Early spring is a good time to check your home for normal wear-and-tear and to look around for damage caused by the harsh winter. Here’s a checklist of home maintenance items that can be reviewed in a weekend. If you discover any problems, it’s a good idea to take care of repairs now before they become big ticket items.
1. Check roof and gutters — Interior water damage often originates at the top of the house on the roof, so grab a ladder and check your roof for missing or broken shingles. While you are up there, inspect flashings and joints around chimneys and skylights. Bring a bucket with you to scoop out leaves and branches that are clogging gutters and valleys and finish by flushing gutters and downspouts with a garden hose.
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There are many reasons for a basement flood, including poor lot drainage, blocked gutters, clogged downspouts, and cracks in the basement floor and walls. Events like heavy rains or melting snow are common causes of a basement flood, but so are broken washing machine hoses and blocked sewage connections.
What’s the best way to protect your home from the costly damage of a wet basement? You should start by making repairs inside and out to minimize your home’s vulnerability to flooding. If the water table around your home is high or your lot has poor drainage, you may need to install a floodproofing system that includes a sump pump. To receive alarm alerts at the first sign of water in the basement, get one of these “early warning” devices so you’ll have an opportunity to fix the problem before extensive damage occurs. Here is an overview of sump pump systems and “early warning” devices that you can install to prevent flooding and protect your basement:
Keep Basement Dry with a Sump Pump
Basements prone to flooding should be equipped with a sump pump that mechanically draws water out of the basement and away from the house. Sump pumps range in horsepower and the pumping capacity varies accordingly. Generally speaking, the higher the horsepower, the more gallons per hour it will pump. ABS Robusta sump pumps, for instance, come in ¼ hp, ⅓ hp and ½ hp. A sump pump distributor or manufacturer can help you select the right size pump for your basement.
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If you’re looking for some original gift ideas, look no further. Here’s a list of clever and useful DIY gifts that are all priced at under $100!
Gifts Under $50
Washing Machine Shutoff Hoses by FloodSafe – This is a simple, non-mechanical solution to protect against the catastrophic water damage caused by broken, brittle washing machine hoses. When the FloodSafe washing machine connector hose detects an excess flow of water, the flow of water is automatically turned off. Needs no electricity, batteries or other power source. Every washing machine owner on your list will appreciate a set of FloodSafe hoses. On sale now for $21.99.
YardGard Alarm for Gates, Windows and Doors – If you’re looking for a unique gift for parents of young children, give them a YardGard Alarm so they can monitor unsupervised children or trespassers coming and going into their yard, pool area, house or potentially dangerous areas. The alarm alert sounds an extra loud 120 dB siren. Kit includes hardware for mounting on gates, doors and windows. Special holiday sale price is only $35.99.
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The holidays are here again and everyone is looking for unique gift ideas. Here’s a list of gift suggestions that that are original, useful and affordable – and sure to bring a smile to those special people on your shopping list.
For Grandparents and Seniors
Amplified Alarm Clock with Wireless Vibrating Pad & Telephone Signaler – Do you know someone who is hard-of-hearing or hard to wake up, or both? This extra loud alarm clock wakes deep sleepers with a loud 90dB signal and/or vibration. The Amplicom TCL 200 Digital Alarm Clock can also signal incoming phone calls. Now offered for $73.00.
Wireless Motion Detector – No one wants to be surprised by strangers at the door. With this wireless passive infrared sensor, grandma can monitor an entrance, walkway or other covered location up to 600 feet away and be warned when a person or vehicle approaches. The Dakota Alert IRWR-3000 Wireless PIR is sold as a kit for $149.99. Extra sensors can be added.
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If you’re a snowbird who will be heading south soon to escape the cold winter months, here’s a list of steps you can follow to winterize your home and protect your property before you go. Investing the extra time to properly prepare and secure your home before you depart will free you from the worries of leaving an empty house and minimize costly repair bills.
Yard – Clean gutters to prevent ice dams and allow melting snow to drain away from the house (and not into the basement); trim tree branches located near the home and power lines; arrange for a snowplow service to plow driveway and shovel walkway so your home looks occupied after major snowstorms. Read the rest of this entry »
My mother was obsessed with preventing washing machine leaks! Every time she finished doing a load of laundry, she turned off the hot and cold water faucets that fill the washer. She claimed that if she left the water “on,” pressure would build up in the hoses and cause them to burst, which would result in a big, watery mess that would flood the laundry room and the basement below!
One day I asked my plumber for his thoughts on my mother’s obsession with turning off the washing machine faucets, and he said that my mother was very wise and her technique for preventing washing machine leaks was actually very effective.
Apparently water pressure can build up in the washing machine inlet hoses if you leave the water “on,” which can cause them to leak or burst. But since most people either forget or can’t be bothered to shut off the water supply after every load of wash, he suggested several other strategies for preventing washing machine leaks, all of which are great do-it-yourself ideas!
Well, it’s too late for me to share these great ideas with my mother, but I do want to share them with you and my other readers.
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“Snowbirds” preparing to head north to avoid Florida’s brutal summer heat will want to safeguard their winter residences before taking off. The state’s near-tropical summer climate makes humidity control, flood protection and mold and mildew prevention three areas of concern for every snowbird. If you are a part-time Floridian, here are some important home closing procedures to help you protect your property.
Humidity
Summer in Florida means oppressive heat and very high levels of humidity. Nearly everything in your Florida home is vulnerable to the effects of high humidity, which causes: rusting appliances; mold and mildew growth; corrosion to electronic equipment and computers; deterioration to wood, cotton and leather; warping of woodwork; musty odors; insect infestation; and flaking paint and peeling wallpaper. Read the rest of this entry »
Springtime brings melting snow and heavy rains that saturate the soil and raise the level of groundwater. For many unfortunate homeowners, these conditions inevitably lead to wet or flooded basements. A sump pump installed in the basement floor will get rid of water beneath the home before it leaks into the basement. Designed to operate automatically as water levels rise, sump pumps are often referred to as “the last line of defense” in preventing water damage – unless there is a problem and they malfunction. And that’s exactly what happened to John and Sara Pollan of Ringwood, New Jersey, whose sump pump failed during a winter weekend of teeming rain.
“We returned home on a Sunday night to an unusually cold house, so John went down into the crawlspace to check on the furnace,” Sara says. “There he discovered our brand new boiler submerged in a foot of water!” Read the rest of this entry »
The winter of 2010-2011 brought record snow falls and colder than normal temperatures to much of the United States, but thankfully relief from springtime is just around the corner. Homeowners looking forward to winter’s end and green lawns should also prepare for the unfortunate side effect of melting snow and ice – basement flooding. Heavy rainfall and rapidly melting snow during a spring thaw are primary causes of wet basements, however, there are steps you can take now to reduce damage.
- Clear snow away from the house – Melting snow piled up around the perimeter of your house will run down basement walls, so get out your shovel and move it back 3-5 feet. Read the rest of this entry »
