Seasonal Maintenance - Winter and Spring

Speaker 1: [0:00] Hello, hello, and welcome to another edition of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. This is your host, Christian Nossum, of the Awesome Nossum Group at Wilson Realty, and today's topic is about home maintenance. And we're gonna split it up into seasons to make it a little easier for you to manage throughout the year. So as a real estate agent and a homeowner, I know that there's a lot of things that go into keeping your property up to date as the year progresses. And this episode's gonna be very helpful, helping homeowners, potential homeowners, and really anybody who kind of currently feels overwhelmed when trying to stay on top of home maintenance. We're gonna be breaking this down by season to make it more manageable and maybe even a little more enjoyable at times, and should get a lot out of it. So before we dive deep into it, let's say hi to the team. We have the one and only Seattle native here, Ms. Reid Watson.

Speaker 2: [0:49] There can only be one.

Speaker 1: [0:50] There can only be one. We have the dog whisperer, Mr. Les Cutting.

Speaker 3: [0:55] Woof, woof, woof.

Speaker 1: [0:59] And we have the data guru, Jason Saldarriaga.

Speaker 3: [1:02] Hi.

Speaker 1: [1:04] Hi. All right, now we got those intros out of the way. Uh, so when we sat down to prep for this topic, it became even more clear how important it is to be organized and str- strategic, easy for me to say, about home maintenance. And in my experience, some people won't even consider buying a home because they just don't wanna deal with the upkeep that is involved with it. I hope today that we can remove some of that fear and really just show you how simple it is as long as you plan ahead. So a great way to approach home maintenance is to break up tasks by the season, and to keep an annual upkeep to-do list. The great news is- We actually created a home maintenance checklist based on the information that we're gonna present today, and we organized it by season, and you can download it for free right on our website at awesomenossum.com/homemaintenance. We'll put a link in the, uh, description for this podcast so you can always refer to it there. Uh, but yeah, you can download it for free right there. This list is a great tool for staying on track and ahead of the game when it comes to keeping your home up to date so that you can spot some issues before they become really big issues. So we all know how much of a factor water is in our area, and the last thing you wanna deal with when winter hits is drainage issues or maybe even freezing pipes. Les, what are some other things that we as homeowners can do to prep for winter?

Speaker 4: [2:25] All right, so after summer, literally head to your local hardware store, and they will have everything you need to winterize your house and protect your pipes or whatever it is. I'd recommend you go check the, check, um, your local hardware store. Grab yourself some, uh, insulation. Make sure your pipes are properly insulated. We don't get super, super cold here, but I mean, I guess the end of January, February, the past few years especially, we have been getting, like, some freezing temperatures and, you know, a blizzard or two occasionally. I know I live in the conversion zone, so we're getting pretty consistent snow here, uh, around that time of year. So what we do is, uh, we make sure our pipes are insulated so they don't freeze and burst. And if you have a sump pump, basically a sump pump is a pump when your house is below grade. It sits under your house, and it pumps all the water out. So you definitely wanna go down there, check your sump pump and your, uh, pit and make sure it's working. It's, because if it rains and y- the water goes to a certain level, uh, your sump pump is then triggered, and it pumps all that water out. So you wanna make sure that's working because, again, you wanna keep the moisture away from your house and away from the foundation and all that stuff so your house doesn't get damaged. Uh, you wanna protect your investment as much as possible, so you wanna make sure your sump pump is working, and sump pumps are very important to the function and maintenance of your house.

Speaker 5: [3:47] Yeah, and if you live in an area that loses power throughout the year, you might wanna invest, if you don't have it already, in a battery backup for the sump pump.

Speaker 4: [3:55] Mm.

Speaker 5: [3:56] Good point. They're not very expensive. A- if you think about it, when you need a sump pump, it's usually when it's raining, maybe a really bad storm, and when does your power go out? Yeah. At the same time. Yeah. So just, they're not crazy expensive, and different areas in Seattle have significantly different occurrences in terms of power outages, so just something to keep in mind.

Speaker 1: [4:15] That's a great tip. So Jason, what are the last few things that homeowners can do in the beginning of winter before the first freeze?

Speaker 5: [4:22] Yeah, the first thing I would say is to change your furnace filter if you haven't already. Um- I recommend always having some extra filters on hand. If you get your furnace regular- regularly serviced, they generally will bring some with them or at least give you a very clear idea, like these are the ones you should order. Um, every furnace is a little different, so check with your furnace technician and/or the manual to see what f- uh, filter is recommended and, and have some on hand and replace them come the, uh, right before the first freeze because you're probably gonna start using it quite a lot, right?

Speaker 1: [5:04] And you can always put those on like a continuous, like subscribe and save type, uh, model where- Mm-hmm they're sent to you every three months, six months, whatever you

Speaker 5: [5:13] want. That's a really smart way to do it, yeah. Yep. Because then y- you're reminded to replace it.

Speaker 1: [5:18] Yeah, 'cause it just shows up and you're like, "Oh yeah, I gotta, I gotta swap this out now. Okay,

Speaker 5: [5:21] good to know." Exactly. And then if you are going on vacation during, uh, an extended period in the winter, it's important to leave your heat on because otherwise your fur- your pipes may freeze, and quite frankly other things just get damaged because- Mm of the, the temperature, uh, variation. You know, you don't need to set the temperature to 70 degrees now, you know? But something like 55 degrees usually does the trick. You just don't want it to get too cold inside. And then if you have sprinklers or drip irrigation, it's not a bad idea to blow out any water that's in your pipes in your sprinkler system. Every manufacturer is a little different here, uh, in terms of what they recommend, but an air compressor usually can come in handy. Be careful though. You don't wanna burst the pipes or damage any of the installation itself, but uh, you do wanna get some of the water or all of the water out if you can. Some of the systems, by the way, have little vents that you wanna open up to allow evaporation before it gets too cold and freezes over. There's, just manage that because you don't wanna come, uh, spring, turn on the sprinkler and realize, oh, it burst somewhere. Great. That's a nice surprise. And then lastly, when it's about to get cold, it's a good idea to have some de-icer or salt on hand and a shovel. You know, you want this ready and waiting for the random snow events that we can have. Once the forecast- You know, like the seven-day forecast says, "Oh, there's gonna be a deep freeze," it's hard generally to buy, to go to Home Depot and buy de-icer or salt. By then it might be too late because everyone's buying it. So I recommend late fall stock up on that. You wanna make sure your sidewalk and driveway are shoveled, and you also just don't want pedestrians tripping and falling out in front of your home. Uh, be a good neighbor, lessen the liability. Just, uh, make sure that's treated when it freezes so people are safe.

Speaker 1: [7:24] Those are very good points. So a good thing about winter is that there's a little less on your to-do list if you've already been prepping your house throughout the year. But taking care of those few annual tasks like checking the batteries in your smoke and CO2 detectors are very important. I mean, obviously batteries don't last forever. They have a specific lifespan, and it's easy to forget to check them. So the easiest time, for me at least, to just replace them all is around New Year's. Everyone remembers New Year's 'cause it's like, "Yeah, it's the start of a new year, New Year's resolution. Oh, I need to put new batteries in." Just tie that in with that. Put that habit in your mind 'cause you really do need to replace those once a year at least. Another thing to consider in winter is your AC unit. Now, if you have been wanting to install one or get a heat pump or something like that, winter is a great time because it's gonna be a little less expensive and you're going to probably get a better deal on it. They do have special deals sometimes in the winter because they're, um, you know, not as much in demand. Supply and demand is a real thing. Uh, the summer everyone wants AC, everyone want, uh, wants a heat pump, and that's when they are very hard to come by. So if you were ever thinking about it, the winter's a good time to do it. Uh, and I know that we're giving you a lot of information, and this is again, this is why that upkeep checklist is free on our website. AwesomeNossum.com/homemaintenance. You can download it for free right there. So we've made it through the cold winter, and spring is in the air. Reid, what should homeowners do as the weather starts to warm up?

Speaker 2: [8:59] So one f- really fun one is planting a garden. Spring is often a time where you need to plant some things. So do an inventory of the plants you already have, of any plants that you might want to add to your garden, and just do a bit of research as to when the best time to plant or to trim those plants is. Every plant's a little bit different. As the weather warms up and before all the summer activity kind of overtakes your days, a traditional spring cleaning is always a really good idea. So-

Speaker 5: [9:29] Wait, so you go from, like, fun gardening to, like, spring cleaning? Ugh. Oh, it's always dreadful, isn't it? It's always- It's like, "Oh, can winter not end? I don't wanna spring clean." And then it becomes, like, summer and then fall, and you're like winter cleaning. You're like, "Yeah, I waited 12 months."

Speaker 2: [9:44] Yep. And some of these things you do wanna do while it's at least somewhat nice outside, right? So give your windows some love, some attention. Deep clean the inside and the outside. If you need a pressure wash done for the whole exterior of your house, think about scheduling that in the spring. Spring's also a good time to deep clean things like your oven, because you can have windows open without it being really cold. Another fun task is cleaning your grill, that's an outdoor one, and getting ready for the first cookout of the year. One not so fun but very important spring cleaning job is also vacuuming your heating and cooling ducts to make sure that those are clean.

Speaker 1: [10:27] Yeah, and you would want to most likely hire a company to do that. That's not necessarily something you're gonna do. You could always remove the vents if you have the floor vents and, you know, vacuum up any dirt and debris or toys if children are in your home- uh, which tend to get dropped down there for fun. So yeah, you can definitely vacuum out right below the heating ducts on the floor. But, uh, if you're gonna try and do the whole thing, which I would recommend doing maybe once every couple years, every few years, because dust does tend to build up in your air ducts, and if you're having allergy problems, it's not a bad idea to do. And there's lots of companies that do that for you. Um, getting out in the yard and spring cleaning can be enjoyable after a long winter, after we've all been cooped up inside. It's also a great time to evaluate the weather side of the house to see how bad it got- And the weather side, if you don't know what I'm speaking about, is normally the south side and partly the west side of the house. And why I say this is if you think about your home, the sun is going to beat down on the south side of your home the majority of the day. This is also where the majority of rain and wind are going to hit your home. This is the side that's also going to take the brunt of all this weather, and you're going to notice it on this side before any other, uh, side of your home. So if your front of your house faces south, most likely you're gonna wanna repaint the front of your house faster, uh, than the other sides of your homes. And I know that that… Other side of your home, I should say. I'm gonna say that again If your home is facing south, the front of your home is facing south, most likely you're gonna need to repaint the front of your home before you even have to do the other three sides. Uh, w- only because it's gonna bru- face the brunt of the weather and sun. This is a good time to also go around and really just take your finger and poke around, especially around the windows. You're looking for any soft wood. You can also do this with all the siding on your home. The south, again, is where you're gonna see this more common than any other side. The west side to a lesser extent, the other sides not so much, but this is a good time of year to go around and just make sure you don't have any wood that is starting to rot. Jason, what other springtime suggestions do you have for the exterior of your home?

Speaker 5: [12:52] Yeah, so you're saying how the south side of the house will get the brunt of the sun, while the north side is often in the shade. And so you'll see a lot of times on, if you look at roofs, north sides of roofs or north-facing roofs, uh, oftentimes have tons of vegetation growing, like moss and mold. And so, because they just stay so damp throughout the year.

Speaker 1: [13:18] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 5: [13:19] Right? And so it's a perfect environment to just spread out and make yourself very comfortable if you're moss or mold, right? Um, there are a ton of products available to treat your roof for moss and mold. Some of them act really quickly, like you spray it and they, you see like within minutes or hours, the mold or the moss is now blackened. Others are more of l- kind of a long-term maintenance program. But a lot of them, you simply can connect your garden hose to this little sprayer, and it'll spray like 30 feet up, which is usually enough to cover most of the roofs that we see in Seattle, unless you have like a three-story house or something. And you just spray the roof, and it'll slow down, prevent, or reverse any moss growth. And some people just leave it at that and let the dead moss kind of fall off, which could be a lot of fun because then you get to deal with clogged gutters. Other times, people are more proactive and let the moss die, and then they go up on the roof and carefully sweep it off without damaging the shingles or falling off the roof themselves. There are companies that can help you with all this as well. But definitely just keep an eye o- out on your roof, uh, in particular, the north plane to see if there's any organic growth. Another thing here, similar to why moss grows on the north side, if there's a tree or an overhang that get- that blocks a lot of the sunlight and shades a section of your roof, you often see a lot of growth there. So making sure trim, uh, making sure you trim trees and bushes and vegetation can really come in handy here just to make sure that the moss can, can dry out between rain events. Now, the opposite of the roof, if you look at the base of the house during this time, it's important to make sure that vegetation isn't really touching your siding or your house because if vegetation r- retains moisture, and similar to the roof, it's just gonna really encourage organic growth and wood rot And then lastly, related to all of this, is if you have a wood deck, a good time in the spring to take advantage of the weather conditions and maintain your deck. Maybe brush it off, clean it. Simply Green can come in handy here, and then apply a new stain and sealant to the woo- wood deck. Again, Seattle's moist environment really accelerates wood rot, and this can actually be very surprising for people who are not from here, who move maybe from the South, even from, like, Florida, where Florida's very wet, but because of just the temperate climate here, it's shocking how fast things grow and how quickly wood can rot if it's maintain- if it stays damp. So it's just important in Seattle, make sure that your wood stays dry or at least dries out between rain events, and that way it'll really slow down the, the progress of any wood rot.

Speaker 1: [16:10] Yeah. I feel like this was a super helpful breakdown of all the home maintenance tips and tasks that you gotta do as a homeowner throughout the year. Do we have any other suggestions, team, on what we can do throughout the year?

Speaker 5: [16:22] I do. Ooh. Uh, uh, because I'm talking already, let me just take over.

Speaker 1: [16:26] All right.

Speaker 5: [16:27] You know, a lot of times when you buy a house you get an inspection done. In fact, pretty much all of our clients always do that. Sometimes it's verbal though, but you… More often than not, you get a report at the end of the day, and this report can be very handy in terms of s- knowing when to maintain certain things. So it's a nice… It's a good idea when you get a house, sit down, look over that report, and write out dates. And I suggest that you put all of these important home maintenance dates and various information in your calendar. When you get a house, sit down. A lot of times purchasing a house, you get an inspection report at the end of the day, right? It's kind of important to have an inspector come out and look at your property. We have probably, like, 134 podcast episodes about this topic. But using that inspection report can be really handy in this step of the process because you can refer to that report and it should lay out, you know, get this, get the furnace serviced, or it was recently serviced, so next year around this time, get it serviced, whatever it may be. And you can sit down and put all this stuff in your calendar and make it a recurring event so you really don't have to worry about it. When it pops up, you know, okay, now is the time to take care of this, and otherwise it's out of sight, out of mind. At the beginning of the year if you didn't do that, then it's a good time to add to your New Year's resolutions to sit down and schedule certain annual tasks. When do you wanna do the visual inspections or the walkthroughs of your entire home, which you wanna do twice a year if possible, once during the dry summer season, and then another time during the wet- uh, winter months because that way you get a chance to see the house and how things are performing in the two extremes, in the dry and the wet season. If you see anything that's kind of a long-term progressive thing, like maybe cracks in the foundation that might not be of a concern today but could get worse over time, take pictures. Put them in a, an album, and that way next year when you do your walkthrough of that area again, or in six months, you can refer back to those pictures and you have a, something that you can present to an inspector or whatnot if it evolves over time And then note when you need to replace your HVAC fil- filters, and write down the next date. Set the, uh, a calendar entry for replacing those filters. Some of the newer furnaces, especially the ones with apps, and if you have, like, a Nest, um, therm- thermostat, they can kind of automate this, and they'll ping you and say, "Hey, it's time to update or replace your filter." So that can help. And then lastly, this isn't cr- very common in Seattle proper, but definitely surrounding Seattle. If you have a septic tank, know when you need to get it serviced, and get that scheduled out. This is usually every two years or so, but this really, honestly depends on the size of your tank and how much you use it. If it's just you in the house, you're gonna use your septic a lot less, potentially, than if you have five people living at the house. So something to keep in mind.

Speaker 2: [19:35] Yeah, another great tip that I actually learned from you, Jason, is when you move in, to catalog all of the plants that you have on your property. Make a list and research how to care for all of them so that you know what time of year you need to do stuff and what it is you need to do for each plant.

Speaker 5: [19:55] Mm. Yes. Agreed. Wasn't that such a smart idea from me? Yes. I came up with it myself. You're welcome. Yeah. You're the only person in the world that's ever had that idea. Yeah.

Speaker 2: [20:04] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 4: [20:06] Okay, so for different temperatures, we get different types of insects. So another thing you may wanna consider is hiring a pest control company that will come out and treat your quart- your, your house quarterly. Uh, their prices may vary. I've seen some as low as 80 bucks and some up to, uh, 150 to 200 bucks. Uh, this is beneficial because I recently had my dog get stung by a bee and almost kill him. So-

Speaker 5: [20:34] Oh … Speaker 4: you m- you may wanna consider that. Uh, I know at certain times of year, we get spiders and things of that natures, or ants or that kinda thing. So that's something to definitely consider, especially, um, if you have a pet or children. You never know. I didn't know my dog was allergic to bees, and I just found that out, uh, the hard way. And some people, if you have another freezer, or just freezers in general, people forget to defrost them. So defrost your freezer every now and then. Um, it's kind of a pain, but it's definitely worth it. If you're like me, I, I do the whole Costco run, and like I said, I go to Spencer's Butcher Shop and I stock up on stuff just so I don't have to keep buying it over and over again. So you don't want your, your, uh, perishables to get ruined, so definitely defrost your freezer every once in a while and just check it out.

Speaker 1: [21:18] Good tips. Good tips. Great job, everybody. My final tip is about buying things, so especially big purchases like appliances. So w- Try and buy these when they're on sale. The big companies out there, they often have these sales when it's, like, a holiday, so Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Black Friday. And then some of the other local companies like Albert Lee, they'll have, not on a holiday, but they'll have, like, their outlet, um, scratch and dent sale. So if you're looking for something that's just gonna be, like, an extra fridge or freezer that you don't really care if it's got a little dent in it, maybe buy it then. Hopefully that is a helpful tip. So we shared a lot with our listeners today. The main thing I wanna highlight is this does not need to be overwhelming. It's really not that hard if you just break it down. We have tried to assist in that by creating a one-page this is what you need to do each season of the year. Uh, and you can get that for free right on our website, awesome nossum.com/homemaintenance. It's easy, it's free, it just breaks it down right there. What I would do if I were you is go through your home, and then like we suggested earlier, put these things as calendar reminders so that they just pop up and you go, "Okay, I need to do that now." It's very, very simple. Um, that's it for us. Thank you so much for listening. We hope this has been super helpful. Team, you guys did great. Wonderful job, everybody. Until next time, this is Christian Nossum with the Awesome Nossum Group. And thank you, team. Great work