With Spring knocking on our door we thought it would be a good idea to look at some maintenance items for our homes and yours. As a home owner you want to be proactive about the care of your home to retain its value and to serve you and those who live at the home well. Springtime is often thought of as a time for cleaning but all seasons bring times for special maintenance touches that will keep your home in tip top shape.
Let’s look at some ideas as we look to Spring and beyond.
1. Clean outside green mildew or black mold. This is not only pretty unsightly but also can infect deeper into homes and even affect health. Outside mildew and mold can be easier to deal with than inside and pressure washing the house is the recommended method for maintaining it.
2. Clean the unclog the gutters. Mold and gunk build up pretty badly from the gutters and, if not dealt with, new things can grow and damage the outside of the house or the roof with roots. Pressure washing can be useful here as well, but you may need to dig them out with hand tools with stubborn clogs.
3. Check for ant trails and hills. Black ants are a common pest in the Smokies and while being far from dangerous are still an irritant for many. Many stores carry effective outdoor ant control products that can be used without damaging the lawn or ground.
4. Treating areas for mice. Another common pest that may be more difficult or even potentially dangerous are some of the mice that we get in our homes in the Smokies. Our area has White-footed Deer Mice which carry Hantavirus. Hantavirus is a rare problem that most our inhabitants will never have to really worry about, but may be more dangerous to pets like cats that might eat mice or mice that might enter birdcages. Looking and fixing openings mice can enter and having mouse traps/poison are often effective at keeping them at bay.
5. Fixing up screens or entry points for raccoons. Probably the biggest headache in common Smoky Mountains pests are raccoons, which all of us frequently see and hear outside our homes. They are intelligent animals with incredible dexterity and are more interested in our outdoor trash than they are entering our homes or bothering with us, but raccoons entering homes and causing destruction is a reality for some each year. Repair any openings in screens and other entry points and make sure you don’t leave food or trash or other potential foods outside for them to get hooked on.
6. Mow the lawn. Winter is a time when we take a break from lawn mowing in the Smokies as the grass dies out and does not grow again until March, but trapped water and undergrowth and fallen treebranches and such can create environments where mold and pests can proliferate. If possible, leave areas that attract bees alone so we can continue to help the bee population.
7. Check for wasp nests. Unlike bees, wasps are not in short worldly supply and can be a potentially dangerous threat if you are allergic to beestings. We don’t often see wasp nests until April or May, but we start seeing wasps as early as March and that means they have nests somewhere. Wasp sprays can be effective at treating nests, but I would recommend a professional pest control person should deal with it.
8. Trimming the overgrowth. Unsightly and a contributor both for growing mold on the outside of houses and providing pests a way to get onto your house. Ants, mice, squirrels and even raccoons can use a tiny, thin tree branch to gain access to your home.
9. Check dryer lint vents going outside. A more overlooked maintenance chore that can cause problems from inside the home on out (including the potential for a fire hazard), dryer lint vents going outside should be checked for obstructions, lint, mold or any evidence of pests.
10. Replace air filter. This is a thing you should do monthly, but we often don’t. Air filters trap allergens and other air pollutants in the house that keep our living environment clean to breathe in and, especially if you make liberal use of the HVAC during the cold and hot seasons, will get black with trapped pollutants sooner than you think. Protect your air with a new air filter every time you can remember to check.
If you’d like to know more about homes in the Smoky Mountains and what it’s like to live here, contact me today at https://luisadees.com/contact-form/.
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