These Bad Habits Can Ruin Your Home

There are several practices that home owners do that are potentially doing damage to the home and can snowball into major renovations later. Here are a list of some of those bad habits to steer clear of:

Front door slamming

Your front door can be pushed out of alignment with too much slamming. Over time, the door will become more difficult to open and create gaps in the trim and jamb that allow air and moisture in and out. 

Fix: Try to change out your old hinges for the self-closing type that can close softly and cut down on slamming.

Letting outdoor rugs lie

Outdoor rugs, especially those with vinyl or rubber backings should not be left lying down in the same place too long. They can retain moisture that could lead to mildew and mold.

Fix: Try using rugs of the open-weave variety that allow for evaporation and circulation. Another good practice is to occasionally wash off with a hose and hang to dry. 

Ignoring those gutters

Gutters clogged with leaves, pine needles, and other debris prevents water from being properly channeled from your roof. That moisture could then cause more problems for the roof or even the foundation.

Fix: Purge the gutters each spring before the rainy season begins and check them again before winter. Also think about using gutter guards to assist in preventing clogs.

Those "flushable" wipes

Those "flushable" wipes turn out to not be so flushable after all. The fabric that they are made of can accumulate grease and other materials that can clog pipes.

Fix: Keep using traditional toilet paper or place a covered trashcan to throw the wipes into instead. 

Shutting vents

It sounds like a good idea, but closing vents to force air to other rooms can do more harm than good. This causes a pressure imbalance throughout the ducts that can make the furnace or condenser work harder. 

Fix: Think about installing branch dampeners to the main parts of the ductwork to push cool air to the 2nd floor in summer and warm air to the 1st floor in winter.