Home Maintenance Tasks for September - Winter's Coming

- Look for cracks and holes in house siding or paint. Replace caulk if necessary.
- Good time to paint interior rooms or shampoo/replace carpets while it's still warm enough to leave windows open.
- In cold-climate areas, remove window air-conditioners, or put weatherproof covers on them.
- Check heating system including filters, pilot lights, and burners, and have the system serviced by a qualified professional.
- Drain hot water heater. Flush and refill. 
- Clean and vacuum dust from vents, baseboard heaters and cold-air returns.
- Check that foundations are properly graded. Soil should slope four to six inches for a distance of three feet out from the foundation walls.
- If you haven't already, check basement for cracks or leaks. Seal if necessary.
- If you have a sump pump, test, clean and lubricate.
- Wash out garbage cans, disinfect, and then rinse thoroughly.

Replace an Old Shower Head

Most DIYers should be able to replace a shower head easily. To remove simply unscrew the old head from the water pipe (check for and remove any set screws). Most can actually be unscrewed by hand. If not, use masking tape on the jaws of a wrench or a pair of Vise Grips (to prevent marring) and unscrew it. Turn slowly and hold the water supply line while you are unscrewing the showerhead - you don't want to break the supply pipe. Clean off the base and threads of the stem and then apply plumbers dope or tape around it. Visually inspect to make sure the shower head is straight and then hand tighten the new shower head on the stem and turn on the water to test for leaks. Not sure which shower head? ConsumerReports.org has points to consider and ratings (members only) or see a retail site such as Neatitems.

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How to Find Roof Leaks in Your Home

Finding that pesky, annoying roof leak can be a real pain and is best left to professionals. That said, most roof leaks happen at flashings. Flashings connect a roof to something that is not a roof such as chimneys, valleys, where a roof bumps into a wall, skylights, plumbing stacks, etc. Check the flashings before spending any time looking at the shingles. Danny Lipford says, “Roof leaks can be hard to find, since they often run down the underside of sheathing or rafters to show up far from their actual source. The best time to try and find a leak is when it’s raining outside, or you can also mimic rain conditions by spraying water on the roof. Go in the attic and look for damp spots or water stains, trace them back to their highest point, then examine that part of the roof for any potential problems.

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Use Clove Oil to Freshen Air, Repel Ants and Mosquitoes and Sweeten Stinky Odors

Cloves have a great aroma and, in addition to their ancient use for aching teeth and gums, can be used in a variety of ways in place of aerosols or other artificial air fresheners to remove offensive smells. Make an atomizer in a spray bottle mixing 10-15 drops of clove oil per ¼ cup of water. You will need to shake well before each use. Use as a mosquito repellent by spraying lightly on exposed skin.  This is also good mix to relive insect bites and stings. The aroma alone from cloves will deter flies and a mix of clove oil, cinnamon oil and water will kill ants. A cotton ball soaked in clove oil will freshen up stinky garbage. It will work for shoes too, but be sure to place the cotton ball on some plastic wrap so as not to stain the insole.

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Some Useful Information About Furnace Filters

We all know that we should replace our furnace or air conditioner filters (they are the same thing) regularly, but many of us gape in confusion at the many, many options available and we don't really know how to determine what might be best for our specific purposes. Here are a couple of resources you might want to try for information to help you decide. Filter Furnace Care (a retail site) is good place to look for some important things to consider and a simple, but detailed comparison chart of the various filter types. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a good, but technical, resource for a comprehensive guide to air cleaners in the home including sections dealing specifically with types of furnace filters and how efficiency ratings are determined

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NEWS 

CNNMoney.com says: "Sales of newly constructed homes leaped unexpectedly in July to hit their highest level since last September. ..The news followed other positive housing market reports earlier this month, including a spike in existing home sales, home prices and affordability. Plus, the psychology of the market is changing, according to Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland. "The notion that prices will drift down forever is gone," he said. "Now people are thinking the window of opportunity will not be open forever."

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Fast Facts

• Bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers were all invented by women. 

• Your nose and ears never stop growing.

• Proportional to their weight, men are stronger than horses.

• All the women in the world put together would weigh just about 85 per cent as much as all the men.

• Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

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