Home Improvement & Maintenance Tips for Women Chetna Jain July 28, 2021 DIY 1577 Home improvement is a dreaded, but necessary part of owning a home. With all the information available online it can be overwhelming when it comes time to tackle your next home improvement project. In this article, we’ll go over some of the most useful home improvement tips for women that you can start applying to your home today. Make sure to read until the end of this article because some of these projects will not only save you money, but also help stop potential damage to your home. Water Damage Water damage is something that you don’t want to ignore. Any time the moisture levels get up past the 20% mark, the odds of mold growing, ant problems, or wood rot increase significantly. Because these issues can end up costing you a lot of money in the long run, you’ll want to be proactive in how you deal with them. The first thing you’ll want to do is to look for signs of ants, termites, bees or any other insects. Areas where these pests live will normally be damp and damaged. If you find any areas like this, make sure to call a professional exterminator to deal with it, ASAP. For prevention, you can have wood replaced with composite in certain areas to prevent pest damage. Call a professional to get a quote for this, or if you’re feeling adventurous you can seek a mosquito mary franchise at the same time you’ll have knowledge on how to fix these problems. Another important thing is to check for mold and mildew problems. Any mold that’s already grown will require a professional to remove. To prevent mold from growing you can use a dehumidifier in bathrooms and other damp places. A humidity tester can help you determine just how humid a room might be. Home Safety Did you know that your dryer or even furnace can catch on fire? An accumulation of lint can catch on fire if it’s allowed to build up. Generally, you’ll want to change your furnace filters once per quarter. If they get dirty fast, then you should change them even more often than this. The dryer lint trap should also be changed regularly. Doing these two things will reduce the risk of a fire. Preventing any damage from storms is an essential part of keeping your home safe. Look for tree limbs that hang over your house and get them trimmed to prevent them falling and damaging your house. If you have a well on your property then it’s important to check it regularly for calcium build up, hard water and other issues. You should also test the water to make sure that there are no contaminants like heavy metals. Check your driveway for any cracks or holes. These can be dangerous for small children or the elderly. They can be repaired with crack sealant material. The life of a concrete driveway can be increased by periodically using seal coating to help protect it from the hot sun. If you have a septic system on your property, then look for signs of potential trouble. Odor, slow draining, or backups are all signs of potential trouble. Call a specialist and have the tank pumped every 3-5 years depending on how many people live in your house. Any lawn care or landscaping tools that are used should be regularly maintained. Lawnmower blades should be sharp enough to last for the summer. The weed whacker string should also be replaced as needed. Reduce Energy Usage When it comes to reducing the amount of energy that you use, maintaining your air conditioner is one of the best things you can do. Having your AC units serviced in the spring is ideal to help them run with maximum efficiency during the hot summer. Also make sure that the area around the AC is clear of shrubs or anything else that could impair air flow. Checking the windows/doors is also important for reducing energy usage. Air leaks and missing caulking should be fixed to prevent outside air from getting in. You can consider getting double pane windows which can help to reduce the temperature inside your home during the hot summer. If you have rooms that naturally get a lot of unwanted sunlight, then you can look into automated window coverings as well. Cleaning According to Home Advice Magazine, if you want to extend the life of your flooring, then the most important thing you can do is clean up spills quickly and properly. How you clean up spills depends on the type of flooring you have, but in general, mopping works well. A good old fashioned string mop will absorb spills quickly to prevent liquid from seeping into your flooring. You can also cover large areas with this type of mop to cut down on the time you spend cleaning. For regular floor maintenance, the vacuum is by far the most common tool you’ll use. Vacuuming routinely sucks up dirt, hair, dust, allergens, and mold, leaving your floors sparkling clean. For most households, vacuuming once per week should do the trick. You can use a small portable vacuum in between routine cleanings if needed. If you want to take things to the next level, then you can also use floor polish to make your flooring shine like new. Just make sure to get a floor polish that is specific to your type of flooring. To minimize the amount of dirt that gets inside, a welcome mat is your best friend. Sure, it’s old fashioned, but if it’s used properly, it does an excellent job at keeping dirt outside where it belongs. If you have pets, then having an old rag to wipe their paws is another excellent way of cutting down on the dirt that gets inside. Conclusion We hope that this article was able to help you get some ideas for the maintenance and improvement of your home. If you follow all the tips that we went over, you will not only save money, but also help prevent damage to your home. SHARE THIS POST