Take the home maintenance quiz
It’s the weekend and you have a whole list of household chores to do. Oh, we know you’d rather be golfing, watching football on TV or out enjoying a beautiful fall day, but keeping your home in good shape is important.
Your home may be the biggest investment you will ever make. Taking good care of it with regular maintenance is necessary to maintain its value and ensure it will provide a comfortable, safe shelter for you and your family for a long time.
Here is a home maintenance quiz that will test your maintenance knowledge. While this quiz does not address every home maintenance project, it does provide helpful tips and reminders for chores you may have overlooked.
Q. How often do forced-air furnace filters need to be changed?
A. At least every three months during the heating season.
Q. How often should the moving parts of garage doors be oiled?
A. Every three months.
Q. What faucet part needs to be cleaned every three to four months?
A. Aerator — the screen inside the end of the faucet.
Q.What should you use to clean unpainted concrete floors?
A. A solution of 4 to 6 tablespoons of washing soda in a gallon of hot water. Mix scouring powder to the solution for tough jobs.
Q. When can you clean hardwood floors with water?
A. When the floors have a polyurethane finish.
Q. Do hardwood floors need to be waxed?
A. Hardwood floors that do not have a polyurethane finish probably will need to be waxed periodically. Use liquid or paste “spirit” wax.
Q. What is the best polish for vinyl floors?
A. Water emulsion wax.
Q.Why should noisy water pipes be fixed promptly?
A. The condition that causes noisy pipes may be accompanied by vibration that can cause fittings to loosen and leak.
Q. How often should your roof be inspected?
A. A qualified roofer should inspect your roof every three years.
Q. To ensure your safety, what household equipment uses batteries that must be checked regularly to make sure they are operable?
A. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Q. At what temperature should your water heater be set?
A. 120 degrees Fahrenheit
Q. How often do skylights need to be inspected?
A. Skylights should be inspected each time your roof is inspected so leaks don’t develop from cracks and interruptions around its seals, caulking and flashings.
Q. What is a simple solution you can use to wash extremely dirty exterior windows?
A. A solution of equal parts vinegar and water or 3 tablespoons of denatured alcohol per quart of warm water. Use a piece of crumpled newspaper to wash the glass to avoid lint left behind by paper towels.
Q. What can you use to help a window slide easily?
A. Rub the channel with a piece of paraffin.
Q. What should you look for when you inspect your siding yearly?
A. Determine if wood-sided homes need to be repainted; check to see if the caulking around the windows and doors has split and cracked, and replace the caulk; clean the mildew; trim shrubbery away so it does not touch the siding.
Fall Festival of Homes
If you are interested in purchasing a new home that requires less maintenance, plan to attend the Fall Festival of Homes scheduled for the weekends of Oct. 20-22 & 27-29. Thirty-nine beautiful new homes built by a number of our region’s renowned new home builders will be open for touring 10a.m.-5 p.m. each day, with free admission to the public. Watch The Spokesman-Review and this column for more details on the event.
Our thanks to Tomlinson Black, Direct Buy and Golf Savings Bank, proud sponsors of the 2006 SHBA Fall Festival of Homes.