the location and label for later attention. While in the attic look carefully at the mortar in the chimney. Where it’s chalking and caked, scrape away and re-mortar. It’s not hard and any good small hardware store clerk should be able to show you what to buy and tips on how to do this. Look at all the places that pipes enter the attic and the area around the chimneys and flues. See if there is any daylight coming through at all and make a note. While at the hardware store, get some proper caulk to seal these leaks or openings in addition to working on the chimney.

Now, outside, look up to the roof. Are there streaks or greenish black spots on it? If so, you probably have a mold or fungus problem, so common in the southeast. There are some reliable chimney repair companies in my city. One of them is called Roof Redeemers. Look in the Yellow Pages to see if you have any in your town. They can spray-clean a roof and get rid of that discoloration–a sign of mold/fungus that can actually cause premature aging of any roof. Now look for that same discoloration on siding. It can be cleaned off with Clorox and a good scrub brush. You can do this yourself. Get your kids in on the action. And lastly, look around pipe entrances to see if there are openings where critters could enter the house. Mice, raccoons, squirrels can wreck havoc on wiring and do real damage to attic insulation. Seal them with sheet metal or a material that can be sprayed over an area, and which hardens into a solid mass. They will tell you what it is at any hardware store. Once all this is finished, you can expect lower cooling bills and heating bills come winter. If a plumber or electrician is needed for the wiring or pipes where problems were found, bite the bullet and get a service person there now. Don’t wait and forget about it. It may take a month to get all these things done, but once done, they will mean an easy night’s sleep and the knowledge that some real problems have been taken care of and your home is solidly in shape for the heat of summer.