Summer Household Problems and How to Fix Them
Summer is upon us, and the temperature is turning hot from warm day to day. Everyone’s ready to enjoy their summer. Many have laid out plans on what to do already. However, it’s important to remember that summer isn’t just a season of relaxation- the extreme weather changes can bring about inconveniences that will balloon into problems if left unchecked. Your house needs particular maintenance during this season, and here are a few tips to prepare your house for summer.
Check Your Garbage Disposal
Summer means more cookouts, and more cooking in the kitchen might affect your disposal. If your garbage disposal is clogged and won’t drain, don’t immediately grab chemical drain cleaners. Harsh chemicals can corrode your pipes and give you worse problems. Instead, go for more natural options. Start with baking soda and vinegar solution.
Make sure your disposal is unplugged, then pour in the solution. You might need to repeat the process a few times before it fully clears your drain. But if it doesn’t seem to work, there might be something solid that’s blocking your drain, so try to dislodge the object. If all these ways don’t do it, get the help of a plumber to unclog the drain.
HVAC Cleaning
On the hottest of days, everyone wishes to be in an air-conditioned room. And if your house has an HVAC system, make sure it’s properly and regularly maintained. Especially during summer, a season where you can expect to see your air conditioner get more use. Have your air conditioner maintained and checked by a professional. You can also take this opportunity to get the heating and ventilation aspects of your HVAC system cleaned- now is the best time to make sure your heater will be working in preparation for winter.
Make Manual Cooling More Efficient
Of course, using your air conditioner on full blast throughout summer is a one-way ticket to a towering electricity bill. Fortunately, that’s not the only way you can cool your home. The ever-trusty electric fan is there to help you out. But sometimes, using an electric fan brings warmer air in. To prevent this from happening, you can utilize cross ventilation to make cooling with an electric fan more effective. Set an electric fan up in a shady corner of your room and put another electric fan facing outside. This expels the hot air will produce cooler air, making the whole room feel cooler.
Watch Out for Molds
It’s summer, so any damp area tends to become dry. This results in increased mold growth, as the warmer temperature and then sudden rain tend to encourage mold growth. There are many ways to resolve this, and one of the easiest ones is to increase the ventilation in your home (this is also why you also need to keep your HVAC cleaned).
Use exhaust fans in relatively humid areas, such as the kitchen and the bathroom. Leave them turned on longer on days with extra humidity. You can also leave the windows open on particularly good days to “air out” your house and let the sunlight discourage mold growth.
Check for Bugs
When the sun is up and the heat becomes too much, pests tend to go indoors. Summer is the prime time to check for pests like termites or, worse, rats. And it’s also during the hot months of summer where they tend to nest and breed. This is why it’s important to check for their presence early on so you can take control before they get the chance to proliferate.
There are many ways to keep pests like ants away without resorting to harsh chemicals. One common trick is to use coffee grounds. Just sprinkle some coffee grounds on areas you think ants are crawling from. If things start to get out of hand, though, it’s best to get the help of professional exterminators.
Clear Out Your Yard
Nothing kills the summer experience than not having space to relax and have barbecues on. That’s why now is also the best time to clear out your yard. Make sure there’s space for you to kick back and relax, maybe have a barbecue or two. If you have children, your yard is the space where they’ll be playing around under the summer sun. And if you’re particularly worried about the heat or direct sunlight, consider putting up an awning to provide shade. Cleaning your backyard before the summer starts is a great way to greet the season’s changes, as you can immediately relax on the first day of summer.
Summer is one of the best seasons. However, you need to be prepared to enjoy it fully. Hopefully, the tips provided here can better help you prepare your home.