The end of the summer comes with all new kinds of home maintenance requirements. If you’re a parent, this can be really hard to make time for – especially if you work as well as taking care of your children. Check out these top tips for how to manage your hectic schedule and get everything done that you need to before winter really hits.
Cleanliness is Next to Coziness
Making sure you have everything cleaned and prepared for winter gives you much more time when the kids have to be indoors all afternoon. This includes painting anything that needs to be painted and steam cleaning and replacing any carpets that need to be touched up. Do this while your child is at daycare or a friend’s house, and early in the fall to allow you to open the windows to the warmer air to help vent the fumes.
Checking the air flow and vents in your home to make sure there are no issues or built up dust is also a very important part of getting your home ready for winter. This includes your HVAC, vents, room fans, dryer vents, and baseboard heaters – make sure your HVAC unit is professionally and thoroughly inspected; find a well-reviewed service, as any issues with the unit can and will be extremely costly to fix. Switching out your air filters is something you can easily do on your own with a little bit of research to make sure you are ordering the right size for your unit, and the filter that would be best for any allergens or other issues in your home.
Don’t forget about your gutters! Any debris in there will just make winter weather worse on your gutters, and could cause costly repairs come spring time. This is one that you will probably want to outsource, as this is a timely and dangerous procedure if you have young kids around. Schedule this on a Saturday where you can take your little one out to the park and to lunch during the middle of the day, and you won’t have to worry about your gutters all winter.
Fires, Carbon, and Floods, Oh My!
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, having a professional come in and take a look at it, clearing up any debris will surely put your mind at ease when you start to have the daily desires for a fire. The more often you light a fire, the more likely you are to accrue debris in the chimney that could easily start a house fire that you wouldn’t even be aware of until it is too late. You will also want to go around and check all of your smoke detectors for full functionality. This includes getting new batteries for them, and testing them to make sure they signal when they need to. Pay close attention to the alarms in the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. If you have a carbon monoxide detector, you should also check these for functionality as well. Make sure to get a CO detector testing kit from wherever you purchased your detector, and check all of them out.
If you are handy, go around and insulate any pipes that are exposed and in unheated areas of your home like a basement or attic, located on the exterior of your home, or in exterior walls. If you are not the handy type – checking all of them before you hire a professional will make your winterization cheaper and easier. When you beef up your insulation, it will prevent frozen pipes and flooding all through the winter – and who wants to deal with all of that hassle anyway!
Taking care of kids and a home is a huge responsibility, but with a little bit of help in the right places, you’ll have your home ready for cozy cookie baking in no time!
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