Have company coming for the holidays? Entertaining a fleet of friends? Your home may need a little advanced TLC to support your incoming crowd. DFW Properties presents the following five tips from 128 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric, who recommend:
Clean and treat the disposal
When entertaining for the holidays, disposals will be used much more frequently. Make sure to run an all-natural cleaner through the system weekly, and avoid putting grease, stringy vegetables, and harder items like eggshells into the unit to mitigate possible odors and avoid clogs and poor performance. Likewise, if traveling for the holidays, make sure to clean the unit well with a natural treatment to avoid returning to unpleasant smells.
Inspect the water heater
The water heater will work harder during the colder months anyway, so it is important to check the heating element in the interest of efficiency and lower energy bills. If family is staying over, the unit will incur heavier use. A clean, corrosion, and scale-free element will help the unit replenish its supply of hot water faster. For a nearly infinite supply of hot water and further efficiency improvements, consider upgrading to a tankless system.
Verify smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Whether staying home and entertaining or traveling, it is vital that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors be tested and operational. It is recommended that safety systems like these be replaced at least every five years, and batteries should be changed at least twice a year.
Change air filters
It is important to change filters on a routine basis, but consider swapping to a new one early in the cycle before holiday guests arrive. Having more occupants in the home will introduce more dust and debris, and a fresh filter will help keep the air clean. Replacing the filter before leaving the home vacant for an extended period will help eliminate the chances of returning to a stuffy-feeling home.
DFW Property Management.com manages properties in the entire Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex. We offer three property management packages: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Please click on the links to read more about each one, or check out our comparison page. Give us a call at 682-200-6700 if you have any questions.
