Don’t Just Forget What Dad Told You About Home Maintenance on Sunday
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It’s no secret that real estate professionals, from listing agents to home inspectors to appraisers, get a little antsy when the homebuyer’s dad shows up to the party. Father knows best, after all. He has the best advice, and he’s not about to let anyone take advantage of his baby. Dads get weird like that — it’s just part of the job.
We may joke about homebuyers’ fathers … (LOL), but we know in our hearts that dads have our best interests in mind, and every one of us has at least one great piece of advice we got from our father when it comes to caring for our homes. So, in the spirit of this past Father’s Day, let’s dole out some home maintenance advice that Dad would approve of!
The Squeaky Garage Door Gets the Grease
You know Dad loves a can of WD-40! And you know what else could use some grease every once in a while? Your garage door. This one could’ve used some before it got too rusty and jumped the track. You need to lubricate it at least every six months. DO NOT USE WD-40 (I was just being cute). Use a silicone-based garage door lubricant. Apply it to the hinges, rollers, torsion springs, bearing plates, locks, and the opener rail.
I’m Supposed To Water My House?
There’s nothing that says “Dad” like standing in the yard in your short pants, black socks, and sandals with the hose. We commonly see a low soil line around the foundation during summer home inspections. Dry soil poses a problem for foundations in two ways. First, lack of moisture causes the soil line along the foundation to drop, exposing the foundation and making it more prone to movement. Second, dry soil contracts and can actually pull away from the foundation, acting as a force in itself.
The remedy for this is to add fill soil around the foundation. In Texas, you never want to have more than three inches of foundation exposed. Earth Haulers recommends using clay select fill soil for this. The clay helps keep the soil in place and retain moisture. Next, it’s important to water the foundation regularly during the heat of the summer. How often? It depends on how well your soil retains water and whether there has been rain — you don’t want to over-water it either. Damp but firm soil around the foundation is good.
Clean Your Dryer Vent. No, the Other One.
If you’re anything like my husband (who’s also a dad), there’s his job, and when he’s not doing his job, he’s doing his other job, which is laundry. Night and day, and it’s never done. Such is laundry. But that pesky dryer vent gets filled up with lint. Not the one on the inside of the machine, but the one in the wall that you see in the image. And when it gets full, it makes the dryer work harder and longer, and that uses more electricity and can make your house hot. During the summer in Texas, you can feel the difference. In this image, the inspector had checked the outside and found it was clean, but on the inside, it was totally clogged. So make sure you check both ends!
I hope you’ll take this home advice to heart, and more importantly, listen to your dad. He knows what he’s talking about! After all, dads tell the best jokes. Did you hear the one about the roof? I doubt you’d get it — it’s over your head.
