We all like to think we take excellent care of our homes. And it may appear that we are doing a great job at first look. Look around your home and it may appear perfectly clean and unblemished to you. But there are loads of things that most people do to their homes that causes less obvious damage.
Over time, a lot of little mistakes can create big problems. This can be seen in the cost of repairs and replacement that you may have to suffer. Have a look through this guide and make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes!
Hardwood floor
Hardwood floors are a must for anyone interested in having a stylish interior. It’s easy to lay out and it reduces the amount of dust that gets clogged up in your home. They also don’t attract allergens or molds that often travel along with dust. They’re also very tough. They can last a lifetime if you’re careful with them. Even better; depending on the type of wood used, it can actually improve in looks with age!
So you don’t want to waste the potential of your hardwood floor. Unfortunately, knowing that a hardwood floor is tough and much easier to clean leads some people to be a bit lax when it comes to taking care of it. One of the disadvantages of a hardwood floor, for many people, leaves some to do things that will damage it. For example: the fact that it isn’t as soft or fluffy as a carpet means many people leave their shoes on indoors. There’s also the fact that they can be a bit slippy if your socks don’t have much grip. While shoes in and of themselves won’t damage the floor, what you’ve brought in from the outside may do. Even if the bottom of your shoes look clean, there are several small and gritty materials that will cling onto them from the outside. This can cause small scratches to your floor. Consider keeping your shoes off or placing a welcome mat near the front door!
Soft Billard Room featuring Gingerbread color hardwood floor (Sweet Memories Series-Aged Maple)
For more information, visit www.miragefloors.com
Leather sofa: Chesterfield Cigar Vintage-ma (Mobilier actuel)
Table: Galerie du meuble classique
Table lamp: Multi-luminaire
Curtains: Zone
The fact that hardwood floors can suffer water damage may surprise you. But it’s very much a reality. Water can find its way through the tiny seams of your floor, causing problems with damp wood under the surface. If too much water builds up underneath certain areas, then your entire floor structure could be at risk. Of course, most people aren’t in the habit of pouring gallons of water onto their hardwood floor. But there are a lot of things that create little leakages that build up over time.
If you’ve come in from the rain and your shoes are wet, take them off. And make sure you’re leaving them somewhere that’s elevated from the wood! You may want to consider getting a small rug or plastic mat near the door where people can put wet objects. Umbrellas are another object to consider. And while I’m suggesting rugs or rubber mats, you should place one underneath any water bowls you’re leaving around for pets. Your pet probably isn’t known for being a neat drinker!
Check out the best ways to maintain your hardwood flooring at http://www.lowes.com.
Plumbing
Plumbing is everywhere in your house. Obviously you can’t see it, but it’s always there, working away at the most important tasks of any household. One of the problems with a system you can’t see relates to the classic adage. Out of sight, out of mind. The health of your pipes should never really be out of your mind, but it’s easy to forget about them from time to time.
Pick anyone, anyone at all, and tell them that only water should be doing down their sink drains. I guarantee you that, whoever they are, they’re already well aware of that. We all know that we shouldn’t be putting anything other than water down into the drains of our kitchen sink. But let’s face it: we’re all guilty of letting the occasional thing slide down there. Of course, all of these things build up over time, and eventually a serious blockage issue can occur. Don’t confuse that drain with your garbage disposal!
You should be killing your bad plumbing habits as soon as possible. You may think that some of the things you put down the sink can’t possibly cause that much damage, but you’d be surprised. A really common one is coffee grinds. I think of this one first because I spent years pouring coffee grinds down the sink after I’d finished making my coffee. They’re so small, right? Each grain is absolutely tiny. In fact, there’s somewhat of a myth that coffee grinds can help clean your pipes. But this isn’t the case. If you’ve got too much oil in your pipes (something else you shouldn’t be putting down the drain), it can mix with grinds to create an unholy sludge. You should throw those grinds outside with your plants; it makes an excellent organic mulch!
One common way that people eventually create problems with their pipes is through draining. Tea leaves, rice, pasta – whenever you drain these things over the sink, you usually get rogue pieces that fall from the drainer and into the sink. Easiest thing to do is just switch on the tap and watch it go away, right? But these things can also build up and create blockage over time. Rice, in particular, can also combine with fats and oils to turn into a very effective blockade. You should be using something like a clog catcher to catch these little items.
Read more about protecting your plumbing systems at https://www.assuredcomfort.com/plumbing/.
The air
We’re always pumping stuff into the air at home, even when we don’t realise it. All those chemicals we use to clean the bathroom and the kitchen? That can send things like chlorine into your atmosphere that can cause illnesses over time. And what about those fragrances, hairsprays and antiperspirants? Your average household contains an alarming amount of solvent sprays that causes damage to the air in your home and the environment at large.
Try to be careful with what you’re cleaning with and spraying around. I’d like to suggest replacing solvent sprays with roll-ons wherever you can. But I know that these things aren’t always as effective as people need them to be. So make sure you’re keeping the areas in which you use these products really well ventilated.
Another common problem in homes is too much moisture buildup. The newer your home is, the more likely you are to have this problem. Older homes tended to leak air more than newer ones do. This created problems for people who needed to insulate heat, of course. But it also had the odd advantage of keeping the air inside and outside closer to equal. Condensation is worse when the air inside the home is significantly warmer than that of the outside. This is, of course, the normal air condition in modern homes!
The most significant creator of that moisture in your home? It’s you! People doing all that pesky non-stop breathing is what causes the most moisture buildup. We’ll assume you don’t want to get rid of the people in your house or stop breathing, so there’s not much I can suggest there. But there are plenty of other things you do that sends more moisture into the air. When you take hot showers, you’ll notice that condensation builds up like crazy. Look at your bathroom mirror after your shower and you’ll see what I mean.
Cooking and doing laundry also creates moisture problems. So how do we deal with it? You need to ensure that the ventilation in your home is good enough to deal with the moisture levels. Make sure the extractor fan in your bathroom is working correctly. Keep it on for about half an hour after a hot shower to ensure maximum extraction. You should also consider getting one in your kitchen. Many homes actually already have them installed as part of the oven. Not everyone realises it, though! Check all your oven switches; you may have an extraction system above your hobs that you’ve been forgetting to use!
Another common problem with the air in people’s homes is the buildup of dust. The best thing you can do to prevent dust buildup is to reduce the amount of carpet you’re using. The fuzzier or fluffier the carpet, the more it will attract dust. Vacuuming them isn’t always adequate; dust is simply too small and strong to be completely rid of by a vacuum cleaner. If you’ve got a rug, consider taking it outside and giving it a good beat down. You may want to cover your mouth and nose when you do, though! You may want to make sure your HVAC system is doing its job. If the filter is a bit worn out, it can cause dust to be blown into your home instead of the other way round! Consider changing your HVAC filters once a month to get the air in your home as clean as possible. That may sound expensive at first, but you could look into getting filters in bulk to save money. You can look into wholesale purchases at http://www.airfiltersdelivered.com.
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