My wife and I bought a new home in August of 2006. When you buy a new home, sometimes you don’t stop to think about all the house related work you’re going to need to do. You have to make sure there is always salt in the water softener, change the furnace filters, turn the outside spigots off in the fall, turn them on in the winter, clean the air intakes, etc etc etc.
I’ve found that it can be a bit exhausting trying to remember all of these things. By the time you do remember them it can be 2 months down the line, and your outside spigot has frozen. In fact, at our old townhouse I forgot about adding salt to our water softener for so long that it ended up causing problems with the entire system.
I found a website that has been very helpful to me in remembering when I need to do certain tasks. Today I actually received a reminder email from them telling me the things I need to do for the months of January/February. Things we need to do this month include:
- Clean or replace furnace filter.
- Check and clean mechanical ventilation system (HRV/ERV). Check your manual and follow manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Clean snow from air intakes, exhausts and meters.
- Clean range hood filter.
- Remove excess snow from roof to prevent ice dams.
- Clean and check sump pump and pit.
- Inspect pressure and temperature valve on water heater (recommendations and safety needs).
- Clean faucet aerators and turn on infrequently used faucets and put water in floor drains to maintain the trap’s water barrier
- Observe humidity levels and adjust the setting on the humidistat or air exchanger controller as needed to eliminate condensation or frost on windows.
In addition to the reminder emails they also have video and written tutorials on a wide variety of home related topics included how to change a furnace filter, maintaining the proper humidity level in your home, and improving the energy efficiency in your home. A great website with lots of good information. Check it out at http://www.home-smart.org.
LINKS:
http://www.home-smart.org
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