Category: Home Inspection Information

Many homes in Kamloops are serviced by septic systems. It is sometimes hard to know if your septic system is functioning properly. These are some of the basic symptoms, which will give you the heads up that you have a serious septic issue:

• Sewage backup in your drains or toilets (usually in the lower levels of your home ). This is often a black liquid with a disagreeable odor.

• Slow flushing of your toilets. Many of the drains in your house will drain much slower than usual, despite the use of plungers

• Surface flow of wastewater. Sometimes you will notice liquid seeping along the surface of the ground near your septic system. It may have a smelly odor.

• The presence of coliform bacteria in your drinking water well. This indicates that liquid from the system may be flowing into the well through the ground or over the surface. Water testing can help to identify this issue, however depending on your well type this can be a giveaway.

• A consistent unpleasant odor around your home. Often, a failing septic system causes a buildup of disagreeable odors around the house and you may notice the smell periodically when your outside, doing yard work.

Parker Bennett, Rest Assured Home Inspections

P. 250-372-7375 E. [email protected]

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.

Parker Bennett, Rest Assured Home Inspections

P. 250-372-7375 E. [email protected]

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.

Parker Bennett, Rest Assured Home Inspections

P. 250-372-7375 E. [email protected]

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.

Todd Hrycenko, Global Property Inspections

Phone: 250-371-2787 [email protected]