It is time to spring forward and leave those winter blues behind!
We all know to check our smoke alarm batteries when we make the change for daylight savings, but there are a few more maintenance items you should consider that are easy to forget and can prevent some headaches in the future. Here is a handy checklist to consider:
1) Check your fire extinguisher. I recommend a minimum of two fire extinguishers per house, one in the kitchen and one in the garage. Check the gauge, is it fully charged? Check the expiration date. Replace as needed.
2) Check your refrigerator coils. Pull off the cover to access the coils (depending on your model you may need to pull the refrigerator away from the wall to access from the back). Vacuum dust off the coils to keep your refrigerator running efficiently. This will help keep your electric bill lower.
3) Check for water leaks. Look under each sink, behind your washing machine, behind each toilet. Finding and fixing small leaks can prevent damage to cabinets and floors, plus prevent a big leak in the future if left unnoticed.
4) Clean out dryer vents. You should be cleaning the lint filter on your dryer after every load (never use a dryer without a lint filter). The dryer vents should be cleaned at minimum once a year. There are 2900 home fires reported a year caused by dryers, where failure to clean the dryer is the leading cause.
5) Check and replace batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Carbon monoxide alarms do expire, so be sure to check if any need replacing.
