Simple Tips for Cleaning Your Home - on the Outside!

It’s easy to find advice on home cleaning - the internet is chock full of helpful tips and guides for arranging the clutter in your home, and you’ll have plenty of neighbors and relatives who would be more than happy to give their two cents on how you should go about it (even if you haven’t exactly asked them). But there’s one important side of your home you don’t hear discussed too often - the outside! A good clean outside will improve the appearance and value (with some appraisers saying a clean exterior adds 5%-10% to your home’s value!) of any home, no matter how old.

The best place to start is with your home’s siding - and it isn’t as daunting as you might expect! First, try to remove any obstructions or exterior decorations if you can to free up some room. For the next step - the actual cleaning - you should start with simple mixture of warm soapy water with a dash of white vinegar to handle any debris on the outside. This mixture should be safe for both wood and vinyl siding, and the only other thing you should need is a long brush for those hard-to-reach places. If your home has more brightly-colored vinyl siding, you can substitute bleach instead of vinegar - just be careful not to get any on your clothes! This mixture can be rinsed off with your average garden hose when you’re done scrubbing. If the vinegar and water isn’t cutting it, you might want to employ something stronger like Simple Green or Moldex.

Next, you should move on to your front door and deck (or porch, or whatever you might have). Most doors can be cleaned by mixing water and laundry detergent - if you’ve got older, more ornate wooden doors, you might want to consider Murphy’s Oil Soap instead. Wipe the doors top to bottom with a rag or a brush (make sure it’s non-abrasive!) and rinse it gently with your hose. The same process can work for porches, but you might need a slightly longer brush.

If you’re still feeling motivated after all that, you can move on to lights and windows! Remove any bulbs from the lights and turn them off before cleaning. Depending on what the lamps are made of, you can use anything from soap and water to brass polish. Windows shouldn’t be hard either - rainfall usually does the cleaning for you, but if you really want to show off your nice vinyl windows you could try glass and/or household cleaner.

After this, the outside of your house should be as good as new! You might want to repeat this a few times through the summer, depending on the local weather and conditions. Now all you have to worry about is the inside...

Easy Fixes for Everyday Appliance Problems

Ah, appliances. A modern convenience that has saved time and effort over the years, from the lowly microwave to the biggest air conditioner. Sadly, just like any machine, appliances are prone to encounter problems. And we all know those are jobs best left for the professionals, right?

Not so fast, my friend! Plenty of everyday appliances have common issues that normal folks like you or I can handle, no sweat. Read on for a list of common appliance issues, and what to do if they happen to you!

Garbage Disposals Garbage disposals are certainly handy for getting rid of waste and leftovers, but sometimes the stuff you pour into one makes it run a little slow. When most disposal motors becomes overloaded and heats up, it will automatically shut off for safety. If this happens, simply press the reset button on the bottom of the disposal! If the blades aren’t spinning, there may be something stuck in it. Turn the disposer off and try turning the blades with a special disposer wrench (available at most hardware stores) or by tightening the bolts on the bottom of the disposer.

Refrigerators If your leftovers aren’t quite ready for the garbage disposal, then a good fridge is exactly what you need - unless it isn’t running cold enough, or at all! If your fridge has suddenly conked out, the first thing to check is the coils underneath. On most fridges, you can get to the coils by opening the grille on the bottom (or you may have to pull the fridge out from the wall, if the coils are on the back). Special coil-cleaning brushes are available to help get any crud off, and after a good cleaning it should be back to normal. This is an especially common problem for pet owners, and cleaning your coils has the added benefit of saving on your electric bill!

Air Conditioners While central air work may be best left to the professionals, many issues with window-mounted units can be handled with some minor effort. Does your air conditioner cycle on and off too frequently? The thermostat may be covered, or affected by outside temperature. Make sure nothing is directly touching or covering the front panel (like drapes or poorly-placed furniture), and make sure there’s no warm air leaking in from around the window. Modern energy-efficient windows don’t have this problem as often, but older windows may not be able to hold a seal around the air conditioner as well.

Dishwashers Are your dishes not as clean as you’d like when they’re done in the dishwasher? Chances are you’ve got a food-filled filter! Take the lower rack out of the dishwasher, remove the filter cover (the location may vary depending on the model of dishwasher), and use a wet vac to clean off the filter screen. This should let water back in like normal.

Four Questions New Homeowners Should Ask Themselves

Purchasing a home for the first time is a daunting feat for anyone. Just when one issue is solved, another seems to pop up out of nowhere. Before you jump on the couch to kick back and enjoy your new home, take a minute to review our list of mishaps that new homeowners normally aren’t quite prepared for. Whether you’ve taken these obstacles into consideration already or it never came to mind until now, it’s good to ask yourself these questions every now and then.

What aspects of the home will require maintenance? The challenges you face in home ownership are unpredictable and possibly beyond your know-how to fix. That’s okay. With time, remedies for home damages are easy to learn; not to mention there’s literally hundreds of how-to videos on the web. However, don’t feel pressured to handle every household mishap yourself; know what’s within your limits and hire an expert when necessary.

Common household repairs to be on the lookout for include: leaky sinks/faucets, running toilets, drafty windows, basement leaks, and more.

What is my financial balance sheet? With a mortgage, energy, electricity, insurance, and numerous other expenses piling up from a million directions, managing bill payments - and knowing where they’re coming from - is more complex than it was in college. This is especially true because of the rare (but still possible) chance of an emergency; it’s absolutely vital to have a thorough understanding of your financial security. Instead of handling it yourself, you may want to hire a personal finance advisor or accountant for professional guidance. These can be a huge advantage to learn about unsuspecting taxes from and strategize savings policies.

Do my windows need to be replaced? Unless your home is brand new, it’s in your best interest to give your windows an inspection. Carefully scan the window frames in search of any obvious gaps, areas that need to be sealed, cracked frames, or any windows that get stuck and won’t open. If you detect issues that cannot be fixed on your own, speak with a professional at Wallside to learn about our custom-built, vinyl replacement windows and how we can help install them in your home. Windows are essential not only to a home’s curb appeal, but also its insulation - which directly correlates to the energy bill.

What does my homeowners insurance policy cover me for? How much money does it cover me for? You never know what could happen to your home. Run through worst-case scenarios, such as heavy interior damage due to flooding, and speak with your insurer to find out if you’re covered for them. Before picking an insurance plan - or while looking into new ones - take a long time of contemplation to find the best plan for you. This way, you’ll avoid nightmare situations like finding out you’re not as insured as you thought you were and paying extreme out-of-pocket fees.

Jazz up Your Basement

Often times, our main floor living spaces are cramped with furniture and material goods - so much so it makes us consider, “maybe I should finish my basement…” If this sounds like you, perhaps it’s time to once and for all give your basement the remodeling it deserves. Before you get started, parse through some ideas we’ve put together to get your inspiration flowing.

Build your own bar Nothing brings people together more than a posh new bar to relax around. Consider a large, L-shaped bar nestled in the corner. These are great for bringing large groups of people  together and stimulate conversations - while other, traditional-shaped bars donning a single front-side offer a more quaint look. Along with housing refreshments, another nifty perk to a basement bar is the option of installing a tiny refrigerator beneath it to store snacks and soft drinks. With the right instruction, building a bar is a very doable undertaking that can add some serious lasting value to your basement.

Install a Doorwall Implementing a sliding glass doorwall into your basement promotes easy, accessible access to your backyard. Basement doorwalls go hand in hand with houses positioned near a lakefront or those with a backyard patio. If you’re interested in installing a new doorwall, contact Wallside Windows to schedule a free estimate and learn the many ways our custom-built doorwalls can enhance your home.

Exercise Room The basement is the most ideal workout zone due to it facilitating the most privacy, meaning it allows the lowest chance of interruption or distraction from others. To create an exercise room, first designate a space that wouldn’t result in floor damage by fallen heavy weights - like tile or cement floor. Opt for a room with carpet flooring and lay out a sturdy foam padding for extra protection against damages.

Workbench Similar to a workout station, there’s no more appropriate space for a workbench than the basement. A workbench is a vital addition to any basement; however, unless you have a private room or section to place the workbench, its naturally gruff look may clash with the rest of the basement’s aesthetic. Solve this by constructing a sectioned-off room, which is a project that may take longer than just the weekend - but nonetheless should be worth it with the end results.

Home Office In addition to turning basements into funhouses of entertainment, many people also repurpose them into offices. Make sure your basement internet signal is up to par and to implement lighting fixtures where necessary. Remember, this is where you will be delving into a majority of your work - so it’s essential you’re quartered off from the rest of the home’s raucous activity.

Bathroom Incorporating a bathroom into your basement adds convenience on multiple levels. For large parties or gatherings, an extra bathroom is essential for cutting down on long waiting periods. Additionally, another perk of a bathroom toilet: when the main floor's toilet breaks, it can be a real help to have another functioning one while the other is waiting to be fixed.

Three Reasons Homes Need Windows

Homes are dependent on windows in an inordinate amount of ways. If you think about it, without windows, our homes would suffer from a huge loss in curb appeal, natural sunlight, and ventilation. Let’s look into it a bit further...

 Interior Design & Curb Appeal Opportunities The first impression you have of a home is determined by a set number of qualities such as the curb appeal and general size. Among these, windows are one of the foremost defining features. Solely keeping visual aesthetic in mind, a lack of windows would yield a bland, singular look defined by no more than just the siding, shake, or brick. Windows provide room for creative embellishment, which can be experimented with in multiple ways. This can be done by the window frame, style, shutters, and placement of the window.

• Window frames don a distinguished texture, color, and design that can make a home’s exterior pop. For example, a home with beige siding could be complemented by adorning a vanilla color window frame.

• Installing a large picture window in the right spot can serve as a crafty yet sharp way of showcasing your home’s interior features, such as a chandelier hung above a front door.
• Design-wise, shutters offer the same decor opportunities that window frames do; implementing replacement windows with a custom-sized pattern, size, and color is a natural, chic way to beautify your home’s exterior look.

We Need them for Sunlight Try as we might to escape the sun during a scorching hot day or the wee hours of the morning, we need it to survive. This is where windows come in; they are the gatekeepers to our home’s source of sunlight - you have to get that Vitamin D somewhere! Let’s not forget plants; they need sunlight, thus depend on windows for their survival. Lastly, our electric bills would be through the roof if it wasn’t for the portals of light we call “windows” - not to mention too much indoor lighting can cause quite a headache.

Healthy Natural Air You know how a room gets stuffy when the door is shut for a lengthy stretch of time?  Well, imagine a house like that. It’d be awful! Once again, windows swoop in to save the day by allowing fresh air flow into a home. When air collects in a living space without any way of escape, its sense of freshness stagnates. Thanks to windows, we are able to balance our indoor-dominated lives with refreshing breezes and natural temperature regulation.