Are you taking care of your home? Are any of your home maintenance methods doing more harm than good? Find out if you are making any of these home maintenance mistakes!
- Overusing chemical drain cleaners: When most people get a clogged drain, they turn to a drain cleaner instead of paying a plumber, but is that always a good choice? Drain cleaners and even baking soda and vinegar can break down and deteriorate pipes over time. A drain snake or a $2 tool called a Zip-It may be a better way to go in the long run.
- Sealing countertops too often: Natural stone, glass, butcher block, and concrete counters only need occasional sealing while laminate, Quartz, and Corian are best without a sealer. Sealing a counter too often can result in a streaky and cloudy appearance. A good rule of thumb for knowing when to re-seal is to put a small amount of water on the countertop; if it doesn’t bead up and stay that way for 15 minutes, it may be time to re-seal.
- Using too much bleach: Bleach can be useful around the home but using too much of it can do more harm than good. Did you know that bleach can discolor laminate and colored grout, fade acrylic tubs, actually dissolve vinyl flooring and more?
- Improperly storing firewood: Many homeowners keep firewood piled outside the home and against an exterior wall. While that may be an easy storage spot, it can cause a huge problem. Keeping wood against the house invites termites to live there. Instead, keeping wood stored at least twenty feet away from the home will keep termites at bay.