Helpful Hints Courtesy of Grandma's Handyman Service
Use our service - We are more than ready to help you with your "honey-do" lists, so you can go on about your day knowing your house is as ready as you are, for quality home maintenance and repair, Call Grandma today!
Smoke Detectors - Be sure to test your smoke detectors at least once a month. Change the batteries every 6 months to ensure you have a good safe fire detection system!
Leaks - If you notice a leak beneath one of your faucets, don't wait, get it stopped or fixed ASAP, waiting can only add to the cost of repair to your cabinet, floor or even the ceilings beneath the faucet! Examine the grout and caulk around your bathtub/shower every 6 months. Make sure there are no cracks. Water can seep in through the cracks and get behind the tile and you will not notice any damage until the tiles start falling off the walls......then you will have a really expensive repair job.
Furnace Filters - Change your furnace filter at least every heating and cooling season, this prolongs the life of your furnace and keeps the air being sent through your vents clean and safe to breath!
Carbon Monoxide Detectors - Did you know, that as of July 1st, 2009, Colorado passed a law that states, "all homes for sale or rent will require a carbon monoxide detector within 15 feet of all bedrooms" and recommends having one on each floor of the house! Why wait to sell or rent, Grandma's Handyman Service, Inc. can install Carbon Monoxide detectors in your home now for your safety and security as well. Just another piece of mind Grandma's offers!
Garbage Disposals - One of the most abused appliances in the home is the garbage disposal. Many manufacturers will tell you that you can put anything down a disposal. Doing so will cause an early breakdown of the disposal and then you have to buy a new one. First of all, put plate scrapings only in the disposal. Do not put vegetable peelings in the disposal, especially potato. Large quantities of cooked noodles and rice should not go into the disposal. When running the disposal, give it at least 15 seconds to wash the debris all the way down the sewer pipe. You can use hot water to get rid of greasy debris. Hot water will not harm your disposal’s blades. Be sure to run the disposal at least once each evening. Not running the disposal regularly will also cause damage when you finally do run it. If your disposal blades are not turning and you hear a humming sound, you may be able to fix it yourself. Turn the disposal off. Get a wooden handle broom. Put the handle in the disposal at an angle and catch one of the blades. Grab the broom handle high enough in order to give you leverage and torque (twist and turn) the handle. This should free the blades. Remove the broom handle, turn on the water and run the disposal for about 30 seconds. If this does not work (80-something year-old ladies have had success with this), call Grandma’s.
Gutters - Clogged or damaged gutters cause a myriad of problems. Water can seep under your roof and then you have ceiling and wall damage. Left unattended, the damage can be extensive and costly. Clean the gutters every fall to prevent a water dam from building up in the gutter and also to prevent costly rust from forming. If you need to rake leaves in your yard, you probably have leaves in your gutter.
Insulation - Although it is recommended that attics in Colorado homes be insulated to R49, we recommend that you add insulation to bring your insulating properties to R60. You will notice a vast improvement in the heating and cooling of your home. Hire an insulation company who will seal the attic and then blow-in cellulose material. Grandma's Handyman Service does not do this kind of work, but we will be happy to give you a referral.
More leaks - If you notice a new water stain on your ceiling, take a screwdriver and punch a hole in the center of the stain. Place a bucket underneath to catch any drips. This will allow the water to run out and not soak into the drywall. When the leak causing the stain is repaired, then the repair to the ceiling will be minimal.
Happy to help - As you can imagine, we cannot do everything. However, we maintain a list of service providers that we trust. If you have any questions or concerns, or need a referral for a service we cannot provide, feel free to call us. We'll be happy to help in any way we can.
Clogged Drains - One of the many calls we receive at Grandma’s is for slow flowing drains. Drains will clog over time for various reasons: hair down the drain, accumulated debris and just a buildup of soap scum, etc. on the inside of the drain pipe. When a client calls for such a problem, we ask them to try the following first: There are two products commercially available in the local supermarkets – Drano Professional Strength Foamer® in a gray bottle and Liquid Plumr Foaming Pipe Snake® in a bronze bottle. Both containers look like the bottle is split in two and stuck together with one cap. I have been using the Liquid Plumr Foaming Pipe Snake®. Wait for the sink or whatever drain is clogged to completely empty of water and follow the directions on the bottle, however, allow the product to work overnight if possible or at least for several hours. Flush with hot tap water. This has been working consistently for my clients and I feel very good about saving them the expense of a service call. If it doesn’t work, that means that there is a more serious problem that we need to repair. If you haven’t done so, you may want to use this product in the drain pipe for your washing machine. That pipe is particularly susceptible to accumulating soap scum on the inside of the pipe and you won’t notice it until the water runs over.
