Hetty Spray Mop Mopping System

Our winter season checklist activities begin in late fall. Most, but not all, of these activities are designed to prepare our house for the winter season. This list includes the following:

1. Schedule a Maintenance check of the heating system: As our gas-fire furnace has been idle since the previous winter I always have the system checked by a qualified HVAC technician before firing it up. During this checkup all burners are checked for efficiency, filters are changed, and the internal components of the system are checked for function and to ensure there are no leaks in gas lines.

2.Service Hot Water Heater: Whether your hot water heater is gas or electric fired it will with use build up sediment in the bottom of the tank. The more sediment is deposited the less efficient the water heater will be. I completely drain and flush my hot water heater twice a year, once in the fall and once in early spring.

This is a do it yourself project which begins by turning the thermostat control to the "pilot" position. Then, leaving all water valves on connect a hose to the drain spigot located at the base of the heater. Run the hose away from your house and away from plants, flowers and lawn as the sediment in the water may kill vegetation. Open the spigot valve and allow the tank to flush. Depending on size of your water heater and how long between flushes has lapsed this will require from 20 to 40 minutes. I prefer to run the end of the hose into a bucket. There I can see when the water is clear and free of sediment. At that time close the drain valve and unhook the hose. Turn thermostat back to original position.

3. Check Fireplace: As we have a wood-burning fireplace I have the chimney swept and cleaned by a professional chimney sweep every 3 years. As part of this service the sweeper also checks chimney mortar and brick integrity.

With winter temperatures approaching I ensure the damper is closed and hang a small sign on the damper handle, which tells me the damper is closed. This prevents others or me from starting a fire with the damper closed.

4. Change Batteries in Smoke Detectors: As it is easy to forget checking the batteries in smoke detectors I routine change the batteries in each of my four detectors every Labor Day. This assures me that the detectors will always have fully charged batteries.

5. Disconnect Hoses and Cover Outside Spigots: Prior to first freeze I remove all hoses that have been connected to outside spigots all summer and drain the water from them to prevent them from freezing and breaking. This also ensures that water remaining in a connected hose will not cause the spigot to freeze and possibly burst.

As my outside spigots are older I wrap them in an insulated cover to reduce the possibility of winter freezing and bursting.

6. Inspect and re-caulk Window sills and flashing: The caulking around windows, vents, chimneys, and skylights can over time become dry and brittle. When the caulking fails water damage is likely. It also likely that the homeowner will not be aware of this problem (leaking) until much damage is done. To prevent this possibility I inspect every opening that has been cut into the exterior of my home (doors, windows, vents, skylights, chimneys) and test the integrity of the seal made by the caulk. If any dry, cracked or missing caulk is found I remove all of old caulk and replace with new. This ensures my home will have watertight seals and also reduces winter drafts that may enter your home through unsealed exterior gaps.

7. Clean Clothes Dryer Vent: As winter will increase the use of the clothes dryer I always check and clean the outside dryer vent. Using a flexible, long handled brush made for this purpose I carefully remove the accumulated lint in the vent pipe. This not only increases the efficiency of the dryer, but also removes a potential fire hazard.

8. Clean HVAC Return Vents: Return vents for the HVAC system are often neglected. Many of these are located out of sight and are as a result overlooked. A good indication of lint buildup on these return vents is a dirtier than usual filter on your HVAC unit. To prevent this I vacuum the return vent twice a year.

9. HVAC Duct Cleaning: Every eight years I have a professional clean the ducts in my HVAC system. I was unaware of the quantity of lint and dust buildup that could occur in these ducts until I was given a demonstration that included photos taken inside the ducts. The quantity of lint buildup explained why our house was requiring more frequent dusting. Once the ducts were cleaned the house remained cleaner. We also benefited from reduced allergy symptoms once the ducts were cleaned.

10. Gutter Cleaning: Once the fall leaves had all dropped (November) I empty all gutters of leaves and much accumulated over the summer and fall. Included in this cleaning is a clearing of gutter downspouts, which are cleaned by placing a hose in the upper end and turning on the water to blast out the debris. As the debris is cleaned I gradually work the hose down to the very bottom of the downspout.

Spring home maintenance activities begin in March or April depending on the weather. These activities include some repeats of the winter activities (cleaning the dryer and HVAC vents, cleaning gutters and uncovering the outside spigots).

1. Clean Fireplace: After a winter of burning hardwood it is time to remove the last of the ashes from the fireplace. I remove these and put the ashes in my compost pile.

2. Change filter on HVAC Unit: I routinely change disposable filters on my HVAC unit every month.

3. Power Wash Deck: As my deck resides under several huge oak trees it tends to have a buildup of mold and mildew over time. To prevent damage to the deck and keep it attractive I rent and use a power washer to clean it every spring.

4. Power Wash Siding: As with the deck a winter buildup of dirt and occasionally mildew require a spring power washing to keep the siding fresh and free of dirt and crime collected over the winter.

5. Wash Windows: Spring at our house means window-washing time. We remove storm windows and hand wash all ground floor windows by hand and then replace washed storm windows. The windows located on the second floor are not hand washed, but are spray washed using Windex end of hose window washing cleaner. This cleaner works well as it shoots a pressurized spray to the upstairs windows. The spray cuts the dirt and grime, which is removed by a final clear water rinse.

6. Steam Clean Carpet: After a winter of tracking in snow and winter debris the carpets are ready for steam cleaning. As our home is fully carpeted we have our own steam cleaner, which we use every spring to steam clean all carpeted rooms. (These can frequently be rented at Drug and Grocery stores for a low rental fee).

7. Clean Refrigerator Coils: Our refrigerator has exposed coils in back. These collect dust and lint over time, which reduces the efficiency of the unit. Each spring the refrigerator is moved away from the wall which allows us to vacuum and mop under it. At this time I also vacuum clean the coils.

The above are my regularly schedule winter and spring house maintenance activities. I have not included lawn and garden items to keep the length of this article readable.