Did you know that you should not only change your air filters in summer, but year-round? That means you are to clean the filter also when you have the heater on instead of the air conditioner. It is important change the filter about 3-4 times a year to have clean air year round.

So, learning how to change air filters is an important task for homeowners and renters alike.

It’s easier however than you think, and your lungs will thank you daily, no doubt.

How to Change the Air Conditioner Filter

Change an air conditioner filter by locating the return air shaft, opening the grill up and pulling the old filter out. Learn about the different kinds of air filters to use for an air conditioner machine, such as high-efficiency filters and fiberglass filters, in this free video from a home repair specialist on maintaining and fixing houses.

This informative home maintenance video on Youtube explains the details:

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

Having splendid curb appeal can make or break the sale of a home. First impressions last. It goes that way when meeting new people, and it goes that way when viewing a new home. While it’s obvious that we should dress up a bit to meet someone new who will be important to us, it is of equal importance that we prepare and do some proper landscaping around the house, when we’re selling that home.

It has been stated that an attractive landscape design can potentially add 10-15% to the value of a home. That means that if your home is valued at $300,000, an effective landscaping job could raise the value of the house by $45,000.

Houses with good curb appeal are also likely to sell faster. Spectacular curb appeal is not a guarantee your home will sell. However, it will dramatically improve the odds that it will sell. More people are likely to come see the house as an attractive house exterior makes prospective home buyers want to see the interior of your home as well.

So, let’s get to work at these easy to implement landscaping enhancements to spruce up your curb appeal, and help you sell your home quickly!

Top 10 Landscaping Tips for Selling Your Home

1. Perfecting Your Lawn
   Your lawn is one of the first things to attend to it takes some time for a lawn to improve. Keep a regular watering and cutting schedule, and initiate regrowth and repair of damaged spots. Consider hiring professionals to lay new grass sod if your time to repair the lawn is limited or the lawn has been unkept for a long time. Lush green grass is attractive to new home buyers, while an lawn that is brown, overgrown, or filled with weeds, is a turn-off. Furthermore, prospective buyers may conclude because the yard is unkempt, the rest of the house is not maintained. Ditto for other house exterior elements.

2. Mulching Garden Beds
   Adding mulch to your garden beds is a great and inexpensive way to really make your landscape clean and tidy. Cedar mulch has a nice clean smell and really makes the greenery pop. Best of all, mulch can be applied quickly and easily if your landscape needs a quick pick-me-up before a home showing.

3. Trimming & Pruning
   A very simple way to tidy up your outdoors is to prune up any overgrown trees or shrubs near the home. This will not only make the garden look nice, but it will also highlight the architecture of your home. And you can prune deciduous trees and shrubs any time of the year, which will help if you’re trying to sell your home in the winter.

4. Power-Washing
   An easy way to give your home a new appearance, short of a new paint job, is to power wash its exterior. With little effort, a dingy and dirty surface can shine and look like new! And don’t just stop at your home’s exterior! You can power wash the drive, your deck, a brick sidewalk, fences, or any hard surface that needs sprucing up.

5. Kill mold and mildew.
   Go beyond the sidewalks and driveway with respect to mildew and also eliminate mold on the sides of the house and the roof.

6. Adding Outdoor Lighting
   Many potential home buyers drive by to view your home for sale at dusk or in the evening! Capitalize on this fact and add lighting that highlights the best features of your house and garden. Eg. place low voltage lighting along the driveway or sidewalk or near landscaping that you want highlight. A well-lit patio or deck is more inviting.

7. Being Neat & Tidying up the Garden.
   Ensure overall neatness in your garden, even if it’s woodsy. Stow away unnecessary garden implements and tools. Neatly stack firewood. Get rid of unsightly toys and ‘unfinished projects’.

8. Add Attractive Reds
   Place fed flowering plants and bushes near the front door of your home. The plants/flowers should make a significant, inviting statement. Choose appropriate sizes and choose the nicest pots you can afford if potting them.

9. Raking.
   When you dispose your garden of excessive leaves, even if your lot is wooded, you are highlighting the structure of your garden, rather than reminding prospective owners that a garden can entail some work from time to time.

10. Making it Picture Perfect.
    Taking pictures of your house and garden is a great tool for you to be able to see your house as a prospective house buyer would see it. Add interest to your garden with selected garden art, or plant a few colorful scrubs to fill visual gaps. Your landscaping pictures will suggest the adjustments needed.

Because it can substantially increase the speed of sale as well as the value of the property, it is worth taking care of the landscaping of your house when you are interested in selling your home.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

While clogged dishwashers are a complete nuisance, the solution is actually ‘no biggie’. Just follow this step-by-step procedure and you will have your dishwasher back up and running:

To fix a dishwasher that will not drain:
1. remove any clogs that are blocking the drain line by pouring a paste of baking soda, vinegar and water down the drain,
2. then pouring boiling water to clear the clog.
Repeat this process several times.

Resolve the problem of a severely clogged dishwasher drain with help from the home repair specialist in this free video on appliance repair:

In case you don’t see a video screen here, you may like to visit http://youtu.be/nr6tIO5iNSc for the video.

Your Dishwasher Due for an Upgrade?

Bosch & Quality Dish Washers

Dishwasher repair and maintenance issues aside, it might be the right time for you to upgrade your dishwasher. I this case I’d highly recommend this Bosch dishwasher. This model is not high end, but does the job of washing the dishes superbly. Furthermore, it is quiet, does not smell and holds a lot of dishes with its ergonomic design. To finish it off, its simply elegant stainless steel look will fit into any style kitchen. It will be a joy to work with.

This is one of the 300 series Bosch dishwashers, which offer ultra quiet operation at 48dBA. It has 4 wash cycles and 2 options which fit any household needs. You’d love to see your bills shrink with efficient water and energy use without compromising on performance.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

Change a ballast in a fluorescent light using an electrical tester to check for safety, and by twisting it 30 degrees to loosen the light fixture. Find out how to change a ballast with tips from a handyman in this free video on home repair and maintenance.

Here is the video on Youtube:

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

When we say ‘maintenance’, we mean work to prevent deterioration or fix existing deterioration. Maintenance on a rental property may be a confusing issue. Tenants may mistakenly assume all maintenance is the responsibility of the leasing agent and maintenance staff but this is typically not true. In many cases the renting agent and maintenance staff are responsible for maintaining the common areas and performing major repairs on the flats but the tenants do normally have a few responsibilities. These responsibilities are much defined in the rental agreement and the tenant should familiarize himself with this document to verify his rights if a dispute arises.

Renter Responsibilities

Usually tenants have the responsibility of maintaining their flat and the surrounding area. This may include the interior of the flat as well as deck or patio space. However, maintenance of these areas applies to generally cleanliness only and not issues such as painting or repairs to the exterior or the interior of the flat structure or the appliances within the flat.

Additionally, tenants are responsible for small repairs in their house. This may include plunging a clogged toilet or changing a light bulb. However, if there are any duties a tenant feels uncomfortable performing such as changing a light bulb in a high location, the tenant should contact the maintenance staff for assistance.

Tenants also have a responsibility to show common courtesy to other tenants by not intentionally damaging or otherwise marring public areas. This includes vandalism, littering and even failure to pick up after dogs. Tenants who fail to follow these rules of common courtesy possibly subject to fines or other penalties according to the rental agreement.

Renting Agent Responsibilities

The renting agent and maintenance staff are normally held responsible for major items such as repairs to the exterior of the building, fixing appliances which are malfunctioning and dealing with plumbing issues such as leaky pipes. Additionally, the maintenance staff is responsible for intervening if the tenant is having trouble with public utilities. Problem such as no hot water or heat to the flat should be addressed by the maintenance staff in conjunction with the public utilities entity.

The renting agent and maintenance staff is also responsible for maintaining the common areas. This may include keeping grassy areas manicured and other common areas looking clean and attractive.

When the Leasing Agent is Not Taking Responsibility

As previously discussed, the renting agent has certain responsibilities to perform tasks and address concerns and complaints by the tenants. However, when the renting agent isn’t fulfilling these responsibilities it could create a harmful living environment for the tenant. E.g. hot water is required to adequately clean dishes. This is why there should always be hot water to the flat. Additionally, in severely cold weather the inability to heat the flat due to faulty utilities or windows which are not properly sealed may create a hazardous condition for the tenant.

Both of the examples mentioned above are situations in which the tenant may put in a hazardous condition by the renting agent’s negligence. In these situations the tenant should contact the Department of Housing to determine the proper cause of action to take in this situation.

In some cases the tenant possibly informed the alleged transgression by the renting agent isn’t really his responsibility. However, in other situations the tenant may be informed that the actions of the leasing agent are a serious violation of the rental agreement. In either case, the representative may provide information on how to proceed to achieve the desired results.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

April Home Maintenance Projects

These projects that are ideally undertaken in or around April:

1. Inspect home from bottom to top looking for damage that occurred during winter. Prepare a ‘to do; list of needed repairs.

2. Lubricate hinges and tighten loose hinge screws. Apply clear wood floor wax to door edges that rub.

3. Replace batteries on smoke, heat and gas leak detectors. Do this when you set the clock back to daylight saving time.

4. Do spring clean-up. Wash walls and windows; clean carpeting, upholstery and window coverings.

5. Check doors and windows fro proper operation.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

March Home Maintenance Projects

These projects that are ideally undertaken in or around March:

1. Check operation of toilet. Check the area between the tank and bol, and around the base for leaks.
2. Remove ‘pop-up’ drain plugs from sink or tub and clean.
3. Turn off the water supply to the house. Observe the water meter after 1 hour. If it has moved, there is a leak somewhere in the plumbing system.

4. Inspect grout and caulk around sinks, tubs and showers. Repair or replace damaged areas.
5. Inspect water heater for leaks. Flush tank
6. Clean underside of range hood and clean or replace filter(s).
7. Check valve where water enters the house, outdoor faucets, and any valves to toilet, bathroom or kitchen sink, bar, etc. for leaks. Turn each off and on several times to check for leaks.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

February Home Maintenance Projects

These projects that are ideally undertaken in or around February:

1. Trim branches around the roof line to keep squirrels, roof rats and other pesky animals off the roof.

2. Inspect all vents, repair as needed, and remove any debris blocking air flow.

3. Clean condenser coils or fins beneath or behind refrigerator according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Make certain there is adequate air flow around the appliance.

4. Using binoculars, inspect roof from the ground (walking on a damp or wet roof can be very dangerous), looking for loose, missing or damaged roofing materials. Repair any damage. If you have access to the underside of the roof, check during a heavy rain for leaks.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

January Home Maintenance Projects

These projects that are ideally undertaken in or around January:

1. Clean rain gutters. Leave and other debris will hamper drainage and may promote rusting and roof damage. Make sure that water flowing from down sprouts is draining away from the foundation.

2. Inspect crawl space after rain for water accumulation or excessive moisture, as well as indications of water damage on the sub floor and joists beneath bathooms, kitchen and laundry.

3. Compost the leaves

4. Look for signs of pest or dry rot damage. do not block perimeter wall vents to a crawl space in winter.

Also look over the projects suggested for November and December to ensure your house is well maintained, safe and sound.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.

December Home Maintenance Projects

These projects that are ideally undertaken in or around December:

1. Clean lint from clothes dryer vent, from the dryer drum to where the air is vented outdoors.

2. Service clothes dryer, cook top or stove, dishwasher, trash compactor, counter-top appliances, exhaust fans, etc. according to the manufacturers’ recommendations.

3. Disconnect the garage door opener. Lubricate hardware. Springs on overhead doors should be adjusted by a qualified service technician.

4. Clean underside of range hood and clean or replace filter.

Home maintenance means both safety and savings, and are little projects like these are best done on a year-round basis. I am sure you can think of other projects that can both protect your family and entail in savings when done well.

Advice on Home Repair & Improvement, Home Loans and Mortgages. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved.