Kamloops Home Inspection Info

Electrical outlets can be very dangerous resulting in fire or electrical shock. To test your electrical outlets, you’ll need a three-prong electrical outlet tester. These look like three-prong plugs with three little lights. These can be found at most any hardware store for only $10 or $15. Go room by room through the entire house, checking as many electrical outlets as possible. Ideally, you want to check every outlet.

Before touching any outlet, look to make sure that it is not physically damaged. Replace any outlet that is cracked or broken. With the rest of the outlets, take your electrical tester and plug it in.

The most common fault is a condition called reversed polarity. Reversed polarity means that the black wire and the white wire are reversed where they are connected to the outlet. Appliances plugged into an outlet with reversed polarity will still work, but there is a much greater risk of electrocution and damage to the appliance.

Bugs and pests are everywhere in Kamloops, however, nobody wants to have little critters crawling around their home. So the question is how do we keep these little pests from inhabiting the inside of our home?

Are you familiar with the term – don’t feed the bears? Well, the same applies for all types of critters. The most common problem that we encounter in most cases is having too much access for a free meal.

The following is a list of some good prevention tips that should help stop these little critters before they become a big problem.

• Do not install bird feeders right next to the home. Keep vegetation away from the home. Periodically check roof vents, siding, eaves, gutters for damage that can allow bugs access into our living spaces.
• Prevent any wood from direct contact with the earth. Keep garbage in covered containers. Keep food sealed or refrigerated. Clean up food off the floor and ensure all food in the cabinets is placed in sealed containers.
• Homes with metal siding and metal roofs can be still be damaged by termites, carpenter ants and other insects. Periodically inspect your home and spray seams, corners and exterior wood with proper stains and sealant.
• Be alert for their telltale signs: piles of wings (which termites lose in the spring), tunnels in wood, tunnels of dirt in foundation walls, piles of sawdust under wood furniture or siding, and the bugs themselves. Check for termites in areas around the furnace and hot water tanks, the high humidity in these areas make for hot spots. Wood soil contact in the yard will be sure to invite all types of pests, so be sure to eliminate all wood soil contact.

If you are in a termite or carpenter ant prone area, have a trained professional evaluate your home for indication of any activity, so that proper treatment can be performed before serious damage and financial cost is incurred. If you want to find out more information about pests and how to control them contact Rest Assured Home Inspections and take a pro-active approach in keeping your home free of any unwanted guests.

Spend a little bit of money on your Kamloops home and save a lot on your home energy bills. Here are some tips on cutting your energy costs year round.

A lit fireplace sucks furnace-heated air up the chimney, which is replaced by cold air that comes in the opposite direction through the same opening. Turn the thermostat down and close your damper when it’s not in use.

Soot buildup, dusty fans and loose fan belts can add hundreds of dollars to your heating costs each year. Have your furnace tuned up regularly by a heating contractor, this can save up to 10 percent on heating bills.

Heating water makes up about 11 percent of our utility bills. Switching your unit for a more efficient storage model could save you 10 to 20 percent on heating bills.

Small changes can make a big difference.

Maintenance Matters

Air filters, included on all forced air furnaces, remove dirt and lint from heated air. This keeps the fan, heat exchanger and air conditioning coil clean. It also helps clean the air of your home as air circulates through the system.   The air in houses in Kamloops and area can be very dusty due to the low humidity, and filter maintenance is essential to keeping your home healthy.

Maintenance is based on the type of filter, how often the unit is running and how you use your home. The three basic types of filters are media, electronic and electrostatic.

The standard filter on most furnaces is a 1-inch thick media filter, usually made of fiberglass. This filter should be changed when visibly dirty – usually every month or two, depending on the quality of the filter and the amount of dirt in your home’s air. Children, pets, plants and activity tend to produce more dirt that finds its way into the heating system.

Filters are designed to be installed with one particular side facing the air stream. Most filters have directions or an arrow telling you which side should be installed toward the furnace.

Ladder Safety

As a home inspector in Kamloops I spend a lot of time using a variety of ladders to do my job.  Ladders are dangerous pieces of equipment, if not handled correctly or you are unfamiliar with them. Homeowners in Kamloops should think about a few things before you climb the ladder to perform fall maintenance tasks, and take these safety precautions.

• There should only be one person on the ladder at one time.

• Never leave a raised ladder unattended.

• Be sure all locks on extension ladders are properly engaged.

• All metal ladders should have slip-resistant feet.

• The ground under the ladder should be level and firm.

• Don’t carry objects in yours hands while on a ladder.

• Keep your body centered between the rails of the ladder at all times.

* Inspect your ladder every time before you use it for broken or excessively warn out parts.  As someone who has taken the fast ride to the ground from roof height, believe me you don’t want to realize your ladder has a defect too late.

Maintenance Matters

Fall is the time of year to prepare your garden for the fall months ahead. I know with the temperatures still hovering around 30 degrees in Kamloops nobody wants to think about winter or even fall, but your plants and garden already are.  Here are some tips to help you with your fall garden prep.

• Bring tropical and other plants inside for the fall.

• Dig and store summer and fall-flowering bulbs.

• Avoid heavy pruning of trees and shrubs going into the fall months.

• Apply a layer of mulch about 2 to 4 inches deep to the floor of the garden.

• Apply mulch or a wrap around the base of bushes and trees to protect them from the cold temperatures.

• Rake up any leaves that may have already fallen.

• Turn off the water supply to your hose tap and irrigation systems.

• Fallize garden furniture if necessary.

• Fertilize to give your garden one last nutrition boost before fall.

• Empty out and bring in any pots that could break in cold temperatures.

• Plant spring-flowering bulbs with their roots down.