Little secrets every homeowner should know

Joluud
Joluud
Nov 8 · 4 min read

Every homeowner should know these little secrets that handymen won’t tell you.

No one can do it all.

There is a saying that Jack of all trades is usually a master of none. If any handyman tells you he can do it all, please do not believe him. Actually, a sure sign that you can trust me is if I tell you I’m not the best person to do a particular job and give you the name of someone else.

Inspect your house.

Houses don’t take care of themselves. It is your duty to go round and check to be sure that everything in your house is in the right order. It costs nothing but time and that practice would definitely save you a lot. Watch out for a blog that would show you how to inspect your home coming soon in the meantime, these Toilet maintenance tips will save you stress, money, and time in maintaining your washrooms.

Make a Homeowner’s Journal.

Buy a ring binder and keep important equipment papers, repair receipts and all other paperwork pertaining to the house in it. Storing all your household information in one handy place makes life easier for the homeowner.

Shut Off the Water Before leaving the house.

You may have head stories like this one, you left the tap on and went to work or for a vacation and before you get back, the whole place is flooded leading to thousands of Ghana cedis in water damage. The moral of these stories is simple: Before going on vacation, turn off the main water valve. In less than a minute, you can eliminate the most common cause of home damage.

Understand Electrical system in your home.

Electrical overloads are easily created but can be incredibly dangerous for your home and everyone in it. A solid understanding of how the electrical circuits in your home function will not only make you a master homeowner, it will allow you to make as many do it yourself improvements as you want while maintaining the integrity of your electrical system.

Eliminate Drain Odor using cooking oils.

The traps in floor drain or any drain that isn’t used often will eventually dry out. This may sound harmless enough, but a dry trap can cause a room to fill with potentially harmful sewer gas from the septic tank or the buildings sewer system. Eliminate this problem by adding about a quarter of freshwater topped with a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil. The oil floats on top of the water and seals it against evaporation. Your drain will hold water in the trap much longer.

Always Shield your Phone when working.

When you’re painting, gardening or cleaning your house, keep your phone clean and dry by sealing it inside a zip-top bag. You can still work with the phone right through the bag.

Test and Replace the Batteries in Smoke Detectors.

Smoke detectors should be tested monthly, and the batteries should be replaced every year, so it’s a good habit to make this part of your regular spring maintenance routine. Test the batteries by simply pressing the ‘test’ button and making sure the unit chirps. Even if it works, replace the battery (or back-up battery, if your is a hardwired model) and re-test it. If the alarm does not pass the test, replace it immediately.

Smoke detectors have a lifespan of 10 years, so look for a ‘replace by’ sticker or date embossed on the inside of the unit to see if it needs to be replaced, even if it passes the chirp test. If you can’t find a date, replace it anyway immediately. On new detectors, make sure to write the ‘installed’ date on the inside cover on a piece of masking tape.

Ask before you throw things away.

Before you throw something out, ask whether It can be repaired. It is usually rare for things to get totally spoilt unless it’s broken. Always sought to see if it can be fixed and learning that can save you a lot more money than trashing it and going for a brand new one.

Find a Licensed Technician.

Don’t assume that every Mr Fix-it advertising his services in the local area is a licensed technician. One benefit of using a licenced technician is that most repairs done would be according to building standards and for professionalism. Local handymen might seem cheap but the effects might lead to an even grave issue.

We’re always learning.

Sometimes I still have to look up how to do something before I do a job (YouTube is the best!). A good handyman stays up to date on new products and trends and is always open to learning something and so should a good house owner strive to learn.

Thanks for reading and watch out for our next tips. Cheers

Joluud

Written by

Joluud

Digitising Facility Management in Africa — Helping Facility Managers, Aggregate, Schedule and Execute maintenance operations and cost.

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