For a beautiful, bountiful summer, start your preparations in April! Run through our maintenance checklist, then start a list of your own of all of the things you’d like to accomplish next season.
Test all of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
Clean your window screens with a bristle brush, a mild detergent and a garden hose.
Check for sales on winter maintenance equipment like snow shovels, generators, snow blowers, etc.
Prepare your winter equipment for storage and your gas powered lawn equipment for use.
Inspect your home’s exterior for signs of rot. Use a small awl to probe for any soft spots on railings, window sills, and posts.
Prepare to Grill! Grills can be cleaned with soapy water and a brass bristle brush. You may need to also clean the gas hose, and don’t forget about the drip tray. See your manufacturer’s instructions.
Re-caulk open joints around windows and doors, and replace weather stripping where worn.
Clean your range hood and either clean or replace the filter.
It’s officially March! Here on Cape Cod, we know that means we’re in for some yo-yo weather patterns and little hints of spring. Start your monthly maintenance to-do’s early and enjoy what the rest of the month has to bring!
Daylight savings begins this month. Replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors when you change your clocks.
Clean out your medicine cabinet. Safely dispose of dated prescriptions and over the counter medicines (please not in the toilet!). You might find a local collection drive by calling your police department.
Examine your washer machine hose washers. Shut off their water source, remove the supply hose, and replace any worn or damaged washers. Replace the hoses every 5 years.
Clean out the garage. Gather all hazardous materials to be tossed (paint thinners, cleaners, pesticides, etc.) and contact your city’s Department of Public Works to find out when the next collection date is.
Clean your refrigerator inside and out, removing all food, shelves, trays, and old ice from the ice maker. Replace the baking soda.
If you have one, test your sump pump by pouring water into it and making sure it pumps out.
Garbage disposal cleaner: Grind two trays of ice cubes made of 1 cup of vinegar and 1 gallon of water.
Planning on planting a garden this year? Start drafting up a diagram of the space you have. Research how much space each plant is going to need, and the best season to start them. You may even be able to start some of your seedlings indoors.
Love is in the air… everywhere I look around ? Show your home and family that you really care by taking care of them! Where to start? How about our monthly checklists? Roses and candy are always nice, but imagine doing all of the chores and tackling all of the February home maintenance projects. Now THAT is labor of love. You’re welcome ;-).
Test all of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
Test all of your ground-fault circuit interrupter outlets by pushing the “test” button. The “reset” button should pop out indicating that it is working properly. Then press the “reset” button so it’ll be set to work when you need it to.
Check inside of bathroom vanities and kitchen sink cabinets for signs of moisture or leaks. Carefully inspect for condensation or slow drips.
Check your grout and caulking around your showers, tubs and sinks. Replace missing grout after chipping out the cracked areas. If caulk remains discolored after cleaning remove and replace it with caulk that is mildew-resistant.
Inspect for loose knobs and hinges on cabinets, vanities and furniture. Tighten or repair where necessary and lubricate squeaky hinges.
To eliminate any musty closet odors remove all of the contents and wash the walls with a diluted solution of chlorine bleach. Replace solid doors with louvered doors. If the smell is the result of too much moisture in the area you’ll need to locate the source and fix it or the problem will return. You may need to simply start running a dehumidifier in that area
Use a vacuum with a narrow nozzle to clean the condenser coils on the back or underneath your refrigerator.
Every year we come upon the week of October 9th, and amongst pictures of pumpkins and foliage, we find daily campaigns of fire safety and prevention. You may be familiar with the week itself, and even recognize its faithful mascot, Sparky the Fire Dog, but it wasn’t always just about education and public awareness. The reason for designating this week actually goes back to the tragedy of a particular day.
www.firepreventionweek.org
On the evening of October 8th, 1871 a fire started around a small barn in the city of Chicago. With wood and highly flammable roofing materials being the predominant building supplies of the city, strong southwest winds, and a few errors in the emergency response, the small barn fire turned devastating for the city. Adding to the perfect recipe for disaster, the fire was preceded by drought conditions that had been plaguing the region since July.
What started the fire is still left up for debate, but when all was said and done, the fire took out more than 2,000 acres. More than 17,400 structures were affected, roughly 300 people killed, and 100,000 residents were left homeless. Much of the city’s central business district had been completely destroyed. In the 40 years after the terrible event, people continued to think about what could have been done differently, and it was decided that each anniversary to follow would be observed in a way to promote fire safety awareness, and to teach the importance of fire prevention. This definition quickly blossomed into what is now our annually observed Fire Prevention Week.
Although Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, there was a series of fires that very same day, and the country suffered the worst forest fire in American history. The Peshtigo Fire was a fire storm that was said to have been started by smaller fires intentionally set to clear land for the growing railroad. Although the specifics couldn’t be accurately determined, the blaze took down around 16 towns, and killed over 1,100 people. When the blaze reached the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, it was completely destroyed within just an hour. It even skipped over the Menominee River destroyed several Upper Michigan towns. Separate from the Peshtigo Fire, Michigan originated its own fire, known as the Great Michigan Fire. The logging business was booming in the state at that time, and the raw wooden materials and bark remnants simply fueled the firestorm’s appetite.
From the collective ashes of these fires, survivors rose to mourn lost loved ones, and share their tales of bravery and heroism. People started to think differently about fire safety and awareness. Rather than the anniversary being a solemn day, the 40th anniversary decision to make it a campaign for public safety has been amazingly uplifting and beneficial to the cause. In today’s world, we trust in building codes, flame retardant materials, and regularly practice evacuation routes. We are more aware of how to properly store things, and what to check often to prevent hazards. Fire Prevention Week reminds us yearly about the importance of fire safety awareness, and of course reminds us to test those smoke detectors, but it all originated from that fateful day of October 9th, 1871.
