[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It is around the house. Here's one little thing too, I'm gonna add onto this home maintenance checklist as we get into fall. And you got some heavy rains out there, and this is especially for you down in Southern California where you just got dumped on down there with that, uh, tropical storm last week.

[00:00:20] Eric Goranson: And uh, I wanna make sure that when you have a heavy rain like that safely, you know, put on that, put on that umbrella. It's thunder outside. Don't get anywhere near that. Course use some common sense here, but really dress up. Go outside and take a look around your house, walk it and see what's going on. Do you have water pooling up against the foundation?

[00:00:41] Eric Goranson: Is there a gutter overflowing? What is there one lose? Do you have water bounce When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home? There is a lot to know that we got you coming. This is around the house. Welcome to the round the House Show, the sport. We help you. Get the most outta your home through information and [00:01:00] education.

[00:01:00] Eric Goranson: Thanks for joining us today. Doesn't matter if you're on the, uh, radio network, the Cock Media Network, or you'll listen to the podcast. We're here to help you with your home. Well, today we're gonna be talking about our round the house, uh, home maintenance checklist for fall. We're cruising into fall, kids are getting back into school, and it's time to do this while the weather's better versus worse.

[00:01:21] Eric Goranson: So we're gonna go over that today. This episode today is brought to you by Root Quencher and root quencher.com. These are our friends over there that, uh, well, they put the water right at the roots of your trees and shrubs. So you're not wasting it on the top where the roots aren't. So this is the, uh, way to save yourself money and have healthier trees and bushes.

[00:01:41] Eric Goranson: Well, today's home maintenance checklist is something that we do every single year, and we kind of update it as we go. But this is an important one because, you know, there's a lot of things when the seasons change, we need to make sure are dialed right in. And so it's great to get this stuff done. If you're in the northern states here, it's great to get it done.[00:02:00]

[00:02:00] Eric Goranson: Before the freezing weather arrives. If you're down south, well you have a little more time to do it, but you know, we are in hurricane season for people down in the Gulf and uh, on the eastern seaboard. So these are things that we always have to watch out for. So it's good to get these things done sooner than later.

[00:02:16] Eric Goranson: So, uh, let's dive into our list today. So outside number one, before freezing weather arrives. Now here's how I do it now, this is an important one here because what I'll do is I'll go on my phone and set up appointments on things to do. So use my calendar. So, uh, things that I want to get done before the freezing weather arrives.

[00:02:35] Eric Goranson: I pick a date that's a few weeks before when I think it's gonna be, and I'll put it on a list that way so I can deal with it later. For instance, our first one, before freezing weather arrives, remove garden hoses from bibs drain in store for winter. Of course wrap things up that need to be insulated. Now this is something, depending on where you're located here, I'm probably not doing this till November because rarely do we get that cold.

[00:02:57] Eric Goranson: But if you're other parts of the country, you need to be doing that at [00:03:00] different times. So watch out for that. Uh, at the same point you wanna be watching for freezes. You're gonna be draining those in-ground sprinkler systems. Now, uh, some areas they don't blow 'em out at all. My area, it's rarely done here.

[00:03:15] Eric Goranson: Growing up in eastern Washington where I did, guess what? We blew that thing out, uh, getting in as soon as the irrigation turned off, which is like September. We hooked it up and blew it out. And, uh, that's how that happened. So it was one of those things that we took care of and, you know, we let the winter rains take care of that lawn.

[00:03:31] Eric Goranson: If you're in places like Southern California, you never do that. So, and those sprinklers are running, you know, 365 days a year. So things to consider, things to, you know, depending on your climate. Now here's where we're getting into the more important stuff here. Clean debris outta window wells gutters.

[00:03:50] Eric Goranson: Downspouts and storm drains. So window wells, gutters. Yeah. Those are always a constant thing. Even if you have the gutter guards, there's many of you still need to be cleaning those things out. [00:04:00] Now the storm drains is a bigger one here, and this is something, when was the last time somebody came in? Scoped and cleaned out the storm drain system.

[00:04:08] Eric Goranson: Now what I'm talking about is our storm drain system is what is going on with those gutters and downspouts. What does that go into? That should go into a system that goes underground out to the curb if it's legal into a dry well system or just. 10 or 15 feet away from the house is a minimum. So I recommend about every two to five years getting those scoped and cleaned out.

[00:04:33] Eric Goranson: Now what you want to do is you want to catch it before there's roots, before roots are a big problem and that kind of thing. So that way that's working, and that is probably one of the most neglected plumbing systems at our house, is that storm drain system that we put in with newer homes. Or if you're trying to, you know, keep that from foundation, from getting damaged, that's one of the things I want you to take a look at.

[00:04:53] Eric Goranson: So make sure you get that all dialed in right there and make sure that's working correctly. And if you do have gutters [00:05:00] coming down into downspouts and are draining right next to the foundation, I don't care how much rain you get, it's a good idea to get that in the ground. If you're out in the desert where you know, you get just a little bit of rain, uh, you know, Mojave or something, I get it.

[00:05:14] Eric Goranson: But really you should get that away from the house because it is gonna cause foundation damage if it's within 10 feet of the house. So something to consider, and we've talked about that in other episodes. Now, the next one here is super important. This is inspect weather, stripping on the windows and doors for fit and condition.

[00:05:31] Eric Goranson: Replace as necessary. You know, if you've got a door that's got a bad sweep on it, Something like that, that can be like leaving a window open. So we wanna make sure and get that stuff tightened up as best we can. And uh, you know, that weather stripping on the windows and stuff, a lot of that stuff you can get right away.

[00:05:49] Eric Goranson: If it's a newer door, you can probably check and see if there's one that's pre-made for it. But really there's a lot of options at your home improvement store. So make sure that all that weather's stripping on the windows and doors. Good. [00:06:00] Adjust them as necessary and replace as needed. So here's a really important one here.

[00:06:06] Eric Goranson: Inspect doors, windows, siding for holes and cracks, caulk as necessary. This is a great time to do it 'cause it's still warm outside and you can get out there and get that caulked up really quickly and in a matter of hours that's, you know, taken care of. And you can go around and actually do any painting touchup as needed.

[00:06:25] Eric Goranson: So that's what's really cool is you can actually go through the windows and doors and siding. Get that all cocked up and then just go around and get it touched up. That way the house is looking good wintertime, and you don't have to worry about water getting in. I tell you what I see so many times, uh, when I'm doing remodels and running into issues here, that so many exterior damage complaints that we have about having to reframe a window or something like that comes down to being all about.

[00:06:52] Eric Goranson: Things were either not flashed correctly or they weren't caulked correctly. And that's a really big issue. So you wanna make sure that you [00:07:00] get that taken care of and, uh, get it all done. Uh, you know, these guys don't pay me a dime, but I'll tell you what I love working with. Uh, as far as exterior caulking, sashco, they're big stretch.

[00:07:10] Eric Goranson: That's one of my favorite ones. And I've been using that a lot more now. Uh, that stuff really tends to stick around, which I like because in our area here, we can get to be, you know, Minus 10 or we can get to be 114. So, uh, there's a pretty good temperature swing here and that stuff holds up really well.

[00:07:28] Eric Goranson: And, uh, one little thing with caulking, which is kind of funny, and I learned this from Sashco when we were talking about it a couple of years ago. They like to have actually a little bit area, a little bit bigger area to put caulking in because if their caulking stretches 300% and you put just a, a paper thin layer right there that doesn't have much to expand and contract.

[00:07:50] Eric Goranson: If you were to put in, you know, a 16th inch speed or an eighth inch speed, think about that. 300 percent's a lot more room to move. So a little bit more [00:08:00] caulking is not a bad thing when it comes to that. So make sure you get all that stuff cleaned out, clean up all the old caulking. And, uh, one thing I do like about that is the, uh, SCRA stuff paints up really well and, uh, looks really nice when it's all said and done.

[00:08:12] Eric Goranson: So that's a good one there. Now here's one. If you've got a wood fired. You know, chimney, basically. So if you've got a wood-fired stove, that's one thing. If you've got a fireplace, make sure and have that inspected. And if you're using it as a wood-fired, wood-fired fireplace or stove, make sure you get that cleaned, have it taken a look at.

[00:08:31] Eric Goranson: I wanna see you do that every year and make sure that you got that. If you're heating your house, that should be probably done once or twice a year, depending on what you've got going, but you really wanna make sure that that thing is looking good, that things haven't happened, it hasn't sank, it's, it's not correct.

[00:08:47] Eric Goranson: That, uh, all the brickwork and stuff is dialed in. Um, if you've got metal, it's always good to have that inspected too, to make sure that you don't have any holes and all of that. So make sure you get that dialed in. But really, that chimney is something that you should be [00:09:00] maintaining and maybe it needs, uh, you know, it's always good to have a chimney sweep go up there if you need to have a tuck pointed or something like that.

[00:09:06] Eric Goranson: That's another thing. And make sure that that's all dialed in because, uh, those chimneys can be a pain that can cause a fire if you don't have them. So you wanna make sure to, uh, you know, stop that chance of a chimney fire by getting it swept, cleaned, inspected, and worst case, you can realign that. Now when we come back, I have a lot more here on our list and if you wanna find out more about this list or you want me to send you a copy.

[00:09:29] Eric Goranson: Just, uh, email me and you can just do that at over, at, uh, around the house online.com. Contact us and I'll send you one back around the house. We'll be right back after these important messages. They'll go in.[00:10:00]

[00:10:10] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. We've been talking about our around the house home maintenance checklist for fall. So we've been going through that and I know it still could be 80, 90, a hundred degrees outside.

[00:10:25] Eric Goranson: But, uh, kids are back in school. We're creeping up on Labor Day, which means it's time to start working on this, uh, fall checklist. 'cause for many people in the country, many people in our audience, they're really looking towards fall here. And, uh, winter creeps in quick. Uh, and storms do too as well. So, uh, those are things to always take a look at.

[00:10:43] Eric Goranson: So we've been talking about outside. Our home maintenance checklist here and, uh, try to get this wrapped up in this segment for the outside part of it. So next up, inspect all soften vents and other venting systems to make sure they're clear of debris. And this is an important one, and know you, ah, it's just a vent, [00:11:00] but making sure that things are breathing correctly.

[00:11:03] Eric Goranson: Now, that can be the, uh, vent fans in your bathrooms. It could be the vent fan for your stove. That should be going outside as well, your range. Uh, or cooktop, but really what I'm really talking about is checking a few certain things. So making sure that if you have soft vents, that those are clear. So many times somebody will come in, especially on something that's older than the nineties, Hey, we added more blowing insulation, but guess what?

[00:11:29] Eric Goranson: That blown in installation, maybe got a little bit outta hand, or it was a d I y project went bad, and those soft events get insulated over. So I want you to take a high power flashlight look up through there. Now, one thing that I do as well, which is kind of, it's a good two person job, but put yourself on a, a phone call, uh, with somebody and have them go around the soffit fence as you're standing up in the attic and run that light up through those and see if you can see it.

[00:11:56] Eric Goranson: 'cause you're in the attic. It's dark. It's a good way to see if anything's in obstructed. [00:12:00] And they can put it right up against it. And then you can do that just visually. It's so much easier with two people. And that means that you've got that going. If you've got those going well and then you've got a good ridge vent or a good attic vent up top, then you're good.

[00:12:15] Eric Goranson: Um, you know, you wanna keep those attic temperatures, you know, moderate because, uh, well, You've got the, the, uh, insulation, the, the less temperature you have up there in the summertime, if you've got that under control, you have less of that, uh, heat bleeding down into the living space, which is good for you.

[00:12:35] Eric Goranson: Uh, so that's an important one right there. But making sure that that's all working correctly. I'm not a big fan, big fan. I'm not a fan of the, uh, of the attic power vents unless you designed it for it when it was built. Because many times, uh, those power fans on the, on the attic, those can actually create a vacuum up there and pull cool conditioned air from outside, you know, inside your [00:13:00] house to the outside and actually hurt you as far as energy efficiency versus help you.

[00:13:05] Eric Goranson: So something to really take a look at. So, uh, be careful of those. Now here's another one here. Walk around the outside. Inspect bricks or blocks for cracked motor loose joints. Repair is necessary and I'm talking. You know, if you've got, uh, a brick walkway or if you've got a brick, you know, a facade going around the house someplace.

[00:13:24] Eric Goranson: Uh, we already talked about chimneys, but, uh, if you've got a C M U or a concrete masonry unit block foundation, making sure that's styled in and really walk around at the same point and make sure that you don't have any cracks in the foundation. I want you to just walk around, look between the siding, the ground, you've got a basement.

[00:13:41] Eric Goranson: Do a quick walk around down there in the unfinished spots. Making sure that you've got that check around in your garage, you know, all of those areas and see, and if you do have cracks, keep an eye on 'em. You can actually jump online and buy those crack tapes that you put across there and measure 'em.

[00:13:56] Eric Goranson: And then you can kind of see what happens on the offset to see if it's moving. [00:14:00] Uh, if you've got cracks at something, definitely you want to have taken a look at. Just don't go caulk that or anything. Make sure that you've got that dialed in. Sometimes you might have to go in there with, uh, carbon fiber or something else in there to make sure that that's held together.

[00:14:12] Eric Goranson: If you can, uh, get that repaired, you'll be better off. So here's the thing. If it's a little tiny crack, that's not that big a deal. But if it's something that maybe it's big enough, you can put a credit card in. Or if it's going, you know, an up and down versus a side to side crack, if you've got a horizontal crack, that is a structural thing that you should be looking at.

[00:14:31] Eric Goranson: Make sure that you're looking. To have that inspected by a, uh, you know, I just wanna get a structural engineer looking at that. So make sure that you get that well inspected. Good time to check it. So, uh, now here's the thing here. This is a really good one, and this is something that's protecting your house.

[00:14:50] Eric Goranson: So, inspect those painted surfaces for paint failure, water damage, mildew, clean repair. You know, here's the thing. Anytime that you [00:15:00] have any damage, To a wood outside that is gonna let the moisture in, you'll let the moisture in, and then you get carpenter ants or termites or things like that. Uh, depending on where you're located in the country.

[00:15:13] Eric Goranson: And these are things that you really wanna make sure you've got dialed in because this can be, uh, can be pretty rough if you're not, uh, uh, you know, my house a great example. Uh, if you walk around the outside, it looked great. Home inspection looked great. Once I started getting into it, I found lots of little spot areas over its, you know, 40 plus year life of really having, uh, carpenter at damage year after year, after year.

[00:15:40] Eric Goranson: And they would have 'em, you'd have a small nest, it would go away. And so, uh, almost every area I find a, a, a slightly damaged two by four. And if I tear siding off someplace, there's always a spot. So make sure that uh, if you can make sure everything's caulked up, cleaned up and painted up, you're [00:16:00] gonna be good to go.

[00:16:00] Eric Goranson: And that's how you really keep that from happening. And you know, if you've got a lot of ants inside, things like that, those little guys can find a ton of places to be able to go around. I mean, it's just crazy how those guys can find a hole. You might as well see if you can do what and get 'em a little bit more dialed in because, uh, this is that time of year.

[00:16:18] Eric Goranson: Now be careful while you're out doing this stuff, make sure that you're keeping an eye out for harnessed wasp yellow jacket nests because, uh, this is the time of year they get pretty dang aggressive and you wanna make sure that you've got that, uh, you know, safe for yourself as you're out doing this inspection.

[00:16:35] Eric Goranson: So, uh, here's one little thing too, I'm gonna add onto this home maintenance checklist as we get into fall, and you get some heavy rains out there, and this is especially for you down in Southern California where you just got dumped on down there with that, uh, tropical storm last week. And, uh, I wanna make sure that when you have a heavy rain like that safely, you know, put on that, put on that umbrella.

[00:16:56] Eric Goranson: If it's thunder outside, don't get anywhere near that. Of course, use some [00:17:00] common sense here. Really dress up. Go outside and take a look around your house, walk it and see what's going on. Do you have water pooling up against the foundation? Is there a gutter overflowing? What is there one loose? Do you have water bouncing off the side of a house and a place that is gonna be a problem?

[00:17:19] Eric Goranson: Make sure you get these things dialed in. 'cause if you get these things dialed in, you're gonna be a lot better off. So, uh, and it's gonna stop a lot of damage too. So make sure that you've got that stuff dialed in. By walking around the house, you could see if that storm drain system's not working or whatever those other issues are.

[00:17:36] Eric Goranson: So a simple walk around the house during a storm can be a really good eye of what's to happen a little later down the road. And what are some of those maintenance things you need to take care of? So that's a key right there. Uh, we were talking about caulking and stuff earlier, but really making sure if you've got an old house, old houses are a little bit more.

[00:17:55] Eric Goranson: And so we're gonna talk about that here, this segment, and a little bit more into the next segment. Some [00:18:00] of the things that you should be doing if you have an old house now, one of those is gonna be to walk around and make sure that you don't have any glazing compound. If you have single pane windows, making sure that those are good, go around and, and just kinda lightly tap on 'em and see if you have any loose glass.

[00:18:15] Eric Goranson: You can hear it rattle. If you've got that, maybe it's time to reglaze. Uh, that's not any, that's not a hard thing to do. It just takes a little bit of time, but make sure that you've got all that putty, caulking and stuff, but really make sure those windows are dialed in. Now, when we come back, we're gonna talk a little bit more of it for you with old houses, just as soon as around.[00:19:00]

[00:19:10] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope to get the most outta your home through information and education. Hey, if you wanna find out more about us, Just look around the house, show out there, or if you wanna find my TV show around the House Northwest and, uh, that can be streamed online.

[00:19:27] Eric Goranson: And if you're looking for a, a weekly project, we have, uh, geez, a hundred creeping up on 200 YouTube videos. And, uh, where do you find those? Just go over to, uh, look, just search up on, uh, On the, around the House online website and you can see the videos there. And if you're, uh, familiar with YouTube, most people are, you can just click on that and find our playlist right there.

[00:19:49] Eric Goranson: So if you look at those videos on around the house online, you'll find our latest stuff. Hayden, right there. We've been talking about our fall maintenance checklist here and uh, some of the stuff that [00:20:00] we really want to get done before winter hits. And I was talking a little bit about old houses and these are things that we should really start kind of paying attention a little bit more to.

[00:20:09] Eric Goranson: Uh, and this is some of the stuff that's, you know, kind of the safety things that I get worried about with old homes. And one of is making sure when you walk around and do a few extra things, we're just talking about checking out the, uh, the glass and the storm windows and that kind of thing, which is important.

[00:20:26] Eric Goranson: But really I wanna start doing a little bit more. I want you to be taking a look and inspecting electrical. I wanna see you going around if you've got an old house with maybe some knob and tube wiring. It is not a bad idea every few years to have an electrical inspection and have somebody go through and take a look at stuff because, uh, I always get worried about electrical fires in older homes, especially as we get into winter and you have electric heat, you've got space heaters because things aren't insulated.

[00:20:56] Eric Goranson: Uh, these are where issues are. And, uh, one of the [00:21:00] things that I really wanna make sure that we spend some time educating people out there. Is, you know, baseboard heat is one of those things that, uh, is expensive to run. I'm not the biggest fan of because you can have fires because of it. So make sure that you don't have things piled up as you get into fall around heaters, and this is something that I've always said, even to my kids, even the middle of summertime, if he sees something leaning up against the heater or something, I would always tell them to move it because I don't wanna get in the habit of thinking of safety as seasonal safety.

[00:21:34] Eric Goranson: So don't have the couch pushed up against it. Don't have things piled up on it. That's how fires happen and we don't wanna see that. Now if you've got an older house, take a look at Ting Fire, T I N G F I R E. It's actually works for any house. This is how you can actually keep. They, uh, your house from having a fire inside with electrical.

[00:21:55] Eric Goranson: And so, uh, check with your, uh, local insurance company. They are paying for some of [00:22:00] those. You might get one of those for free, but our monitor is your electrical system and make sure you've got that. That's, that's an important one. There is, uh, monitoring your electrical system and you could have a computer doing it for you, so it's automatic and they will let you know when they see an issue.

[00:22:16] Eric Goranson: Now, it's not gonna stop you from drilling a hole mountain the new TV up and hitting a power cable. Of course not. But it will tell you that if you have some shorts or potential shorts, Or if you've got other electrical issues. So that's an important one there. And then there's a lot of other little things automatically you can do as well.

[00:22:34] Eric Goranson: There's, uh, leak detection devices now that you can install in there, especially an old house where you have, uh, you know, plumbing that has been messed with a lot, you can install that in and, uh, it will turn off water when it senses a leak, which can be, uh, very, very important. So that's a good one there.

[00:22:50] Eric Goranson: All those are important with old homes. And then just make sure that you're watching the, the cracks and the, and the in the paint outside. Make sure that you're watching the cracks and the [00:23:00] plaster. You wanna make sure things aren't moving around and you have any other issues. Alright, we've been talking about going around.

[00:23:08] Eric Goranson: One of the most important ones and one of the most dangerous ones is next here. And that is inspecting roofer moss and treat as necessary. And then take a look at the flashing and pipe jacks to make sure they don't have any leaks. Now, how you take a look at that when you're up there? One, make sure that you're following any soc you know, safety stuff around your house.

[00:23:25] Eric Goranson: Um, you know, if you're smart, if you've got a higher pitched roof, if you like to get up there. Man, just get a, I'm gonna do this for my place. I'm gonna put up a fall protection system so I can just tie off up there. So when I get up to do the holiday lights, the Christmas lights, and, uh, any of my maintenance stuff, I can just tie off in places.

[00:23:43] Eric Goranson: It's gonna be a safer thing. I'm gonna do that here soon. Uh, and that's, that's something I think everybody should be doing, be doing as part of their, you know, Maintenance around the house. Now, if you've got people going up and do you for doing it for you, that is awesome. Have that roof company go up and take a look at it.

[00:23:58] Eric Goranson: If you've got somebody [00:24:00] trusted, that is great. Uh, but just keep 'em up there. I don't wanna see anybody up there pressure washing or anything like that. This is a, uh, for a normal, you know, architectural shingle. Uh, there are some soft scrub companies out there that'll do it without damaging, but really, You can use things like zinc to uh, treat that roof moss up there and be very careful with it.

[00:24:21] Eric Goranson: Um, for us it's not this time of year that we get too much moss. It's really for us, the springtime, 'cause it's winter, but, uh, I'm gonna be putting up the zinc strips on my roof here on the rest of it, get that done so I don't have to worry about it anymore. That will keep it from being too much of an issue and that will keep that, uh, moss from growing back.

[00:24:39] Eric Goranson: So that's my latest on my place. So that's an important one. And the pipe jacks, that's the where the pipes are coming up through. Make sure that that, uh, rubber gasket around there is pliable and not ripped or torn. If it's ripped or torn, you're gonna get rainwater down in the house and that's not a good thing.

[00:24:55] Eric Goranson: So make sure you're scoping that out really well. Next up here, [00:25:00] clean all the decks and seals necessary. I just went through and did a, uh, a deck project at my house. That was really cool. Got that dialed in. I needed to take, I had a very old treated deck, so this is an old outdoor wood deck. And, uh, one of the outdoor wood, if it's not in your area, is basically like a pressure treated deck, but without the indentations in it.

[00:25:21] Eric Goranson: So it's a dipped slightly pressure, but it's not ejected. And, uh, this deck has had, um, multiple coatings on it. I finally got mine done out there. I I, it's gonna have to get replaced very soon, but I wanted to put a nice coat on it. We could get it all dialed in and looking good. So, uh, that's an important one there.

[00:25:40] Eric Goranson: And then make sure that you've got those all just inspected. It's a good time to do that deck inspection and make sure that you've got that all dialed in. I don't wanna have any, uh, deck failures out there. So, uh, when in doubt, jump online. There's some great deck inspection forms out there for safety, and you could walk around and make sure that that thing is looking good.

[00:25:59] Eric Goranson: The [00:26:00] biggest part is, I mean, I was often a new deck being built here recently. I was shocked at how bad, um, this deck was being built. I'm happy they stopped and then the contractor got let go before that. 'cause to tell you what, it was a hot mess in there. And, uh, they had actually built the deck incorrectly and it was not fastened into the building correctly.

[00:26:19] Eric Goranson: And that was going to be a, uh, a big failure. And that was gonna be, uh, something that was gonna get people. Fairly hurt when that failed 'cause it was oh eight, eight or so feet off the ground. So, uh, something that should have been inspected by the building inspector and that did not happen. So, uh, next one here is going around and checking out signs of rodents.

[00:26:39] Eric Goranson: And there's a lot of things that you can do with rodents these days to make sure that you've got it dialed in, um, and taken care of. And here's the thing that I always worry about with this is, Is those little holes, you know, size of a pencil, you can get a, a rodents in the house and pest. So all fit into the same kind of thing.

[00:26:57] Eric Goranson: So first off, if you've got little tiny holes [00:27:00] and stuff around that you're worried about, uh, it's really easy. They make spray foam now that is rodent proof. So you can get in there and, uh, get those areas dialed in. A lot of times it's like where the. H v a C system goes through the, the wall or, or where the cable person was, they drill too big of a hole.

[00:27:17] Eric Goranson: These kind of things are just little things like that where they're getting in there. So spray foam with the road and stuff works really well and that won't be an issue for you and, uh, get that taken care of. I have stopped him, you know, many times by going through and taking a look and, uh, doing a very hard surf, you know, search around and see, and usually it's like a foundation screen.

[00:27:40] Eric Goranson: Or a little hole by a garage door where they're getting around those seals, those kind of things. So spend some time, get it dialed in, it's gonna look awesome and, uh, you'll be good to go. So, uh, spend some time on that. Stopping those rodents from getting inside the house is good. If you have a crawl space, I do it in two places.

[00:27:58] Eric Goranson: One, I'll go through and make [00:28:00] sure that I got the crawlspace so they don't go in there. And then the second thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go around and make sure that I've got the, uh, the, uh, Inside the house, I've got that dialed in as well. So I'll go around and make sure that I don't have any places around and cabinets where drains come in, that kind of stuff.

[00:28:14] Eric Goranson: Make sure it's all dialed in and you can use the spray foam in there. I just wanna make sure that if you. Have got a place to stop 'em. You can. And uh, it's gonna be a healthier home without all that rodent stuff anyway. And uh, the more you get it sealed up, more energy efficient is too. So that's a win on both sides.

[00:28:31] Eric Goranson: Alright, when we come back, we'll wrap up our fall maintenance checklist. Just as soon as around the house. Returns don't go anywhere.[00:29:00]

[00:29:02] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Around The House Show. This is where we help get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Hey, before we get into the uh, fall checklist here, I wanted to talk about a few things that I've got going on here, and if you need help being inspired for videos.

[00:29:18] Eric Goranson: If you have, um, if you're a video consumer, I want you to go over and check out, uh, where all my videos are located. So we've got some great stuff we've been doing with some new products and exciting stuff. So what you do is go over to YouTube and then go at Fox 12, Oregon. Then go over to playlists and then you can find our whole playlist over there.

[00:29:41] Eric Goranson: So we've got about 140 or so videos over there. And, uh, I tell you what, we have got so many pieces over there. We test out new products. We've been having fun, like we went on and jumped on and, uh, tested out the fluxx tape flood prevention. Does that even work? Well, guess what? I tested it. [00:30:00] I'll tell you what, uh, you know, you gotta watch the video, but you'll have to see what I think there.

[00:30:04] Eric Goranson: And, uh, does it work or not? Well, we put it to the test and then, uh, got a lot of great tips over there. We visited a great last week, just a great company called the Re Greenery, where we did a bunch of great woodworking tips in there. And then, uh, we even actually, uh, had some fun visiting my local hardware store here, Parkrose Hardware.

[00:30:25] Eric Goranson: And, uh, you know, one thing before we get back to the list, this is something that too, when you're doing maintenance, and this is a key right here, and it's called finding. Your best tool rental place. And I tell you what, in my area here, I found a place that I've been working with right now, Parkrose.

[00:30:41] Eric Goranson: Hardwire. And they are a larger home improvement store. They're not like a Lowe's or a Home Depot, but they're not like your little tiny tool rental store either. But it's kind of my little gold mine right there. Because here's the thing, I go to the big box store, the big orange one. I rent their tools.[00:31:00]

[00:31:00] Eric Goranson: And lately in my area they have been of horrible quality. Now they were good tools to start out with, but man, I've rented skid steers and stuff from there and those tracks are so worn down that I can't run 'em even in the dirt 'cause I'm just spinning all over the place. And if there's any moisture on it for, forget it.

[00:31:20] Eric Goranson: I can't even take those things across the grass 'cause they just are way long in the tooth. And outta the last three times I've rented things. There two of the three times I had to take it back with a job not done because the, the equipment failed. Like I had a post hole digger that I got over there and, and, sorry, home Depot, I'm gonna call you out on it.

[00:31:43] Eric Goranson: And, uh, the cord kept breaking on it and you could see where they had the cord was already short that they'd been repairing it instead of going through and fixing it. They just kept it going, so it was an issue with that. So I found, I mean, I was up on a lift this last week doing my, uh, doing my front siding where I'm [00:32:00] doing my fiber on cladding.

[00:32:01] Eric Goranson: And this is something that if you want to do the inspection, kidding, those lifts can be really cool. So I rented a lift for the week. Weekend went through it all. And I tell you what, this lift when I started had 2.7 hours on it. It was a brand new lift. And that is so nice to have nice new equipment to be working.

[00:32:22] Eric Goranson: And I tell you what, when I do my Christmas lights, I'm getting a lift. I not doing the 30 foot extension ladder anymore. And it makes it kind of fun. You can play around up there and you can stand around 'em and it's just a safer thing. So if you're painting, doing some trimming, take a look at it. Um, you know, for the few hundred bucks that it takes to rent a lift, it, uh, many times it's cheaper than getting hurt.

[00:32:42] Eric Goranson: And if you, I, you know, I have no problem. I could be a hundred feet up in a lift and I'm fine, put me up 30 feet on an extension ladder, and I knew that there's a chance I'm gonna fall off, especially when I was building, like I had 12 foot boards. I'm not going up there and doing that on extension ladder, not a chance.

[00:32:58] Eric Goranson: So these are things to, to [00:33:00] really take into account. Well, let's get back to our checklist here before we're run outta time. So in the next one up here, and these are important ones here, uh, that I really wanna make sure that we've got covered. So the last one outside is inspect gutters and downspouts.

[00:33:14] Eric Goranson: Make sure they're draining correctly. We talked about that. If they go to the street, get your garden hose out and make sure that they're draining all the way out there. It's funny, I have a street over from me here that, uh, in that storm drain system, we talked a little bit about it earlier, but this is just another tip outside before we get into the inside.

[00:33:32] Eric Goranson: I can walk down that street in the rain when I'm walking the dogs and 10% of the homes have the water making it all the way out to the street where their storm drains go. So that means that 90% of those things are plugged up and not working correctly. So these are things to really take a look. So get the, get the hose out and worst case, you know, get it hogged out, get out the, uh, hydro Jett, and uh, you can either rent one of those or have your local plumbing drain company come do it.

[00:33:58] Eric Goranson: Pretty simple. You're [00:34:00] good to go. So, okay, let's go inside, guys. Inside, have your furnace serviced by a licensed professional. So if you've got a boiler system, if you've got a, a heat pump or gas, heat, electric heat, whatever your heat is, make sure you have that serviced and taken a look at. I tell you what, I have had more efficiencies by people coming in and taking their time and really going through and cleaning that up because, I have caught one.

[00:34:29] Eric Goranson: I've caught, uh, things that we're gonna break that was gonna be an issue. Number two, a lot of times when they're in there, they get it fine tuned, which, what's that mean? If I'm on a gas or electrical, then I'm getting more efficiency out of it. So that's the key right there. You know, with the, with the gas, I can be more efficient and have a cleaner burn, which means I'm saving money, which I love.

[00:34:54] Eric Goranson: Anytime I can save money on that is a good thing. But really getting that dialed in and making sure that that furnace [00:35:00] is, is performing and a new filter is good. That's a key right there and something you should be doing every year. Uh, here's a gross one that should be done, but it's something that I like to put on the list just because you're good to go.

[00:35:12] Eric Goranson: Remove hair from drains and sinks, bathtubs, showers. I am not a drain cleaner person, so what I did is I've jumped on Amazon, got some really long tweezers, and a couple of those little tiny things where you can go down there and, uh, snake 'em out and you go through and just remove all of it, get it all cleaned up, get some rubber gloves.

[00:35:30] Eric Goranson: Then have everything working, so everything's draining correctly. Now here's one too. That's an important one. If you're in a northern state as well, make sure, and even in Texas, some places like that. So just if you get below freezing at any time or if it's something that can happen, making sure that the insulated pipes in your garage is good.

[00:35:48] Eric Goranson: Attic, crawl spaces, wherever. Making sure that all the pipes are insulated and you know, that can be a good fall winter project as well, even if you've got a crawl space. Even if they're not insulated, [00:36:00] insulating those pipes and especially the hot one, if you can do that, it saves you a ton of money by going through and doing that.

[00:36:06] Eric Goranson: So, uh, anytime you pop some insulation on, you're gonna be good. Uh, you know, one of the things here when you time change times, you know, for our daylight savings time, Test all smoke detectors, but really you should be going through and testing that a lot more often than that, but make sure they're all working correctly.

[00:36:24] Eric Goranson: And then, uh, one of the big ones here that always is a holiday thing that happens. I noticed this. It's a pretty common one, so checking your G F C I outlets, test them. So those are the ones that are usually powering the garage bathrooms and outside. And of course the outlets buy the kitchen sink. Usually that's where those are located.

[00:36:47] Eric Goranson: You know, those have about a 10 year lifespan before they start tweaking out, or if they're used a lot, that will happen. But make sure you've got a good one. Make sure they're tested. So many times that people hook up those Christmas lights and they'll turn 'em on. They're [00:37:00] like, Hey, what happened to my power?

[00:37:01] Eric Goranson: Well, you've got an old G F C I and it's clicking off too early, or you might have an electrical issue, so make sure. That, uh, you don't have some kind of a, of a small leak that that G F C I is picking up where you've got something starting to ground out, that could be an issue. So make sure that that's styled in there.

[00:37:19] Eric Goranson: And then, uh, make sure that, uh, get under the sinks, all the food areas. Look for mice and rodent damage. Look for bugs, look for pests. You know, anytime that you can get an infestation in your house, I tell you what. If you've got something going on where it's a big infestation of something, sometimes it's just easier to get the pros in and have 'em take care of it because, uh, sometimes they've got some better chemicals and safer stuff to do than just going down to the hardware store and throwing stuff at it.

[00:37:51] Eric Goranson: And then another one here is to inspect all the lighting around your house to make sure it's working. Change any bulbs, upgrade them. You know, there's a lot you can do out there that's, uh, you [00:38:00] know, if you've got the old. Compact fluorescent bulbs outside. Get 'em swapped out to l e d. Save some energy.

[00:38:05] Eric Goranson: Make sure you dispose of 'em correctly. And that's something I really wanna see you do here as well around your house. That is a great fall project. If you have incandescent or those compact fluorescent bulbs, changing those out to the right color temperature, l e d, can one save you money and two, give you so much better light.

[00:38:24] Eric Goranson: There are so many homes that 15 years ago people went in and even a decade ago, and put all the fluorescent bulbs in. I would make it a mission this fall to go through and replace all of those. Make sure you dispose 'em. Some have mercury in them, so follow your local rules for disposing and recycling those, but really making sure you've got that taken care of.

[00:38:45] Eric Goranson: And then the last on our list here that we're gonna hit before we run outta time. Make sure that you've got the crawl space and and basement checked out for water damage. I want you to be testing all of your water. I want you to be testing all of your [00:39:00] humidity in the house. So we've got a lot of testing here in the last few minutes here.

[00:39:03] Eric Goranson: Make sure that you're testing the humidity. I wanna make sure that you're always looking at where that crawlspace basement is and making sure you're always keeping that under 60%. And if you've got any mold issues or you think you might have mold issues, make sure that you go and get that tested. Air testing twice a year is not a bad thing for your house, and that's something that I would recommend as well.

[00:39:23] Eric Goranson: Spend some time, get it tested. You'll be good to go. All right. Hour one, we're out of time. If you want more information about this list, email me at around the house online.com. We'll be right back after these important messages. Don't go anywhere.