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For many homeowners, spring cleaning is a much-needed, yet overwhelming task. In fact, some even avoid it altogether!
The truth is, spring cleaning is best approached by breaking down the task room by room, says Merry Maids home cleaning expert Debra Johnson.
“The most common cleaning challenge homeowners face is figuring out where to start,” says Johnson. “Having a set cleaning plan and breaking it up room by room makes tasks more manageable, and may even help you clean areas you often ignore.”
Johnson’s plan includes:
Kitchen
- Deodorize the garbage disposal with a half cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar mixed with hot water.
- Degrease the microwave by heating up half a lemon in hot water for 10 minutes, then wiping grime away.
- Empty the refrigerator and wash shelves with warm, soapy water.
- Use dishwashing liquid and warm water to clean cabinet fronts, and degrease appliances with an all-purpose cleaner.
Bathroom
- Steam-clean the floor to restore the true color of the tiles.
- Use a non-abrasive cleaning detergent to scrub the inside of the tub, toilet and sink.
- Wipe inside of cabinets, clean the mirror and toss old cosmetics and expired medicines.
Bedroom
- Dust behind headboards.
- Sort closets and create a “keep” and “donate” pile for your clothes.
- Sprinkle baking soda on carpets and vacuum slowly.
- Wash bedspreads, mattress covers and duvets. Flip your mattress before making the bed with clean linens.
Living Room
- Launder or dry clean curtains, then dust windows, window sills, coffee tables and shelves.
- Remove all accessories from tables and shelves, thoroughly dusting with a microfiber cloth as you go.
- Wash or dry-clean pillows and steam-clean any remaining upholstery and carpeting.
- Tackle each room separately using this checklist, says Johnson. Your spring cleaning chores will be finished in no time!
Source: Merry Maids
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia.©2016. All rights reserved.
Did you know more than one trillion gallons of water are wasted each year by easy-to-fix household leaks?
“Not only do leaks waste precious water, they could be adding 10 percent to your utility bill,” says Shawn M. Garvin, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “By taking just minutes to detect leaks at home, the average family could save more than 10,000 gallons of water every year.”
To locate leaks in your home, simply, check, twist and replace:
Check for silent toilet leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank at the back of the toilet. Wait 10 minutes. If the color appears in the bowl, you have a leak.
Twist faucet, shower and pipe connections tightly to avoid leaks, or screw on a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator.
Replace broken or leaky fixtures with WaterSense-labeled models, which are independently certified to use at least 20 percent less water and perform as well (or better) than standard models.
To learn more about conserving water in your home, visit www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak.
Source: EPA
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia.©2016. All rights reserved.
Warming temperatures, rainy days, sunny skies – these are just some of the signs that spring is here. While your lawn probably maintains its dingy brown winter look, soon, it will be blossoming with the rest of the flowers, shrubs and trees – but only if you provide the right care for it now.
Set aside a few hours to maintain your lawn and you’ll be assured to have a bright green, thriving lawn that lasts through fall.
1. Clean it up
When the ground is dry, head out to the yard for a family clean-up session. Remove old leaves and fallen twigs. Then rake the grass to fluff it up a bit. Be sure to leave the shoots of grass behind, so don’t rake too vigorously.
If you’re still waiting for snow to melt, spread mounds of snow out over the lawn to avoid a pile that will smother and kill the grass.
2. Target weeds
The best way to control weeds is to nip them in the bud. Before they ever make an appearance, apply a pre-emergent weed-control product. This way, before weeds can grow and smother the grass, you’ll give your lawn a fighting chance to survive.
If you’d prefer not to use an herbicide, the next best step to take involves proper lawn care. Growing a thick, healthy grass will naturally choke out weeds. Mow regularly, reseed grass when necessary, lay down sod in bare patches, and give preference to natural herbicides to grow a healthy lawn and preempt weeds from growing.
3. Planting
If your lawn has bare spots or you want to plant a new section of grass, now’s the time to do it. If you choose to lay down sod or plant seeds, forego the pre-emergent weed control step. If you apply an herbicide, it’ll kill new grass, too.
Laying down sod is the quickest way to a robust lawn. While it costs more upfront than planting seeds, you’ll get an instant lawn that’s thick and weed-free. With planting seeds, you’ll have to do a lot of maintenance to nurture its growth, such as being careful that people and pets don’t walk on the grass, performing weed-control measures and diligently watering it.
A healthy lawn is a fertilized lawn. The best time to apply fertilizer depends on where you live. Warm-season grasses should be fertilized in late spring, once the lawn turns green. Apply fertilizer to cold-season grasses with a light hand in the spring only if your lawn is in really bad condition. Too much fertilizer will cause too much early growth grasses, which won’t be hardy enough to last through the summer’s heat. Then, fertilize again in the fall, which is when the growing season for cool grasses is at its peak.
Attend to your lawn now and you’ll enjoy beautiful grass all spring long – and well into fall. Cleaning up the lawn, targeting weeds, planting seeds or laying down sod and fertilizing will give grass a fighting chance to survive and thrive.
This post was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Check the blog daily for top real estate tips and trends.
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia.©2016. All rights reserved.
Regularly scheduled maintenance checks can help prevent equipment breakdowns while keeping all of your mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and other critical home systems running smoothly and efficiently.
Homeowners should schedule the following checks once every six months, according to
Homestructions.com:
Check Washer and Dryer – Check hoses for leaks, replace the hoses if needed and clean the lint from the ducts of your dryer.
Clean A/C Coils – Dirt and dust will settle on the condenser coils of your A/C, and this prevents your unit from cooling down the air. Be sure to clean the dust that is sitting on the coils and grills of your unit to extend the life of your A/C.
Seal Tile Grout – The only way to prevent the moisture from accumulating under tile is to seal the grout. Prevent mold and mildew growth by sealing once every six months and you can prevent moisture from sitting in areas that will not dry out.
Homestructions.com also recommends adding the following chores to your maintenance calendar each month:
Change A/C and Heater Air Filters – If you have a forced air system, by changing the filter, you can improve the air quality in your home and also reduce the stress you put on your A/C and heating system.
Check Water Softener Salt Levels – If the amount in the salt drum is low, add salt to prevent hard water.
Clear Dishwasher Clogs – If you use your dishwasher on a regular basis, make time to clean out the drain bin on a monthly basis. All of those food particles that are caked onto your dishes will wash down into the drain bin and clog the drain if it is not cleaned.
Maintain the Garbage Disposal – If you do not flush the disposal with hot water and baking soda, the grime will accumulate and lead to a serious problem.
And lastly, be sure your fire extinguisher is charged – this is more of a safety reminder than a maintenance issue.
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia.©2016. All rights reserved.