Time To Do What? Home Tinkering.

[Prototype]

So, I've lived in my house for little over a year now, before that a condo for a year, and before that an apartment, and while we're on the subject, a year before that with my parents.

I have no common sense when it comes to things I should be doing on a regular basis, other than the usual vaccuming, taking out trash, etc. For instance, as I posted in a different thread, I only receintly discovered how to clean the jets in my jetted tub.

Things like changing the filters in the furnace, I have done, but I don't know how regularly I should be doing so. I figured that this would be a great chance for people to brag about what they do in their homes to upkeep and maintain their house.

How often do you do the little things that many people don't think about? And why do you do it?

I'd appreciate the help, and I'm sure others will to.

PS - I did shut off the water to the outside hoses before winter. That one is a no brainer.

[LeftWing]

Can't think of too much more except to turn down your humidifier in the Winter (and clean it a couple of times a year) and blow out the sprinkler system in the fall if that's applicable.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Shutting off the outside water is step 1, step 2 is to drain the lines.

Changing your furnace filter should be done a minimum 1 every 2-3 months. I'm kinda anal that way and generaly change it once a month. The winter your furnace is always running so it needs to be changed frequently, in the summer it does not but you usually have your windows open more so more dust gets in, good to change in frequently in the summer as well.

Not a bad idea to drain a bit of water out of your hotwater tank once every few months as well, gets rid of the build of of sediment at the bottom of the tank.

Really, homes aren't that much work, just keep on top of the basic maintenance and you are golden.

[fredr123]

You should replace all the electrical wiring every 10 to 15 years as it can wear out from excessive use. Yet another reason to conserve electricity.

Seriously, though, how about upgrade the thermostat to a nice programmable model and swap out your old incandescent bulbs with new high efficiency bulbs?

[HotHotHeat]

"Clean out" the internet history.

Not sure if it applies, but if you have water heated floors, we get ours flushed out once every 5 years or so to stop build up in the tubes. I'm not sure how essential/necessary it actually is, but was recommended when we got the system during a renovation.

[GrrlGoalie33]

You should have someone come out and clean your furnace/vents once a year.

If you have carpets, you should also shampoo them twice a year to keep the dust down in your house - especially if you have pets.

[Rhettzky]

We just moved into a house from a condo a year ago too. Here are a few things i've noticed.

-Furnace. We have changed the filter 4 times since moving in. So about every three months. We also paid to get the furnace and duct work cleaned out when we first moved in. The home inspector recommended we do it once a year but that seemed a little excessive.

-Toilets. Two of our toilets were apparently losing a lot of water through the flapper (weren't making a leaking sound or anything). After the plumber came to look at our water heater he mentioned that we should get new flappers and so I installed some water saving ones on all the toilets. Immediately started noticing the savings.

-Roof. We have three different levels on our roof and the upper portion drains directly onto a lower portion. Problem was that all the water from the upper part drains into a single part of the lower one and was causing damage to the shingles. The Inspector said that by diverting the drainage directly into the eaves of the lower level could save five years on the roof shingles.

-Carbon Monoxide Detectors. Our house didn't have these when we moved in. I installed one just before winter this year and not even three weeks in it went off. Apparently there is a problem with the seal in our garage and carbon monoxide was permeating through the roof of the garage into the second floor of our house and that's where we sleep. They recorded levels of 170ppm (cigarette smoke is around 30-35ppm). Really freaking scary, so we bought detectors that show a digital read-out of the ppm concentration of Carbon Monoxide and installed them on every floor.

I should also note that we don't ever leave the car running in the garage with the door shut. That was the first question the fire department asked us too but apparently with the way the garage is laid out even having the door open does not prevent the build-up.

-Patio furniture. We bought a set this summer and before winter i stacked them all neatly in a corner of our deck and put all the covers on them and everything. Last month there was a huge crash in the back yard and we noticed the table (glass top) was shattered due to the snow load. Luckily we bought it at sears and they are great at returns but I never even thought to brush the snow off the table periodically, just put the cover on and thought it would be fine until summer.


That's all I can think of now but I know there has been a steep learning curve for me too. Now if you want to get into basement development that is a completely different beast...

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by Rhettzky

That's all I can think of now but I know there has been a steep learning curve for me too. Now if you want to get into basement development that is a completely different beast...

Been there, done that... I think the main thing I'd like to do, or get someone to come in and do is looking at the sealant around our doors and windows. We've found that our main doors and windows have started to frost on the inside.

We even have a glass tile window (one you can't clearly see anything through) in our shower, and that started to frost over.

I just want to start getting little things done around the house to cut costs, but to make the place even more comfy that it is already.

Great suggestions so far, keep them coming!

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by Prottotype

Been there, done that... I think the main thing I'd like to do, or get someone to come in and do is looking at the sealant around our doors and windows. We've found that our main doors and windows have started to frost on the inside.

We even have a glass tile window (one you can't clearly see anything through) in our shower, and that started to frost over.

I just want to start getting little things done around the house to cut costs, but to make the place even more comfy that it is already.

Great suggestions so far, keep them coming!

Do you dust the plants (my wife makes me do this every so often and I can't believe how much dust collects on that crap) but really you dust everything else so what not the plants...and the light fixtures.

If you have a glass shower or just the door invest in a little squegee and do it after every shower. Makes cleaning the sucker so much easier

Outdoor stuff. If you have a sprinkler system check the status of your sprinklers ie. making sure they are adjusted properly, popping up completely and especially if you mulch that they haven't disappeared into middle earth. I'm a yard freak so everyday I'm out picking up little pieces of garbage, pulling weeds, topping up the sand in my paving stone and raking beds

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by LeftWing

Can't think of too much more except to turn down your humidifier in the Winter (and clean it a couple of times a year)

Actually play around with your humidifier until you find the highest setting without ice forming on the inside of your windows. Regardless of how high you crank it to percentage wise it will be hard to hold even 25-30 percent relative humidity in the air during winter time. Alberta winters are terrible for wood floors so if you have hardwood DO NOT turn down the humidifier.

You can probably turn it down in the summer if you want but it's best to keep a consistent level all year long. LeftWing's advice about cleaning the unit is good advice.

[Prototype]

A mighty thanks to CP nation. So... after looking over some of the ideas presented, it occured to me that a) I needed to change my furnace filter (which I had the old one in backwards) and b) I should inspect my humidifier, to see how it turned down. The filter was the easy part.

Turns out my humidifier was dripping at a rate of about 3-4 drips per second, and there was no failsafe stopper. So the tray (I'm guessing this is an older style humidifier) would overflow and spill on to the concrete ground. I'm thinking rust, corossion (sp?), deposits, etc. So I go to turn the regulator valve, and water starts bleeding out of the valve.

What would any warm blooded person do in this situation? That's right... called my dad. He came over, and after a bit of tinkering and tightening, we came to the conclusion that the valve was no longer regulating how much water was being passed through.

After a trip to the serverly under staffed Home Depot, we got a part that we thought would stop the problem temporarly, and one that would fix the problem when we had more time. Turns out the temp solution sped up the need for the fix, as the cap we bought to stop water going to the humidifier wasn't tight enough.

So water sprayed... and some things got wet.

Bottom line is, it's fixed, and dripping more at a 1 drip per 3-4 second pace, instead of the other way around. I would never have thought to look there to see what's going on had I not started this thread in the first place.

Thanks to everyone for pointing out that doing something with the humidifier was a good idea.

[LeftWing]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

You can probably turn it down in the summer if you want but it's best to keep a consistent level all year long. LeftWing's advice about cleaning the unit is good advice.

It's funny that you say that - because we try to keep as high a level of humidity in our house as we can. In the summer we turn it up almost to max, and then of course we have to turn it down in the winter to the point where ice doesn't form on the windows.

It's a personal preference though, some folks are fine with a low relative humidity.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by LeftWing

It's funny that you say that - because we try to keep as high a level of humidity in our house as we can. In the summer we turn it up almost to max, and then of course we have to turn it down in the winter to the point where ice doesn't form on the windows.

It's a personal preference though, some folks are fine with a low relative humidity.

Humidity shifts can also be hard on furniture.

When I lived in London, On, I had a coffee table (purchased from Goodwill ) that would show the difference dramatically.

One year, I hear a very loud SNAP. Then, after looking for what the #%$@ was happening, I saw the crack in the table. Over the next few months there would be a surprise snap at other times until the entire top was split.

In the winter, it was so dry you could stack 2 or 3 quarters and they would fit in the gap.

In the humid summer there was no way you could force a piece of paper in between the gap.

I know the table was made from the wrong wood, it would have cost more than $6 otherwise, but it was always interesting to note the the humidity's effect on the wood.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

I bought a humidifier when I did the basement. Talked my wife into it 'cause I collect static like a balloon.

We can't even have the darn thing on or the windows fog up.

I know someone who sweeps the snow off their deck so the stain holds longer. Or so they claim. I don't do snow removal.

How do you know if your flapper is leaking if it doesn't make any noise or anything?

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

How do you know if your flapper is leaking if it doesn't make any noise or anything?

Food Coloring ...or Blue toilet bowl cleaner.

Put it in your tank and see if it leaks into the bowl

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

How do you know if your flapper is leaking if it doesn't make any noise or anything?

Check your water meter. There is a little white triangle on top that will spin slowly if it detects small movements of water. For example if you have everything in the house shut off and that triangle is moving there is a leak somewhere.

[Cheese]

simple...and this is from an old guy...har!

I have my Maids do a thorough dusting at least once a week. I dont like any accumulation on my Ming Vases or art work. Toilets need to be cleaned daily...those teenage kids can sure make a mess, and with only 9 bathrooms in our home we use each at least once a day!

My Gardeners ensure my yard is winter prepped and keep my 1.75 mile entrance clean in the winter so my Hummer and my wifes Rolls can get in and out without much issue.

My Butler has two jobs...obviously Butlering...and keeping the Cars cleaned and fueled...I mean we do have to warm up the Rolls an extra 5 minutes as the Garage gets 2 degrees colder.

I also make sure that in the fall I go to the furrier and get my wifes 3 Minks and 2 Fox winter Coats. I wouldnt want her little tush getting cold...it wakes me up when she comes to bed with a cold tush.

I make sure I hire proper help in maintaining my house. This year I had all 182 windows replaced. My wife didnt like the color of the trim so it was just easier to replace everything! I also had my entire Boiler system and Underfloor heating revamped. When one is used to a nice 74 degree average we wouldnt want any interruptions.

Lastly...I make sure that my Private Jet is always prepped and ready for takeoff. Once it gets below -1 we have to get out to one of our 6 homes in the Carribean.

Why what do you young guys do?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Cheese

Why what do you young guys do?

Pretty much the same, except the personal assistant makes sure all that is taken care of; we couldn't say for sure how many people that takes.

[LeftWing]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

We can't even have the darn thing on or the windows fog up.

Yeah, we have a stand alone humidifier for my office - I have to keep the room at 45% all year so that my guitars don't crack. Unfortunately that means that I don't get to see out of my office windows in the winter, and then I get to clean up all of the melted contents during chinooks (like right now).

It's nice that my guitars are in good shape but the friggin' molding is coming off the window...

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

I bought a humidifier when I did the basement. Talked my wife into it 'cause I collect static like a balloon.

We can't even have the darn thing on or the windows fog up.

Same here.

I get water and ice build up on the windows sills when it gets really cold. Always adjusting it according to the temp outside. A real pain in the arse if you ask me.