Home Maintenance Checklist – Get Your Home Ready for Winter

Two important home maintenance tasks you must do in the first year of buying a home are given below:

1. Recaulk your windows: 

Experts assert that 80% of winter heat loss occurs because of cracks and air leak near windows and doors.  A clean solution for this is to seal the spaces around windows with caulk and thereby preventing the heat loss. While caulking the windows, ensure that you have the right caulk and the good quality one with proper joint movement capability so that the sealing is efficient and lasting without cracking or peeling. 

Check the caulking around your windows at the end of every summer and recaulk the windows if necessary.

2. Check furnace and HVAC filters after you move in: 

Another thing that wastes energy and costs you more money is the existence of clogged filters which make heating and cooling systems run less efficiently. Remove the filters from the system and if found dark and dirty, replace them. Do this filter replacing every year. This will also help removal of any trapped pollutants and allergens.

Home maintenance checklist for winter

The adage, ‘prevention is better than cure’ is applicable for home cleaning also. If you take up the home maintenance works on time, costly damage and emergency repairs down the line can be avoided. Here is a home checklist of maintenance projects, advising which tasks are to be undertaken in the winter season. This will help you to monitor and complete all the maintenance tasks before the harsh weather peeps in.

• Clean the carpets
• Clean the garage, and oil garage door tracks
• Clean garbage disposal
• Test carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, and replace batteries yearly or as needed
• Check fire extinguisher
• Remove lint from dryer exhaust vent
• Check exhaust ducts are clear of debris
• Clean kitchen exhaust hood and filter
• Check sinks and toilets for leaks; remove showerheads and clean sediment
• Inspect hoses on dishwasher and washing machine for leaks.

How to tackle home dampness and mould problems

Houses in New Zealand need to be properly maintained to reduce moisture in your home and avoid dampness related problems.

Winter is coming, and people living in cold, damp and mouldy homes will have more health issues.  Dampness and the presence of mould can impact on our health as they can cause or aggravate respiratory infections, asthma and rheumatic fever. 

“Insulation, moisture levels and decent curtains are the three things people should focus on to stay warm and dry over winter”, NZ Herald quoted Auckland council eco-design adviser Adrian Feasey as saying.

A 2015 nationwide survey of Kiwi homes by the Building Research Association of NZ (BRANZ), showed that rental properties compared to owner-occupied homes are about twice as likely to be rated ''poorly maintained''.

Homeowners should ensure that proper insulation is maintained in the walls, ceilings and under floors throughout the winter. Winter cleaning by a professional home cleaner before the start of the seasonal change will go a great way in maintaining the room temperature at the safe limit of 18C. A reputed house cleaning company will be able to point out general issues affecting proper sealing of your house.

Expert Tips and Tricks for Maintaining Your Home in a Spick and Span Condition

With an aging society, and majority of younger generations unwilling to do DIY jobs, we have more consumers calling the professionals to do home cleaning and maintenance jobs for them.

This trend, known as Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) as against DIY, is now gaining momentum in the modern day society.

While you’re going to enjoy the autumn season, here are some tips to remember before winter sets in after three months:

Gutter cleaning:

Leaves and dirt might have got stuck in your gutters during the summer season. This will cause the blocked water to back up against the house, inflicting damage to the roof and weather protection materials. Gutters and drains, if not allowing the water to flow smoothly, can affect the functioning of the drainage system, which will lead to leaks in your home.

Avoid air leakage through windows & doors:

During winter period, it’s good to keep the entire volume of inside warm air in the house. Inspect the windows and doors to ensure that they don't have any cracks. In case of air leaks, take help from professional service providers who’ll use caulk to seal any cracks between each door frame and weather-stripping to efficiently seal the air leakage.  

Reverse the rotation of your ceiling fan:

During the winter period, you could increase the performance efficiency of the ceiling fans and save on energy bills by reversing the direction of rotation. When the fan’s rotation is reversed, it will send all the warm air near the ceiling to your living space as the warmer air naturally stays near the ceiling. This will help to ease reliance on running other home heating appliances (you can turn the thermostat down a couple degrees!).

Simple points to keep in mind while dusting, and vacuuming:

When you dust your home, it’s good to start the task from one corner of the room, working top-to-bottom and back-to-front. This is to allow the dust to fall onto the floor. Similarly, while vacuuming, you can begin the task from a back corner and continue vacuuming your way out the door, using long firm strokes. And when you vacuum the carpet, remember to run the machine over each strip of the carpet only once and not twice, to save time.

Before you hire a home cleaner in New Zealand, have a thorough internet search: 

• Check their credentials (work ethics, reliability and quality of work) by contacting their references, if possible. If you couldn’t get in touch with references, gather information by checking customer reviews about the company in Google or other independent social media sites other than their own website. 
• Ask if the home cleaning company has experience in doing the particular cleaning task you require; if your work is being subcontracted, know in advance who can be contacted in case of any difficulties. 
• You also need to look at the price the home cleaning companies are asking for. Never go for cheap contractors who may compromise the quality of work. 
• Check if the house cleaners are insured, and police verified. Also peruse their guarantee terms and conditions.

If you’re going to call Select Clean home cleaners who service Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch in New Zealand, you are at zero risk regarding security, reliability, dedication and quality of work. Check it out on their Website or get your free quote now by calling them on 0800 000 907.

Select Home Cleaning Tips – Winter House Cleaning Ideas and Checklist

Keeping your home clean and free from dirt in winter is not a hard task at all if you rely on professional house cleaners like Select Home Cleaning. However, there are times when you wish to clean the home yourself to ensure the premises are maintained after professional house cleaners have finished their jobs.  

Given below are some simple winter house cleaning tips that will help you to keep your beautiful home and premises clean and free from dirt and germs-

• Keep the air ducts clean- For getting optimum heating during the winter months, you should ensure the air ducts of your premises are clean. For this you need to depend on professionals like Select Home Cleaning as they will do it quickly and precisely. If you care about the heating system of your home, it is important for you to enter into an annual cleaning contract for your home.
• Use doormats- Placing doormats at strategic locations of your home will prevent unwanted mud, grime, dirt and water entering the house. The need for frequent cleaning of the floor will also be reduced. Placing rough mats made of coir or rubber near doors will soak up the mud, dirt and grime effectively.
• Gutters- It is important for you to regularly clean gutters as it is the dry time of the year. This time you will find gutters getting clogged. This affects the flow of water. You should remove debris, twigs and stray leaves from the gutters to enhance the effective flow of water.
• Cleaning the carpets and rugs- For keeping the interiors of your home neat and healthy, it is important for you to clean the rugs and carpets in the home. The good news is that winter spots and stains are not hard to remove if you bank on the right professional cleaners to do it for you. They will remove even small traces of dirt and ensure your carpets and rugs are perfectly clean.
• Allergens and dust- It is important for you to have a safe home free from allergens and dust. This problem rises in winter as the air is dry. Keep the indoors of your home clean by removing dust from every nook and corner of your home.
• Furniture cleaning- You must also thoroughly clean the furniture and the upholstery in your home. Vacuum cleaners suck up the dust. Sofas should be cleaned well and take sufficient time to remove dust from chairs, cupboards, tables etc. For upholstery cleaning, you should remove them and place them in the washing machine.

Select Home Cleaning Services– affordable and professional home cleaning services

Select Home Cleaning is a professional and cost effective house cleaning company, servicing Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington & Christchurch. It specialises in all types of home cleaning projects. Their professionals are skilled and trained in the latest methods of house cleaning. They are reliable and dedicated to their work. For specialised home cleaning such as winter or summer cleaning, you can get in touch with them and get it done in a very professional manner without any hassles!