Monday, May 26, 2008

Get Your Home Ready For Summer!

Today’s Memorial Day, so enjoy your hammock, BBQ, pool or whatever relaxation that you have planned, but don’t forget to prepare your home for summer. It’s here and in someplaces moreso than others, especially being in Florida.

First and foremost, have your a/c checked to make sure that it is running properly and efficiently. Most of us already have our air conditioning units on all of the time and with July and August coming up they are going to working full throttle.

Also, make sure that you change your filters regularly and don’t buy the cheap ones. The are generally not as good as the pleated air filters and will allow dirt and debris through ultimately clogging up your coils and therefore a more costly repair than just spending a little extra of a better filter. Even if the filter states that it is good for 90 days, change it at 60 days. With the amount of dust that we have here this is necessary. You know that once you clean your home, there is already a layer of dust there. This is something that you can’t get away from in Florida.

Clean that clothes dryer vent. Yes, it is a pain and difficult for some to do. In that case, hire someone to do it. It is generally not that costly of an expense and there are several local companies that do this work. This is not only important in regard to your clothes dry running efficiently, but more importantly poses a fire hazard.

Clean the tracks of sliding glass doors. This is very simple and easy to do, but very much overlooked by many. Just vacuum up any loose debris and then wipe/wash the tracks clean. This will allow your sliding glass doors to operate more easily.

Check seals around doors and windows. With the driving rains that we get quite often, this is important to prevent water intrusion and the myriad of issues that can and will create.

Keep those leaders and gutters clear. A clogged gutter will most likely cause a rotted fascia & trim. And with the amount of rain that we hope to get, you want the rainwater to flow easily.

Let’s not forget our lawns and yards. Make sure that you treat them for pests and fertilize before it gets too rainy. Try to make sure that tree limbs are not overhanging your home. Not only is this not good with hurricane season starting shortly, but also gives insects another way into your home.

And with that in mind, make sure that you are preparing for the advent of hurricane season. Check batteries, alternate lighting and radios. Make sure that you have canned food and water on hand. We’ll go more into this in another post shortly.

This is just a small list and I’m sure that we can extend this greatly. Hope you all have a great summer and enjoy!!

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