Ah...spring is here. The sun is shining, birds are singing, flowers are blooming (okay, maybe all that isn't quite true just yet)...still you're probably getting that itch to spring clean, right? Excellent! Don't just shake out the rugs or air out the curtains though; take the time to look over the whole house, inside AND out, and take care of some of these spring home fixes that are super important!
1. External vents. (Ahem. No, we will never tire of repeating this one!) This is the time of year that you want to make sure you check vents that lead outside, that connect to your heating and cooling systems, dryer and more. A damaged or missing vent cap could allow birds or rodents in, clogging the vent and potentially releasing toxins into your home. In fact, Dryer Vent's founder, Dave Lavalle, says the first warm weeks of spring send many birds into dryer vents looking for ideal nesting spots (particularly when fruit trees begin blooming).
2. The washer and dryer. Want to hear something yucky? Laundry detergent, dryer sheet residue, and fabric softener build up in your drum, detergent dispenser, and lint traps (are you picturing a 10 inch coat of ancient detergent at the bottom of the washing machine now too?). This all reduces the appliances' effectiveness, so make sure you wipe out your washing machine and dryer.
3. The HVAC. Aside from its ability to properly expel exhaust, you should always make sure your heating, ventilating and air conditioning system is functioning properly. Clean or change filters regularly, and if you didn’t have a routine check done on the system in the fall, do so now.
4. The roof. Okay, this one's kind of obvious, but seriously think about how much abuse your poor roof takes during the winter time – snow, hail, sleet, heavy ice. Your roof is a trooper! Then along comes spring with it's April showers and well...once the weather has cleared, head on up and check the roof for loose shingles or cracks, then fix those bad boys right up!
5. The refrigerator. When you're done throwing out that jar of pickles from 2013, take a look at your refrigerator coils. They'll be located either at the back of the fridge or underneath, accessible by removing the panel below the door. Pet hair, food and other dirt collects down there and is neglected by quick sweeps of the kitchen and if your coils are dirty, your fridge has to work harder to cool. They're easy to clean though, just use the handheld hose on your vacuum. For the record, you might want to do this one a little more often than just during spring cleaning!
Once you're finished with your deep clean, go outside and sit by the grill, have a drink, and enjoy the weather. You deserve it!
We're the experts for professional NY Metro dryer vent cleaning and repair! Give us a call at 845-610-2779 so NY Metro Dryer Vent Wizard can help you save energy, time, and money. Some of the towns we service include: Sparrow Bush, Brewster, Carmel, Cold Spring, Garrison, Lake Peekskill, Mahopac, Mahopac Falls, Putnam Valley, Patterson, Suffern, Bear Mountain, Blauvelt, Congers, Garnerville, Haverstraw, Hillburn, Monsey, Nanuet, New City, Nyack, Orangeburg, Palisades, Pearl River, Piermont, Pomona, Sloatsburg, Sparkill, Spring Valley, Tallman, Tappan, Thiells, Tomkins Cove, Valley Cottage, and many others!
