Year: 2020

Electricity is and has been a vital part of living for decades now. While many adaptations and changes have been made to enhance safety, making appliances and other electric devices much easier to use, there are still plenty of safety tips you can follow to ensure you extend the life of your electronics.

What To Do for Electric Safety

Some of the most vital parts of electrical objects are the cords and wires used to transfer electricity. For best results, keep an eye out for these signs:

• Repair or replace any frayed cords with exposed wires
• Do not pull on cords, whether to unplug, hang things off of, etc.
• Keep electrical objects away from water
• Don’t adjust the shape or size of the plug on the cord

While managing these safety tips can keep electronics in good shape, no electric device should be used for more than 10 years.

Managing your home décor in the winter can be incredibly fulfilling, giving you and the whole household a comfortable space to return to for warmth and coziness. One way to really establish this hearth and home feeling is to really focus on creating a “sense of place.” Giving your house a personalized and emotional connection through unique qualities and comforting imagery can tie together not only the interior design, but also the bonds between those living within the walls. In the winter, this can be done through holiday decorations cohesively connected throughout the house along with warm blankets, pillows and more to bring comfortable spaces to multiple areas of the house. As long as your home feels cozy and brings warm feelings, you can happily say there’s a sense of place.

No one wants to live in a home with mold. This substance can cause health concerns and reduce the value of your house. Certain instances call for a mold inspection to give you peace of mind or help you know what you’re up against.

Purchasing a House

Anytime you buy a home, you should order mold testing. Make sure you hire a professional company with the right experience and tools to do a proper job.

After Water Damage

Mold often develops after a flood or steady, long-term leak. If you detect water damage in your home, call a mold remediation team to look for any signs of mold in the walls, ceiling and floor of the affected area.

If you are ready to put your home on the market, you want to make it as attractive as possible. Sometimes, using the right home décor can go a long way in generating interest from prospective buyers.

Use Paper

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a room stand out. Colorful paper decorations, especially around holidays, can add flair to your living space. Try using banners or pennants. Even framed drawings can be effective.

Try Pedestals

Fall decorating ideas can help you add excitement to your home as you show it off. Try lining a hutch or bookshelf with autumn decor on pedestals. This can transform a barren space into an active area of fall-time fun.

How much attic insulation does your home have? Older homes, in particular, often have less insulation than recommended. Enjoy comfortable year-round temperatures and save on your energy bills by contacting a professional to inspect your attic and add more insulation. Look for these signs of improper insulation levels and contact a professional today.

Drafty Home

When you get a cool breeze in the middle of your home in winter, it’s a sign that your home is improperly insulated. Inefficient insulation causes uneven temperatures from one room to another, which creates a draft. Create a uniform temperature throughout the seasons by upgrading your attic insulation. Insulation helps your home retain hot air in the winter and air-conditioned spaces in the summer.

Temperature Swings

Is your upstairs cold in the winter and hot in the summer? These large temperature swings are not only a sign of inefficient insulation, but it points to your attic as the likely culprit. An uninsulated attic allows all your hot air to escape through your roofline in the winter. In the summer, direct exposure on your roofing material causes it to heat up. A lack of insulation makes it easy for all the excess heat to transfer into your home.

Ice Dams

Finally, ice buildup on your eaves is another common sign of improper insulation in the attic. While icicles hanging from your eaves may add a festive look to your home, it can damage your roofing material and encourage water to pool on your roof and enter into your attic.

Contact a professional today to inspect your attic and add more insulation. Attic insulation can be difficult to add, depending on the electrical wiring or other components in your attic space. A professional will ensure safe installation and proper ventilation throughout your attic. Save on your next utility bill and enjoy a comfortable home all year long with proper and professional insulation installation.

While you may have a surge protector on a few expensive electronic devices in the home, you may be able to avoid electrical repairs by having one for the entire house. A power surge can cause problems for more than your computer. With a little preplanning, you can avoid the pitfalls of everyday indoor power surges.

Preventing Indoor Overloads

The weather isn’t the only thing that causes power surges. Anything in the home that is plugged in can disrupt the power source and cause a surge of power that a surge protector prevents causing additional issues with your electronics. The small cost of a whole-home surge protector can save you thousands of dollars in appliance and electronic device replacements.

Siding is a popular choice for home builders because it is low maintenance and comes in a wide variety of colors. It is also a common choice because properly installed and maintained siding can provide a great barrier against water.

Home inspectors will pay close attention to the home’s siding to make sure it doesn’t show signs of cracking, splitting or holes of any kind. As you can imagine, once the siding is no longer intact the water barrier it provides is in question. Additionally, signs of warping or buckling are something the home inspector should catch. You can usually negotiate a price break during the sale if you know these items need to be repaired.

You do everything possible to keep your kids happy and healthy. That’s why cook tasty meals with plenty of vitamins and make sure your children get enough sleep at night. You also give them tons of hugs, kisses and affection so they feel safe and loved. You are an amazing parent. Adding regular radon testing to your personal things-to-do list is great for your whole family, but especially for kids. Why?

Young Lungs May Be More Sensitive

Well, some scientists think that radon affects children more than adults. This is probably because kids’ lungs are still developing. Of course, many homes don’t represent a radon risk, but it’s still best to schedule testing every few years to keep things that way.

Make a Beautiful First Impression

Fall decorating ideas should incorporate the front porch, as it is the first thing many people see when coming to your home or just driving by. Even if your front porch or stoop is small, you can still maximize the space by adding some seasonal touches.

Show Off Your Seasonal Items

Go beyond interior home décor and embellish that stoop for a festive season. Pumpkins and gourds are available during this season and they make great additions to the front porch. They are easy to stack and rearrange, and they come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Pair those icons of autumn with a bristle doormat to prevent tracking unwanted debris inside your home.

One of the biggest reasons basements are so susceptible to mold is due to poor insulation. Unfortunately, what constitutes as a good insulation job in other aspects may create the perfect scenario to encourage mold growth. Many insulation setups naturally trap the moisture from the air in the insulation. This, of course, is exactly the environment that mold needs to grow.

So, what can you do? First of all, consider using closed cell spray foam insulation or rigid foam insulation. This can create a thermal break so moisture does not become trapped. Second, open the windows in your basement to create a cross breeze, especially during the humid or wet seasons.  Finally, if you are unsure whether you have a problem, it is always a good idea to call the professionals sooner rather than later.