Is your dryer clean? Are the vent pipes in your home free from lint? Or are they lined with highly flammable lint bunnies? According to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), it is reported that there are 2,900 residential fires each year caused by clothes dryers, causing 5 deaths, over 100 injuries, and tens of millions in property damage! What's more, it is estimated that 35% of these fires are caused because dryer and vent lines are not properly cleaned. If any of the following conditions exist in your laundry area, keep reading and I will walk you step by step through the process of cleaning your dryer, so you can rest assured it is running safely and efficiently. You haven't cleaned your dryer vent in the past 3 months Your dryer is taking longer than usual to dry clothes You notice buildup of lint around the lint filter There is a buildup of lint outside your home where the vent exits As an added benefit, keeping your dryer clean will help it to run e...

Sweet ants aren’t so sweet!! Sweet/Sugar Ants These pesky little ants can be a real annoyance when they decide to come into your home! Hopefully we can offer you a few easy, cheap and effective ways to eliminate these from your home.   Not only can the sweet ants be difficult to get rid of, many people find them embarrassing as a sign their home is not clean.   While it is true they are attracted to sweets, there are a variety of reasons they have chosen to enter your home. So without further ado, here are some of the tips we have found to be the most effective for both eliminating and preventing these ants from entering your home. Vinegar for trails As these ants can detect even the slightest amount of food, it is extremely important to keep surfaces clean. After every meal and/or food preparation in the kitchen, clean the surface to remove all residue. What’s more, once you have see the ants, it is important to know that as they move, they leave a t...

Help Keep Stink bugs OUT!!! These seemingly harmless little bugs can create a real nuisance for homeowners.   In this post we will discuss some of the tips and tricks to keep these pests out of your home. Stink Bug If you have not seen one of these, they are called a brown stink bug, and they are an invasive species from Asia. While these pests have caused thousands in crop damage to farmers, they pose more of a hassle for the everyday homeowner. If you kill them inside your home, you will not only learn quickly why they are called stink bugs, you will start seeing more of them in pretty short order. Much like when a bee stings someone it releases a pheromone to attract more bees, a similar process happens when a stink bug is squished. The odor released will attract even more of them! So, the first important tip with these bugs is when you see one, carefully capture it in a tissue or cup and release it outside. But more importantly, we all want to keep these pests...

In continuing with our theme of finding ways to save you money, Expert Home inspections is offering this installment of our blog with some tips and maintenance items that will help ensure your appliances are running as efficiently as possible. Despite the fact that we all use our refrigerator multiple times a day, the care and maintenance is often neglected, and yes, there is regular maintenance that needs to be done to keep this important appliance running. The other items listed in this article are more along the lines of “best practices” on how to use the fridge and freezer properly. For more tips and ways to save money, be sure to check out our other blog posts or check out our resources page at  https://expert-home-inspections.com/resources/ Cleaning the Coils Every fridge or freezer has a coil unit which is designed to dissipate the heat the refrigerant is pulling from inside.   You can think of these coils much like the radiator on your car.   The...

     Welcome, and thank you for checking out our blog!  If you find this information useful please check out the rest of our blog for more tips and be sure to check out our resources page at    https://expert-home-inspections.com/resources/        At EHI we want to ensure you are able to keep your home well insulated and running efficiently. In our continuing series on small improvements to keep your home sealed up, we are going to walk you through repairing the bottom seal on an exterior door. These seals can wear out for a variety of reasons, from age and foot traffic, to an anxious dog who decided to dig at the seal and destroy it, as was the case of my own door in the example we are reviewing in this blog!      These seals provide two important functions, especially in the summer. First, if you are running A/C, since cold air sinks, it can easily escape through the bottom of an unsealed door. Second, the b...

     In our last few posts, EHI provided you, as homeowners, with some zero and low cost ways to save money on your monthly utility bills. This time we are revisiting that theme with even more ways to cut your gas and electric bills that will save you money.   Last time our tips focused on small improvements or repair projects.   This time, we are going to focus on habits and behaviors you can adjust to save money. The more of these changes you can incorporate into your lifestyle, the more money you can save each month. For more information check out our other blog posts or our resources page at  https://expert-home-inspections.com/resources/   Dryer Vent Cleaning Hopefully you are already cleaning the lint trap on your dryer after every load! But, did you know there is more maintenance required to keep that dryer running safely and efficiently? While the lint traps collect most of the lint, there is always some that will slip past and...

In our last post EHI offered you some free ways to save on your utility bills. This time we will step up to the next level of fixes, starting with those you can do for about $5 and with some simple hand tools that most homeowners should have. 1: Add seals to outlets and switches on exterior walls    It is amazing how much air can pass through an outlet our switch located on an exterior wall.  These can be purchased at nearly any hardware store or online, the box pictured below sells on amazon prime for just under $4, and will cover over 2 dozen outlets/switches. These take less than  1 minute to install and require only a simple screwdriver. 2.Caulking windows and doors    Over time weather seals around windows and doors can get old and crack, or simply may be missing.  A tube of clear silicone caulk like pictured below sells for just under $5 at any hardware store and help to seal out large air gaps around window frames and door jams.  ...