Healthy Home

Healthy Home
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A Healthy Home is a Happy Home

If your home is regularly checked and maintained, the chances of problems arising are reduced. With proper maintenance, if and when problems do occur, there is less liklihood that they will become major problems. Items to check include:

Exterior

Roof:
Visually check shingles from the ground. Watch for missing or broken shingles or curling.

Gutters and downspouts:
Check and remove any debris to assure unobstructed water flow away from foundation. If you are using a rain barrel, tip it slightly away from the house and ensure that water that overflows will easily run away -- make a shallow swale with a clay bed.

Veneer or siding:
Watch for deteriorating bricks or masonry. Watch for warping or rot of siding. Check all painted surfaces.

Windows and doors:
Check caulking around doors and windows and glazing around windowpanes.

Adjacent Lawn and garden:
Watch for accumulation of tree limbs, branches, debris that can attract wood eating insects or invite squirrels to your roof.

Asphalt Driveways:
Check for cracks or deterioration. Reseal if necessary.

Heating and cooling:
Make sure outside unit is unobstructed. Clean unit with garden hose.

Interior

Attic:
Examine for evidence of any leaks.

Baths:
Check for evidence of any leaks, especially around toilets and under sinks (vinyl tile will usually discolor if water is getting underneath it). Check grout on any ceramic tile.

Kitchen:
Check for leaks under sink and around dishwasher. Check burner operation on stove. Check grout on any ceramic tile. Clean dust from refrigerator condenser (rear of unit).

Heating System:
Change filter and check coils for buildup

Water Heater:
Check for signs of leaks. Drain to remove any sediment. In areas with hard water, drain every 3 months.

Smoke Detectors:
Check operation. Change batteries every spring and fall when the clock changes.

Basement or crawl space:
Check for cracks or any sign of dampness or leaks. Check for any evidence of termites or wood eating insects.

From The Scarboro Heights Record V9 #7

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