Summer Maintenance Checklist

        June  2018

Summer is a time for relaxation and fun with family and friends. Taking care of some simple household maintenance chores early in the season can help get your home and lawn ready for summer activities and give you more time to spend enjoying them. Here’s a helpful summer maintenance checklist to use for your own home and to share with clients:

• Sidewalks, driveways, patios, siding and brick can all look worse for the wear after winter’s harshness. Take advantage of the warmer temperatures to power wash these areas and exterior surfaces. If you don’t want to purchase power washing equipment, check with your local hardware or home supply store about renting it. 

• Warmer weather is also a good time to paint or touch up the exterior of your home. A fresh coat of paint can add curb appeal as well as a layer of protection for wood surfaces.

• Give your air conditioner some TLC. Change the filters and clean the area around the units. Trim nearby trees and shrubbery to prevent limbs and leaves from falling into the equipment. Have a qualified air conditioning professional service your system to make sure it’s ready to go when temperatures rise.

• Increase your air conditioning system’s efficiency by checking windows and doors for air leaks. Repair seals or re-caulk any openings that you find.  

• Check your deck for wood that has split, cracked or is graying. If you see any of these signs, it may be time to reseal the deck.

• If your home has an automatic irrigation system, turn it on and check each zone to see if all the sprinkler heads are working and positioned correctly. To help conserve water and protect your lawn and landscaping, reposition any heads that spray water onto driveways, sidewalks, roads or patios.

• Inspect concrete areas, such as sidewalks, driveways, patios or pool decks, for cracks. Refill or repair any cracks as needed to help prevent further damage and to maintain smooth, safe surfaces for walking.

• If you have a swimming pool, check the chemical balance and system equipment to make sure everything is ready for summer use. It’s also a good time to do a safety check and inspect flotation devices, fences and other protective accessories to make sure they are functional.  

• Perform an electrical inspection of the inside of your home by going room to room and looking for any potential electrical hazards, such as overloaded outlets or electrical cords running under rugs and carpets. Trip your circuit breaker every six months to make sure it’s working properly, too.

• Replace the bulbs in exterior lights and clean the fixtures so that outdoor summer fun can continue after the sun goes down.

• It’s a good idea to clean your dryer’s vent and exhaust duct regularly. Clogged lint and dust in either of these areas could be a fire hazard.

• Have your lawn mower serviced and the blades sharpened. Check other lawn equipment, such as leaf blowers, water hoses and edging tools to make sure they are in good working order.

 

www.Callkim.net

702-521-3939

Keeping Your Home Rodent Free

Keeping Your Home Rodent Free

Rodents are a problem not just because they can destroy personal property and components of a home's structure, but also because they can spread serious disease to humans and their pets. 

What to do to prevent rodent infestation.


1.  Keep food in thick plastic or metal containers with tight fitting lids.


2.  Clean up spilled food right away, and wash dishes and cooking utensils soon after use.


3.  Keep outside cooking areas and grills clean.


4.  Keep compost bins as far away from the house as possible


5.  Set up bird feeders away from the house.  Utilize guards to limit access to the feeder by squirrels and other rodents.


6.  Always put pet food away after use and do not leave pets' food bowls out overnight.


7.  Use thick plastic or metal garbage cans with tight fitting lids


8.  Dispose of trash and garbage on a frequent and regular basis, and eliminate clutter in and around the property to discourage nesting.


9.  If rodents or their droppings are discovered on surfaces, such as countertops and tables, us the strongest, non-damaging cleaner possible to disinfect the area, such as bleach.


10.  Plug up rodent holes with steel wool to prevent them from chewing their way through and back into the living space, but remember that this is only a temporary fix.


**  Rodent droppings should be cleaned up while wearing a face mask and gloves because disturbing large quantities of fecal matter can cause it's dust  to become airborne, which can result in respiratory irritation and even illness.  Afterward, sterilize the area thoroughly.  Also, it is wise to contact a professional exterminator because rodents reproduce QUICKLY.

Kim Duclos

702.521.3939

COFFEE FILTERS - 25 USEFUL TIPS

Coffee filters ..... Who knew! And you can buy them at the 99 cent store for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine.. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter..

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them.. It soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

16.. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.

21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..

25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.