How to beat common spring household problems – Article by Sarah Santoyo

Posted by AmberPM on March 14, 2011 · 2 Comments 

Article by Sarah Santoyo

With spring right around the corner, April showers and unpredictable weather bring uninvited problems to homeowners including clogged rain gutters and sticky doors and windows. Instead of spending money on hiring someone to take care of these pesky problems, there are simple ways to do it without professional help in a weekend’s time.

Rain gutter repairs

To empty clogged rain gutters, the surprising tool of choice are barbeque tongs to pull out fallen leaves. Although this isn’t necessarily an ideal way to do it, it is better than the alternative of flushing out the debris with a hose, getting wet and being covered in dirt and unwanted pieces of nature.

Second, to repair loose gutter nails, replace them with extra-long lag screws which tend to be stronger, hold better and can easily be installed with a cordless drill equipped with a nut driver bit.

Repair cracks in concrete

Concrete will always crack, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t be easily fixed. For cracks less than a ¼”, clean it with a high pressure hose nozzle, let it dry and apply concrete caulk to seal the crack.

It is important to have these repaired immediately, because if left cracked, water can seep into the cracks and cause the ground beneath the concrete to soften resulting in more cracks. The situation will be even worse if the water freezes.

Painting and repairing rusty fixtures

To help paint stick to rust and neutralize it, paint additives are the go-to product.

To prevent rust from eventually locking up fixtures, keep them well lubricated with heavy grease. It is better to use on outdoor fixtures than oil or silicon from spray cans because it won’t evaporate and its heavy viscosity is the best for heavy-duty parts. You can get it from most auto parts stores.

 

– To learn more about JV Neptune’s Service, click here –

Filed under Learning Tools