Each year, cleaning the gutters consistently lands at the top of the spring cleaning list and for good reason. By clearing out leaves and other debris, you protect your roof and living space from potentially disastrous water leaks. If you want to prevent other costly and time-consuming home repairs, you have to think beyond the gutters, however, to all the other areas of your house. Here’s a rundown of the oft-overlooked spring cleaning tasks that can protect you from major issues in the future.
Clean out your smoke detectors
Dust, pollen and other debris can build up in smoke detectors, rendering their sensors nearly useless. Eventually, the buildup causes false alarms or causes the detector to malfunction altogether. You can keep this problem at bay by committing to a twice a year cleaning schedule coinciding with battery changes. And it is easy, too. All you have to do clean out the dust and debris is blow out the case with compressed air.
Clear window weep holes
At the bottom of your window frames are weep holes that allow water to drip away from the seals. As they become clogged with dirt and grime, however, the water could leak inside your house, damaging the drywall and other building materials. To prevent this issue, clean the weep holes with a small bit of wire or by spraying them out with compressed air.
Brush off refrigerator coils
Your refrigerator has a network of coils along the back that cycle refrigerant through the system, keeping all your food at the proper temperature. As these coils operate, they attract dust and debris at a rapid rate. When this happens, the refrigerator cannot release heat and has to cycle the compressor on much more frequently.
Each of these spring cleaning tasks only takes a few minutes to complete and provides lasting benefits through every season. So, put them on your list and get them done to prevent costly problems in the future.
About the Author
Hannah Sosinski
I started my career in the real estate industry at the age of sixteen and instantly fell in love.
I worked alongside one of the top producing agents in the country as their administrative assistant for nearly nine years before I took the leap to begin my own journey in the real estate industry.
Working alongside an agent who sells over three hundred houses a year educated me strongly on the Pittsburgh and greater Pittsburgh housing market. While working alongside this agent, I was lucky enough to be involved in several different types of real estate transactions and learned to properly determine home values, many aspects of negotiations and have learned how to close challenging deals while also handling a large amount of deals at the same time.
I have also spent the past seven years working as a property manager throughout Allegheny, Washington and Fayette County. I have managed everything from Section 8 to Luxury units.
Exploring the options of the real estate industry can be overwhelming. While working with me you’re able to sit back and relax as I have worked with many investors, home sellers and buyers and can help guide through the sale or purchase of your home and make it as easy on you as possible.
Whether you’re a first time home owner, downsizing, sizing up, looking to make your first/second or third investment, selling your home, etc. I can use my years of education to help guide you through the purchase or sale of the largest investment of your life.
I look forward to chatting about real estate with you!