After the snows and storms of winter, it’s always a relief to know that Spring is on the horizon once more. However, it’s important to realize that in most parts of the country, even those with gentle weather, the punishing winter season has nevertheless had an effect on your home. For this reason, there are a number of things you should consider accomplishing this Spring in order to prepare your home for the coming warmer months ahead.

To help you to ensure that your home is both safe and in tip-top shape, SERVIZ has put together an easy and convenient checklist of home maintenance and repair tasks to accomplish before Spring. Most of these tasks are things that the pros in the SERVIZ network can help with, but whether you call upon SERVIZ or take these actions yourself.

10 Essential Spring Home Safety & Maintenance Tasks

1. Inspect your windows, and around your windows, for leaks or cracks. Repairing these will not only increase home safety, but will save energy and improve your air quality, as well. Consider upgrading your doors and windows for added safety (and better air quality), as well.
2. Inspect your fences and gates, and mend or reinforce any weak spots you encounter. Doing so will not only discourage criminals but may potentially add property value, as well.
3. Inspect and replace your exterior lighting bulbs. This is vital for maintaining your home safety, as dark spots or badly lit exteriors can signify a lack of vigilance and may attract thieves.
4. Inspect and clean your vents and ducts (you’ll need a professional handyman or service Pro to help with this particular task). This task is vital not only for your home’s air quality, but also to help prevent the buildup that can become a serious fire risk.
5. Check your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors for overall functionality, and replace batteries. Also check for the presence of sewer gases in your home, too.
6. Inspect your Air Conditioner to ensure that it’s in good shape for use. You’ll also want to clean or change your A/C filters at this time, as well.
7. Clean your gutters and downspouts, as the snows and storms of winter can commonly leave these blocked with leaves, branches, and other detritus.
8. Clean your carpets to freshen up for Spring and improve your overall air quality. It’s amazing what a difference a clean carpet can make to your everyday well-being.
9. Inspect key appliances and components around the home, from earthquake valves, to electrical panels (for correct sizing and wiring, overall electrical health, and more), to your hot water heater, stove, and other appliances. Be sure to ask for a careful look at your hot water heater’s strapping and venting when getting help from a Pro on this, especially in earthquake zones.
10. Check your Garage Door for proper auto shutoff sensors, as well as for worn-out springs.

These basic tasks can help to ensure that your home will be safer, more energy-efficient, and in great shape for Spring.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about how to accomplish these tasks, or how to find a Home Repair Professional to assist with them, contact SERVIZ at www.serviz.com.  You can also learn more about how your own metro area stacks up for safety against other cities nationwide by checking out SERVIZ’s Home Safety Rankings (HSR) Index, at https://www.serviz.com/national-hsr-index.

Apps have become the go-to solution for many homeowners, especially when it comes to managing and taking care of their homes. Connected devices, Bluetooth technology, and the Internet of Things have all contributed to smarter homes, and these four home apps can become indispensable.

Thermostat App

Image via Flickr by kennymatic

If you don’t already have a programmable thermostat, you need one, and consider a smart thermostat while you’re at it. Smart thermostats allow you to control your home’s temperature, humidity levels, and more from an app on your phone or tablet. If you forget to change the temperature when you leave for work in the morning, for instance, you can open the app on your device and change it instead of enduring higher energy bills.

Thermostat apps also prove useful when you want to change your thermostat’s programming settings while you’re out of the house or on vacation. You can also learn useful information about your home’s energy consumption, the weather outside your home, and more.

Home Security App

When you want to keep your home safe from theft, vandalism, and other criminal activity, consider investing in a home security system with an app. About every 18 seconds, a home gets burglarized in the United States, and you don’t want to find yourself part of that statistic.

Modern home security apps don’t just alert you if someone tries to break into your home. They often come with cameras that let you see your home’s perimeter as well as the front door. Some even allow you to talk to visitors, such as delivery personnel, who ring your doorbell.

Cable and Internet App

If you haven’t cut the cable cord yet, cable and internet apps can help you manage your entertainment experience more accurately. For instance, you can set your preferred channels, let the app know which shows are your favorite, and schedule your DVR to record programs that you’ll miss because you’re away from home.

These apps learn your preferences over time and can start suggesting television shows, movies, documentaries, and other programs that might interest you. Why scroll through the guide on your TV when an app can help you get to the good stuff?

Interior and Exterior Lighting App

When you hook up your interior and exterior lighting to an app, you control when your lights come on and switch off. While simple timers can accomplish a similar goal, you can’t change the settings when you’re away from home. Connected devices give you full control over your home’s lighting when you’re away.

For instance, if you have a security system app and a lighting app, you could turn on random lights in your house if someone approaches the home. That way, a potential intruder might think someone’s at home. Of all the smart apps for the home, lighting apps might seem simple, but they can make your home safer.

If you have a smartphone or tablet, get acquainted with some of the above apps today. You’ll gain more control over your home and more peace of mind.

With so much pollution created by cars and factories, it might be surprising to know that sometimes the air quality of your home might be worse than outside. These air pollutants should be taken seriously as they can harm your family’s health.

One of the main sources of air pollutants is volatile organic compounds (VOC), which are released from varnishes, air fresheners, glues, and other household products. Your family could also be sensitive to allergy triggers like mold, pollen, or secondhand smoke. Learn about the ways you can improve the indoor quality of your home.

Clean and Vacuum Often

Most people don’t enjoy the weekly house chores, but they’re essential to stave off dangerous air pollutants. You should have a vacuum cleaner fitted with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, which traps tiny particles like pollen and tobacco smoke. It might also be a good idea to invest in microfiber mops, which capture more dust and dirt. And don’t forget door mats, so the pollutants don’t even enter your home.

Get Air Purifying Plants

Image via Flickr by Ezra S F

Who would have thought that by having the right plants in your home, you’d also be cleaning the indoor air? A study by NASA shows that plants, apart from absorbing CO2 and releasing oxygen, also remove harmful pollutants, therefore purifying the air in the home. So, you should consider getting plants like peace lilies, English ivy, or marginatas to do the hard work for you.

Improve Your Ventilation System

It’s important to make sure you always have fresh air coming into your house. Sometimes just opening the windows won’t do the trick, and you may need to improve your ventilation system. Energy recovery ventilators pre-filter incoming air, making it fresher, and also lower the bills by using the energy from stale hot air coming out.

Avoid Synthetic Air Fresheners

Air fresheners can be a dangerous source of toxic substances. One study says they can release over 20 different types of volatile organic compounds, and most fragrances contain phthalates, which are known to disrupt hormones in animals. You should avoid them like the plague, and consider creating your own homemade air freshener.

Ban Smoking From Your Home

Smoking is bad for your health, but did you know secondhand smoke is a big contributor to air pollution in households? So, if you smoke or let anyone smoke in your home, your family is at risk of developing respiratory problems, cancer, and other illnesses like ear infections. You should quit smoking or only smoke outside.

Control the Humidity Levels

A home with too much moisture in the air is the perfect environment for mold and dust mites, so humidity levels should be kept between 30 and 50 percent. If they are too high, you should use dehumidifiers, and make sure to use exhaust fans when taking showers or cooking.

All in all, it’s just a matter of finding the usual suspects and tackling the problem before it starts. When you take the time to improve the indoor air quality of your home, you’re also ensuring your family won’t suffer from respiratory problems or allergic reactions.

Once you get the gardening bug, you have it for life. It becomes practically impossible to walk past a new plant without stopping and finding out what it is. If you really like it, the chances are you will end up seeing if you can buy it for your garden. In the not so distant past that meant visiting every garden center you passed. Today, you can buy practically any plant or tree online.

Companies like The Tree Center have made even quite rare plants and trees easily available to the general public. Nowadays, provided you have the budget, you really can create the garden of your dreams.

Plants are delicate

However, when shopping online for your garden there are a few things you need to bear in mind, especially when buying plants or trees. They are nowhere near as easy to safely transport as an inanimate object like a jumper is.

You know that, but sometimes I swear the courier company forgets this. Some are great. They take very good care of all of their packages. Others, not so much, some seem to ignore “this way up” and “fragile” labels.

Check out the returns process

Sadly, there is no way of knowing whether the courier is going to take good care of your plants or trees during the delivery process. Nurseries that sell online do their best to hire good firms. However, inevitably, every now and again, a delivery person will not follow protocol and will damage the trees or plants they are delivering. In that situation, you need to know that you can return the item or get some or all of your money back. Therefore, before you buy, check out the firm´s returns policy. They are usually excellent.

On delivery, try to video the unwrapping process. That way, if there is damage you will have proof that it was done in transit. You just need to prop your phone up on a table with the plant in-shot and hit record. Or, get one of the kids to do it.

Only buy from trusted sources

Before buying, see if there are any reviews about that firm´s service. If they are mostly bad, move on and buy your plants elsewhere.

Double-check the description

It is also worth checking the product description twice before you order. That way you will not end up buying a tree that you expect to be a meter high only to discover when it arrives, that it is just a few inches high. If details like the height or maturity of the plant are not included in the description ask via email or live chat. Keep the response and complain if the plants that arrive do not measure up.

Plenty of TLC

Even a plant that has been carefully packaged and taken care of during transit will be a little fragile. This means that you have to give it a little extra TLC for a couple of months. To do this, just follow the advice in this article.

It no longer matters what season it is, rodents always seek shelter and warmth within accessible homes and properties. While bigger infestations easily make themselves known, it is better to catch mice and rats before their population has the chance to increase. But, how can you tell if there is a problem? Here are some tell-tale signs that your home is infested with rodents.

1. Chew Marks

Have you noticed tiny chew marks on cardboard, wood or other items around the home? Rodents of all shapes and sizes are well-known for gnawing on everything from skirting boards to wires.

2. Something Smells

When a rodent dies inside a home, the smell is strong. If you notice a rotting odour, give us a call to help find and remove the dead rodents and other pests. Pest Free Australia offers effective rodent control products so make sure to check it out.

3. A Musky Odour

Typically, an infestation of rodents is accompanied by a rather musky odour. The smell usually grows stronger as the infestation gets worse.

4. Droppings

Rodent droppings tend to be the most common signs of infestation – and the easiest to spot. Mice droppings are about a quarter of an inch long and have pointed ends. They’re usually small and dark brown in colour. On the other hand, rat droppings can be much bigger – around three-quarters to half an inch long – and vary in size and shape depending on the kind of rats that are hanging around your home. If you need to clean up rodent droppings, make sure you wear gloves and a mask.

5. Pets Behaving Strangely

If your cats or dogs are scratching at the walls or behaving strangely in certain parts of your home, it may be a sign of rodents. Take note of where in the house your cats or dogs are acting off so that you can guide a pest technician.

6. Tracks

Another obvious sign of an infestation is small rodent footprints. These are usually noticeable in areas where dust collects, and tracks are easy to identify.

7. Allergies

Determining the root-cause of allergies can be pretty difficult, but pest allergies are frequently overlooked. Rodent droppings and fur can also cause allergic reactions in some people. In fact, the majority of allergists believe that a pest-free home can combat regular allergy problems.

8. Holes

Rats and mice sometimes gnaw minute holes in thin materials and walls to create entry points into your home and make their way around.

9. Noise

Gnawing, scampering noises and sounds of scratching may be tell tale signs of rodents. You’ll usually hear noises inside walls, ceilings and in the attic.

10. Grease Marks

Rodent’s fur is oily and can leave grease marks and streaks on the surfaces they scurry across. Be on the look out for these unexplained marks around your home.

Rodent infestations are hazardous and costly. If you have an active infestation or you think one could occur in your home, get the professionals in to inspect the property and find a solution.