When you think of spring cleaning, you usually think of high dusting and getting at some of those hard-to-reach places that in the back of your mind you know have probably collected a nice layer of winter grime. There are a few more items that usually get overlooked in spring cleaning and should be checked regularly as part of regular home maintenance.
Furnace Care
You may consider furnace care a preparation for winter action but consider that your furnace has been working hard for you all winter. It may be worth checking in on it to ensure that it is in good working order to get you through the summer and early fall, especially if you have central air conditioning. If you think about it, your furnace is the lung of your house, so it’s a good time to change the furnace filter to make sure that your furnace can breathe easy. While you are changing the filter, take a look for areas around the filter housing for pockets of dust accumulation or dust bunnies. These can be an indicator that you are in need of a professional furnace and duct cleaning, and even if you don’t want to do it now, you know that it’s something that you’ll have to plan for. If you have people in the house with allergies, sooner may be better than later because bacteria and other microscopic allergens can grow in accumulated dust and can be a significant contributor to aggravating allergies.
Check Your Dryer Vent
This often-overlooked area is worth taking a few minutes to visually inspect. When you’re drying clothes, the air flowing out of the dryer vent is made up of warm moist air, carrying with it a significant amount of tiny clothing particles making up lint. While much of it gets trapped in the lint screen, smaller particles make their way deeper into the venting system, usually accumulating in corners and sharp angles. The build-up over time can restrict airflow, making your dryer work harder, running up utility costs, and reducing appliance life. With the accumulation of heat and soft nesting material, this can be also be a comforting home for rodents and/or birds, further restricting airflow as they make their new home more comfortable.
Plugged dryer vents are a leading source of home fires due to trapping high heat over flammable materials, so it is well worth your time to take a few minutes to inspect yours. Look for excess lint build up on the ground outside your vent’s exhaust, as well as around the door seal and lint trap areas. Inspect the flexible hose coming from your dryer to the vent. They are notorious for developing cracks and collecting lint and should be replaced every five years. If you are experiencing longer drying times, increased utility bills, more humidity in the dryer area and/or a musty smell while drying, these can be indicators of a restricted venting system.
Consider your Carpets
Most people will make a judgment on their flooring cleanliness based on looks, but there are a few other things to consider. You may want to check its resistance to moisture. Scotchgard doesn’t last forever. In fact, it breaks down faster in high traffic areas. This means that moisture from socks and shoes may be absorbed easier, trapping dirt within the carpet’s fibres. A quick way to check is to mist some clean water on the carpet and see how long it takes to absorb. Do this in a high traffic and a low traffic area and see the difference.
With the cold bout in February, and the whole COVID thing, it has been a long winter. Finally, however, the days are longer, and temperatures are warming. A little spring cleaning is just what we need to put the winter of 2020/21 in the history books. Hopefully you’ll find these tips helpful additions.
