Even in San Diego there are things we should all do to help our homes recover from the past year and prepare for the next. Here are a few tips from Kudzu for homeowners:
Exterior, Basement, & Foundation
- Check your home’s crawl space for water damage, animals (this one is fun!), or other foreign matter.
It’s important to find leaks in pipes or leaks from the outside as soon as possible. Water can breed mold and mildew while animals can damage home systems and spread disease.
Interior & Appliances
- Replace or clean filters in furnace.
Filters prevent dust and other allergens from circulating through the ductwork. However, blocked filters can make a furnace work much harder, causing it to run less efficiently and possibly reducing its lifespan. And a dirty filter won’t be as effective as a clean filter at blocking dust from eventually making its way into your living spaces.
- Look for leaks in toilet water feed and tank bottom.
- Clean your washing machine’s water inlet filters. Check hoses and replace if leaking.
- Trip circuit breakers and GFI’s, or ground fault interrupters, monthly to insure proper protection.
- Check for leaks around and under sinks, showers, and tubs.
- Clean grease filter from your range hood.
- Clean out the refrigerator, wash door gasket, clean drain hole and pan, vacuum the condenser coils.
Backyard & Landscape
Lawns naturally need sunlight to thrive. And there’s less of it during the shorter days of late fall and winter. A mat of thick leaves can kill that grass you so carefully tended during the warmer months.
Most lawn care companies offer basic packages of year-round maintenance that include fertilizing, trimming, edging and weed control.
Spot treat any cases of winter weeds in warm-season turf & spread a crab-grass pre-emergent.
If you need referrals for these services please contact me. Kudzu, Yelp and the BBB can be good resources also.
San Diego Real Estate LAB 