Tag: Homeowner Tips

The winter season can be particularly hard on our home plumbing. Extreme temperatures and holiday parties with many guests can take a toll on the plumbing. With big holiday meals, grease and food can get in the kitchen drain and disposal and wreak havoc. Ice cold temperatures can cause pipes to freeze. There are some simple steps we can take each year to make sure our plumbing is well maintained through the winter months. First, we all enjoy hosting guests and having parties during the winter holidays. While these gatherings can be a lot of fun they can also cause big problems for our plumbing. There are some simple steps you can take to take care fo your plumbing if you are planning on hosting guests this holiday season. You should avoid pouring any liquid fats down the drain because they will solidify and create clogs. These clogs in our pipes can cause big headaches and it’s simple to collect any liquid fats in a container and throw them away in the trash. Also, you should run cold water down the drain before and after disposer use to clean out waste. When you use your disposer you think whatever you have put in there is chopped up and gone but you need to run the water before and after to ensure it’s not simply sitting in the disposer. Also, you should not put hard to grind foods into the disposer. It can be tempting to just dump everything in there and turn on the disposer but you should be careful to avoid putting hard to grind foods in that will make your disposer work hard or potentially break. If you are hosting overnight guests during the winter season it can be additional strain on your plumbing that your plumbing is not used to. You and your guests should consider spreading out showers over the course of the day instead of everyone trying to take showers all at once. To prepare shower heads for your guests and ensure they are having an enjoyable shower that doesn’t involve clogged shower heads, you should soak you shower heads in vinegar overnight. After soaking shower heads scrub any remaining residue off. Not only will this improve the overall appearance of your shower but it will also improve water flow which will help keep your plumbing functioning properly. When temperatures drop pipes can freeze and that can mean big problems. Use a foam insulation or padding sleeves to protect pipes from freezing. You can save yourself big headaches by simply protecting your pipes each year. You should also run water through all valves periodically throughout the winter, even if typically unused. This will also help prevent any freezing that could occur. These tips are simple lifestyle changes and cost you little to nothing but can save you big this winter. By maintaining your plumbing with each changing season you will add life to your plumbing and ensure that you don’t have to suffer big costly repairs at inconvenient times.]]>

We all love decorating our homes for the holidays. It is a long standing tradition that is a time of fun and bonding for the whole family. Along with cute pumpkins, turkey figurines and wreaths comes the tradition of decorating with lights. While very beautiful, if not done correctly and safely, decorating with lights can be very dangerous. Many also decorate with trees around the Christmas holiday. Christmas trees are beautiful, fun and smell great, but if real, dry out and can become hazardous. According to the National Fire Protection Association and the United States Fire Administration, “an estimated 240 home fires involving Christmas trees another 150 home fires involving holiday lights and other decorative lighting occur each year.” This is a scary statistic! When decorations are not done safely, it can cost millions, and more frighteningly, lives. Luckily, there are many great tips readily available to keep your home and your family safe during the holidays while still enjoying the fun of decorating your home. When dealing with Christmas trees there are a few things to consider for safety. When decorating your home with a real Christmas tree, you will need to keep it well watered. Some signs that it your tree is being properly watered are that the needles should be green and hard to pull off. Also, the tree trunk should be sticky to the touch. When deciding the perfect place to display your beautiful Christmas tree, make sure that it is not placed to close to a fireplace or other heat source. Note: you should not keep a tree up for more than 2 weeks after it has been cut. This particular tip is one that many people ignore or think they can stretch just a little, but as the tree dries out it becomes a major fire hazard and it is far better to just remove the tree. When using an artificial Christmas tree, inspect it each year. Particularly if your tree is pre-lit, inspect your tree for any frayed wired and anything that may appear broken. Remove any damage, or if the damage cannot be removed, it may be time to invest in a new artificial tree. While some of these tips may seem tedious, you want your Christmas tree to be a source of beauty and not of stress and concern. When decorating with lights during the holiday season there are many things to consider when ensuring that your home will be safe using your decorations. Since many families often reuse lights each year, it is important that you inspect the lights each year for things like frayed wires, excessive kinking and wear. If you can remove or repair the damge do so, but it may be best to consider replacing the lights if there is visible damage so as not to put your family at unnecessary risk. When decorating with lights you should also make sure to not overload electrical outlets which can be very dangerous. Also, while beautiful, you should not leave holiday lights on unattended. The holidays should be a time of joy and togetherness. Decorating your home is a fun and special time for the family, but safety still needs to be a priority. By doing the steps discussed above, you can have peace of mind that your holidays will be both beautiful and safe.]]>