Eight Home Maintenance Tips for August
Here are eight home maintenance tips that will help keep your home in tip-top shape.
- Clean your kitchen exhaust hood. This is an often forgotten area of the home where grease and grime can build up. Make certain to replace your filter so that your exhaust functions at full capacity.
- Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. When was the last time you checked your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors? We recommend that you check your detectors at least twice a year.
- Run a safety check on your garage door. Put the door into manual mode and lift it: it should glide smoothly and stay open on its own three feet from the ground. If the door fails this test, call in a pro to properly balance the door. Your should also place a small pet or child size object under the door. Activate the automatic door to ensure that the door retracts upon hitting the object – if it fails, call a pro immediately to ensure the safety of your children and pets.
- Clean the condenser coils. We recommend that you vacuum the coils at the back of your fridge annually.
- Check all the ground fault circuit interrupter outlets (GFCI) in your home. For each outlet, push the test button and verify that it has popped out the reset button. Also, verify that anything hooked up to the outlet will no longer power on, push reset and you are done.
- Do you have a natural wood front door? Now is a great time to wash the door and clean the glass around it. Also, check the caulking around the wood trim and replace if necessary.
- Self-clean the oven. It depends on how frequently you use your oven, but we recommend a minimum of a quarterly oven cleaning.
- Look for worn extension cords. Deteriorating plugs are hazardous. If your plugs are worn or frayed, replace them immediately.
