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September 30, 2006 "Turn over a new leaf for Fall ” ByYvonne Jeffery/Calgary Herald Maintenance gets your home ready for autumn Everyone assumes spring is the time to get the house ship-shape for the coming season. But Aaron Wyman, owner of Calgary's A Maid for a Day home cleaning service, says his staff wash just as many walls in fall as they do in spring. "Lots of people do fall cleans just the same way they do a spring clean," he says. "Especially in the fall, you're going into Christmas and some people are still getting the house in shape." He says fall's a great time for chores such as carpet cleaning to help remove dust and other allergens before the house gets closed up for the heating season. He suggests vacuuming the day after the carpets are cleaned, to remove additional debris that has floated to the surface. Other areas that tend to get missed when many of us do our weekly cleaning include appliances (fridges, freezers, stoves, washers and dryers); kitchen cupboards and drawers; closets; the contents of china cabinets; blinds and curtains; and ledges. For tasks such as dusting, Wyman recommends working your way through the house, room by room, going from top to bottom and left to right (if you're left-handed, try right to left). "That way, you don't miss anything." It's not just your home's interior that needs attention. Home inspector Darcy McGregor, of Home-Alyze, says autumn is a great time to make sure your house is ready to handle harsher weather. "Make sure that any painting that needs to be done is done," he says. Use exterior caulking to seal any joints around doors, windows and vents that could let heat our or insects in. Inspect your roof to make sure it's in good condition. Snow and ice can do a lot of damage, McGregor says, so take care of missing or damaged shingles, or exposed nails and seams. To keep your roof in good shape, clean eaves troughs so melting snow and ice don't create ice dams, which can damage the roof's surface, and trim tree branches that could rub on the roof. Ensure your downspouts are aiming water away from the home's foundation - this will direct melting snow away from your basement. If your downspout empties out underground, McGregor suggests redirecting it now; otherwise, snowmelt can run down it and hit underground ice blocks, eventually backing up over the roof. Put grips on stairs or sidewalks that can be slippery, check handrails to ensure they're solid, ensure exterior vents are unobstructed but screened )to prevent birds and squirrels from making their way inside) and check automatic garage doors to ensure they're operating properly. Take a look at the drainage next to the house, which McGregor says is the most common problem found during inspections. Re-grading it now can avoid springtime hassle. "The ground is inevitable sloping back towards the house," McGregor says. "Most of the time it isn't an issue, but in the spring, the ground next to the foundation is the first ground that's going to thaw out, and the snow is going to start to melt, run towards the house and down the foundation and possibly into the basement." Don't forget to remove your garden hose from the outdoor tap and shut the tap off, using the inside shut-off valve if it's not a frost-free tap. Then it's time to head inside the house. To keep your furnace in good working order, opt for a professional cleaning and servicing. "You're going to be relying on your furnace through the winter," McGregor says. Furnaces, gas fireplaces, wood stoves, and stove and fireplace chimneys should be serviced annually, and ducts cleaned every three to five years. Wyman notes it's wise to schedule your house cleaning for a couple of days after your furnace or ducts have been cleaned, because the cleaning often loosens dust that then gets distributed through the house. McGregor strongly suggests changing the furnace filter monthly - a dirty filter makes the furnace less efficient, and can actually shut the furnace down if it gets bad enough. He also recommends cleaning the furnace humidifier) to ensure there's no mould or mineral buildup within it) and flushing water from the bottom of the hot water tank (which helps reduce mineral buildup that shortens the hot water heater's life), again on a monthly basis. But McGregor cautions if the hot water tank drain valve hasn't been used in years, it will very likely start to leak when you open it. The best time to start regular tank draining is when the tank is new. Most important is not to get overwhelmed by the list of chores. "It sounds like an awful lot, but it really doesn't take very long - you can easily do it on a Saturday afternoon," McGregor says. "It's sort of like eating an elephant - you just take it a bite at a time" |
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