Ask Danny | Ep. 25: Chores to Deal with When You’re Dwelling for the Holidays


On this particular Ask Danny podcast, Danny talks about some easy house upkeep duties to do in the course of the downtime of the vacations.

Lubricate Door Hinges
A straightforward chore to deal with when you’re house for the vacations is silencing squeaky doorways.
With just some easy steps, you possibly can simply lubricate your door hinges and preserve them working easily!
To lubricate door hinges, you’ll want some lubricant like WD-40. Use graphite lubricant on exterior hinges, like fence gates.
Begin by opening the door and spraying the lubricant onto the hinges. Subsequent, shut the door and use a clear rag to wipe away any extra lubricant. Lastly, open and shut the door a few occasions to verify the hinges are correctly lubricated.
Don’t neglect about your storage door! Lubricating a storage door with lithium grease is a good way to assist it run easily and scale back noise.
To begin, you’ll need to be certain that the storage door is totally clear and freed from mud and particles.
As soon as the storage door is clear, you possibly can apply a skinny layer of lithium grease to any metal-on-metal contact factors on the door.
Ensure to keep away from any plastic or rubber elements, because the lithium grease might injury them.
After you’ve utilized the grease, you possibly can check the door to verify it’s working correctly.
Watch: Tips on how to Repair Squeaky Door Hinges

Direct Drainage Away from Your Dwelling
Correct house drainage is extremely essential for conserving your house protected and stopping injury to the construction.
Poorly drained houses can undergo from points resembling basis injury, cracked partitions, and mould or mildew development. Moreover, poor drainage can result in flooding, which may be each pricey and harmful.
Relying in your state of affairs, there are a number of choices you possibly can take into account for guiding drainage away from your house.
When you have rain gutters put in, merely direct the downspouts away from your house.
Another choice is putting in a French drain, which is a gravel-filled trench with a pipe that diverts water away from the world.
You can additionally set up a sump pump, which pumps the water away from the world.
If you happen to’re searching for a extra pure answer, you possibly can take into account planting vegetation that may soak up water and direct it away from your house.
Watch: Significance of Correct Drainage Across the Basis of Your Dwelling

Manage Your Storage
Organizing your storage can prevent time and power in the long term, so it’s value making the trouble to do it while you’re house for the vacations.
It may make it easier to to search out objects extra shortly, as you’ll know precisely the place all the pieces is situated. It may additionally liberate more room for storage, making it simpler to retailer objects that have to be saved out of the way in which.
Moreover, it may possibly assist to guard valuables from the weather and make your storage look extra presentable.
Watch: Tips on how to Manage and Add Storage to Your Storage

Clear Home windows and Doorways
Cleansing home home windows is a comparatively easy job that may make an enormous distinction within the general look of your house. Listed below are some ideas that will help you get began:
- Begin by utilizing a smooth fabric to wipe away any filth and dirt that has collected on the home windows.
- As soon as the home windows are freed from mud, use a gentle cleansing answer (diluted dish cleaning soap, a store-bought cleaner or a mixture of white vinegar and water) to scrub the glass. Don’t neglect to scrub the tracks too!
- Use a squeegee or a smooth fabric to wipe the home windows clear. Begin from the highest and work your means down in overlapping strokes.
- For additional sparkle, end by wiping the home windows with a fabric dampened with distilled white vinegar.
- Use a microfiber fabric to buff the home windows dry.
Watch: Tips on how to Make a Customized Squeegee for Cleansing Small Window Panes

Drain Water Heater
Draining your water heater could make your water heater extra environment friendly and prolong its life by draining the tank and flushing away sediment a minimum of annually.
An ideal time to do it’s after all of your company have left your house for after the vacations.
Right here’s all it’s a must to do.
For electrical heaters, flip off the facility on the breaker field. For fuel items, flip the gas management to the off setting.
Subsequent, flip off the chilly water inlet valve, and fix a backyard hose to the outlet valve on the backside of the tank. Whenever you open the outlet valve, watch out; it’s scorching water, in any case.
To get the water flowing, you additionally should flip the strain reduction valve close to the highest of the tank to interrupt the vacuum inside.
As soon as the recent water drains, open the chilly water valve to flush out the tank, after which merely reverse the method to revive regular operation.
Watch: Tips on how to Drain a Water Heater
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