There are many reasons – fire protection, air circulation, drainage, attractiveness and safety — to keep the outside walls of your home clear and free of debris. One more compelling reason is that piles and stacks of tools, lumber, ladders, yard waste and toys create a haven for spiders, rats, mice and wood-boring insects. Take an hour to circle your home outside, removing anything touching the siding. Donate, discard or store what you’ve removed.
Firewood is one common hiding place. Stacking it under the eaves of the house keeps it dry, but there’s a price: The wood creates a home for spiders and invites them into the house. Also, wood piles trap moisture against the siding and prevent circulation. If left long enough, the dampness could rot siding or trim. Instead, store firewood at least two feet from the house and 18 inches above the ground. Keep it dry by building a little shelter over the top of the pile.
In addition, discourage pests by clearing out vegetation under decks that might give them a safe place to hide. And pick fruit from trees as soon as it is ripe. Keep the ground clean under fruit and nut trees.
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Seal garbage cans tightly. If you’ve had problems with rats, dogs or raccoons getting into the trash, make sure the cans have tight-fitting lids. Tighten the lids by linking a stretchy tie-down from handle to handle. Knot it to shorten it if necessary. Buy or build a small enclosure for your cans.Wash and rinse items you intend to recycle. Keep them waiting for disposal indoors or in a sealed enclosure. If you store pet food in a garage or carport, keep it in containers with tight lids. Also, if your bird feeder is attracting rats, get rid of it. To see if you’ve got “four-legged birds,” shine a light on the feeder in the middle of the night or in the wee hours of the morning.
Don’t let water sit around your yard or garden; it breeds mosquitoes. Change the birdbath and wading pool water at least weekly. Toss water out of pet dishes, flowerpot saucers, cans, buckets and anything else lying around that collects rain. Keep gutters clean.
Pamper the lawn
Homeowners can’t successfully emulate the tightly trimmed golf-course look because they don’t have a golf course’s budget and army of maintenance professionals. Instead, the best thing you can do to achieve a good-looking lawn is to mow frequently and high (three inches or more – or just set your mower blades as high as they’ll go). This discourages weeds and trains the grass to grow in thickly. High, frequent cutting encourages roots to grow deep and retain water, so you’ll need to water less frequently. Let the clippings fall onto the lawn to add nourishment. If you’ve been watering the lawn this summer, keep it up: Water infrequently but deeply, giving it an inch to an inch and a half of water each time (measure by putting an empty tuna can on the lawn). Water early in the day to avoid evaporation — not at night, which invites disease. You’ll know it’s time to water when your footprints don’t spring back when you walk across the grass, when the grass gets a blue tinge or when you can’t easily push a screwdriver or steel rod into the soil.
If your lawn has turned brown, don’t try to rescue it by watering now. That’s hard on the grass plants and a waste of water. It’ll come back when the rain starts in the fall. The best time to fertilize depends on your climate and the grass type in your lawn. In general, avoid fertilizing during extremely hot weather or periods of drought. Do not use products with nitrogen when your lawn isn’t green – it can encourage weeds. Start thinking about fertilizing at the end of this month and consult professionals who sell lawn-care products or call your local home-extension service to get advice on what to use and exactly when to use it. August is the perfect time to root dandelions out of the lawn using a long-handled forked tool or with judicious use of an herbicide.
Clean sink drains
If you’ve got a slow-draining sink, take action. First, try a homemade drain cleaner. Onthehouse.com recommends mixing a solution of equal parts of salt, baking soda and vinegar. Pour it into the drain and chase it down with two quarts of boiling water. You can use this solution monthly. Avoid chemical drain cleaners; they can damage the pipes and create toxic exposure for you and your family. Or you can apply some elbow grease and fix slow drains by cleaning out the drain and trap – the U-shaped pipe that’s directly under the sink. Position a bucket under the trap to catch falling water and gunk and keep a pile of rags at hand for cleaning up. This can be a messy job – you may also want to wear rubber gloves. Loosen and remove the couplings that hold the trap to the straight pipes that run from the sink and to the sewer. You may need to use a plumber’s wrench. If the pipe is plugged, all kinds of messy stuff will fall into the bucket and must be removed from the trap. If possible, take the trap outside and shoot a stream of water from the hose through it. Rinse it out thoroughly. Use a snake or wire from a coat hanger to remove built-up debris from the pipes.
Clean the drain plug
Also, pull out the sink’s drain plug to clean it. The plug pops up and down in the sink. It is attached to a rod and lever that are held to the back of the drain pipe by a nut. Pull out the rod by unscrewing the nut. Clean the drain plug and remove any gunk that’s in the pipe, then reassemble the plug. Reassemble the trap, tightening the couplings by hand so you don’t screw them too tight. Flush the drain by running hot water for a few minutes.
Fix leaky faucets
Check faucets for leaks and install new rubber gaskets by unscrewing the faucet end, removing the old gasket and reassembling it. Also fix dripping faucets. First, shut off the water under the sink. For sinks with independent hot and cold water faucets, dismantle each faucet, removing the washers (rings made of rubber, plastic or brass). Put the washers in a sandwich bag and bring them to the hardware store to look for replacements. Reassemble the faucets and turn the water back on. For a single-arm faucet, fix leaks by replacing the faucet’s inner workings. That’s not hard, because you can just note the brand and buy a faucet rebuild kit (about $50 at hardware stores). Dismantle the faucet, laying out the pieces on a paper towel. Shoot a photo or make a sketch to refer to when assembling it. Put the faucet back together and turn the water back on.
Inspect the grout in tiled areas of your home, particularly in bathrooms and the kitchen. If grout is cracked or missing, remove and replace it in the affected areas. Grout should be cleaned regularly, particularly if it comes into contact with moisture, to keep it free from stains and mold. Use an old toothbrush and one of these cleaning products: TSP, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, bleach or grout cleaning solutions (available at tile stores or on the Internet). Inspect the seal around sinks, showers and tubs and recaulk any spots where caulk has cracked or separated. Use silicone tub and tile caulk.
Get a furnace inspection
Have your heating system inspected and serviced by a professional. Call the company that sold it to you or your fuel distributor to get recommendations for servicers.
Blanket the water heater
Get one of those nice, fat insulating blankets for your water heater if it doesn’t have one. You don’t want to pay to heat all that water and then let the heat leak into the atmosphere.
Inspect and maintain the water heater
Have your water heater professionally serviced once a year. Inspect the water heater thoroughly and check the walls and floor around it for evidence of leaks, rust or corrosion. Also check the lines and connections to the heater. Even a small amount of moisture can rot the flooring and subfloor. Lie on the floor to look at the bottom of the heater from underneath, using a flashlight. If you find leaks, replace the water heater.
Test the water-heater valve
Test the valve that controls temperature and pressure on tank-type water heaters. Do this once a year because, if the valve becomes stuck in the on or off position, an explosion can result. Work carefully because the water in the tank is extremely hot. Do it during business hours on a weekday so you can get help if you find problems. Put a bucket under the water heater’s overflow pipe to catch the drainage. The valve is at the top of the water heater and is recognizable because it has a small handle. Lift the test handle for five seconds to release a little water, then close it. If the valve refuses to close, or if nothing comes out, call a plumber immediately to replace it.
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