Spring Cleaning at Your Lake Home

small dog on porch sitting with cleaning suppliesAs the weather warms up, homeowners everywhere are throwing open the front doors, opening the windows, and pulling on the gloves for a little spring cleaning.

Here are some tips to help you tackle that task!

Kitchens and Bathrooms

Before vacuuming, replace your vacuum cleaner bag.

Clean the dust cup, and replace or wash the filters if you can.

Snip any threads or hair snarled in the roller brush with scissors or a seam ripper.

Clean out the fridge! Spring is the perfect time to get rid of any forgotten leftovers.

Check the expiration dates on any sauces or frozen goods, as well.

For a more thorough clean, remove all the food items and wipe down all the surfaces in the fridge with a cleaning solution.

Spills, crumbs and stains will all linger indefinitely if you don’t get them out.

You can also load up the dishwasher to handle things other than dishes – light fixture globes, plastic toys, toothbrush holders, soap dishes, oven control knobs and more.

Just use the gentle cycle – and skip the heated drying!

Here’s a tip to clean the gunk out of your microwave:

Put a large, microwave-safe bowl with one cup of water and a chopped-up lemon, lime, or orange, or several tablespoons of vinegar inside.

Run it on high for several minutes, or until the mixture boils. Then let it sit for 15 minutes before wiping down all interior surfaces with a sponge.

Dust, wash and scrub

If your drapes are looking drab and dusty, remove the hooks and run them through the air fluff cycle in your dryer along with a wet hand towel for 15 minutes. This draws off the dust.

Hang them up immediately. For heavier curtains, vacuuming them with the wand from your vacuum cleaner can also work.

Banish the dust bunnies clinging to your ceiling fan blades by wiping the blades down with a coat of furniture polish.

Wipe off the excess and lightly buff them dry.

Canvas grocery bags are great alternatives to plastic, but they need cleaning like any other fabric. Run them through the washing machine to remove any lingering food bacteria.

Make sure you pay attention to the material if and when you put them in the dryer – many reusable grocery bags are a plastic composite, and could melt under high heat!

Change out your HVAC filters. Vacation homes or single occupant homes should have their air filters changed once a year.

If you live there, it should be changed every 90 days, and every 60 days if you have a pet. Your sinuses will thank you!

Spring is the perfect time to steam clean your rugs and carpets.

If a steam cleaner is unavailable, chances are your grocery store has a range of carpet cleaners. These will take care of those lingering cranberry sauce stains from last Thanksgiving.

Count it all up!

If your lake home is a vacation home, and you’ve had guests, this is the perfect time to make sure you are well stocked for the warmer months.

Inventory and wash your towels, bedsheets and other linens. Check to make sure your bathrooms are well-stocked with toiletries and other necessary items, as well.

Round up all your cookware, drinkware and silverware. Many guests leave these items behind until your cabinets are overflowing!

Contact the owners of any extras, if you know who they are. If not, you can always donate that fourth casserole dish or fifth corkscrew to the local thrift store.

Cleaning Outdoors

Wash your windows on a cloudy day. Direct sunlight can dry the cleaner before you wipe it off, leaving streaks.

Clean your barbecue grill to get ready for the cooking season.

Give the grill itself a good scrubbing with a cleaning brush and grill cleaner. If the undersides are greasy, make sure to wipe them off with a wet, soapy sponge first!

For gas grills, scrub and clean out the burners, making sure to unclog any ports. Be sure to scrub the walls of the cook box, as well.

If you have access to a pressure washer, spring is an excellent time to give any cement, stone or brick walkways a thorough cleaning.

Your exterior will not only look brighter, it will be safer and less slippery when the kids are scampering up from their dip in the lake.

Maintaining clean gutters is crucial to your home’s exterior. Clogged gutters are not only an eyesore, they can cause the fascia board underneath to rot.

Hardware stores now carry a wide selection of gutter cleaning tools to make this process much easier than it was in years past!

Many have telescoping poles that hook up to your water hose and spray down into the gutter, so you never have to leave the safety of the stable ground.

Spring cleaning is also a great time to replace any welcome mats that look worn out. These are the first thing many people see when they arrive at your home, especially if you rent it out.

If you winterized your home by turning the water off, carefully check your water pipes for leaks upon turning it back on. Remember to let your water heater fill completely before turning on the heat. Run all faucets and flush all toilets several times.

Check the Outdoor Equipment

Dig out and test any water equipment (kayaks, life preservers, inflatable rafts) for mold or leaks well before you plan to use them!

Pull them out of storage and make sure they are in good working order. Wipe them down with an appropriate cleaner, if need be.

Setting them out in the sun for a day will also help rid them of any musty smells.

If there are trees on your property, check to see that there aren’t any broken or damaged limbs hanging down.

Contact a professional to have them removed, if necessary.

When all is said and done, pull up a chair, and enjoy a well-deserved drink. You earned it!

 

And while you’re at it, take a look at these “7 DIY Natural Cleaning Solutions for Your Home”

 

Tips for Dealing with Spring Pollen

Spring Lake

Allergies are a horrible thing to deal with, especially when spring pollen comes into play. It can cause many symptoms from a runny nose to headaches and at times, fevers.

Spring brings sunshine and flowers; however, it also brings misery to so many people every year. There are many that have to seek relief from medical experts in order to just function daily.

One of the keys to controlling your allergies is to know what triggers you personal symptoms. Since there are millions of particles flying through the air, finding relief from allergies can be almost impossible.

However, knowing the trigger will help you keep some of the symptoms at bay. Here you will find some tips on how to help your allergies this spring.

1: Wardrobe

You may be thinking this is a weird one, but it is quite scientific. Wear clothes made of natural fibers.

Synthetic materials can create an electrical charge that will attract the pollen to you. They will also breathe better and will not harbor any mold.

2: Time Your Activities

If you exercise outdoors, watch the news. Your local news channel will give an announcement daily of the pollen count. If you do not catch the news, you an always check online.

Another useful bit of information to know is that the pollen count is at its lowest just before dawn. If you have to miss that part of the day, then take a non-drowsy antihistamine 30 minutes before leaving the house.

3: Gardening

If you have an issue with pollen and you are a gardener, you are asking for allergy problems. However, if you take an antihistamine 30 minutes before going outside, it will drastically cut down your allergy issues.

Digging in dirt sirs up a lot of pollen. You should also wear a facial mask while tending to your garden. Make sure to wash your hands, clothes, and hair when you enter the house to remove any pollen that has attached to you.

4: Keep it Clean

By “it”, this tip refers to your house. Vacuum the rugs, carpet, and furniture often. Leave your shoes by the front door as well. (This is another reason a mud room can come in handy.)

Take down any drapery and wash them regularly to ensure that pollen coming in from the outside while the door is open is washed away. Make sure you dust your home and have a dehumidifier running with a filter.

Although these tips are here to help you, there are some individuals that will suffer from the allergies even when the list is performed. For those with serious allergies, there are shots available. Speak with your physician about a long-term allergies shot to help you through the spring months when pollen is extremely high.

De-winterizing Your Home – How To Deal With Frozen Pipes

Cold weather climates instantly cause homeowners to prepare for the winter months to come and to protect their homes from different types of damage that may occur.

However, when the Spring thaw comes roaring your way, it is time to undo all of the things that were done previously to keep it safe from the cold and acclimate it to the warmer temperatures.

There are some steps that you will need to take in order to de-winterize your home.

Water Pipes

Now would be the time to check for any frozen water pipes. Make sure you feel the water pipes with your hands or with an infrared scanner that can indicate the temperature and whether or not there are any frozen sections in the water pipe.

Thawing of Frozen Pipes

Frozen PipeIf you do discover that some of your water pipes are frozen, you must first open your faucets, then use one of two methods in order unfreeze your pipes so that the water starts to flow again.

• Turn up the heat in your home. It can be a slow process but is very safe. Even though it may take some time to unfreeze your pipes, this is a highly recommended method from professional plumbers.
• If there is a specific part of your pipe that you know is frozen, then take a hair dryer to it until you notice a change in water flow.
• This should be used as a last resort, but you can also use a propane torch to warm up your frozen pipe. It is a much quicker method to use, but is also more dangerous and should only be done by someone who is trained to use a propane torch and can practice extreme caution.

Burst Water Pipes

If you notice that there are any burst water pipes in your home after you thaw, then you need to act as soon as possible to get these pipes repaired. The longer you wait, the more expensive the damage can become. If you do find a leaky pipe, make sure you turn off the water supply as soon as possible.

If you know how to repair a leaking pipe, then this would be the time to utilize your skills. If you do not, this would be the time to call a plumber and let a professional handle it. You will also need to replace any plumbing traps underneath your sinks.

These are just a few helpful tips you can use to help get your home ready for spring. A frozen pipe is never a good thing, so if you do not know how to handle the situation you should call a professional as soon as possible to get the problem squared away. Now your home should be ready for those warm spring and summer months ahead.