Caring For Your New Home

(See Home Warranty Information for more Maintenance Tips)

* Tip # 1: Should you do the work yourself? This answer depends on a number of factors, including your abilities, your tools, your time and safely gear. Unless you are a highly skilled do-it-yourselfer, avoid taking on jobs that may be dangerous, particularly difficult, of where a mistake can be quite costly. Some jobs simply are not worth the risk. For example think twice before doing:

Extensive electrical work
Plumbing that involves crawling under the house
Roofing work on a steep or high roof
Difficult of laborious work, such as chopping out and pouring a new concrete floor
Siding work that requires scaffolding higher then two stories
Work where there may be hidden mysteries

For any other work that you are not confident in handling please hire a licensed professional.

* Tip # 2: Banish those stubborn Carpet Stains. Spots that reappear after cleaning are actually a combination of the dissolved soil, (usually something sticky), and the cleaning product that was worked in the base of the carpet during cleaning. Once surfaced, these areas become virtual dirt magnets. To keep spots from resurfacing, lay several sheets of paper towels over the freshly cleaned section and place a heavy object, like an encyclopedia, on top. Leave in place for a few hours or overnight. As the carpet dries, any residual stain and cleaner will be absorbed by the toweling. If this does not do the trick a carpet cleaning professional may be required.

* Tip # 3: When moving into a new home, or just re-arranging your furniture, often you will find areas of the carpet that has dents of depressions from the furniture or heavy objects. Brush the dented area using a grooming tool to loosen and stand-up the mashed tufts. Using a stream iron, steam the dented area lightly and brush up the tufts with your fingertips. Don't let the iron touch the carpet. Hold the iron 2 - 3 inches above the carper. (For carpets containing acrylic or mod-acrylic, use the warm setting on a hair dryer, as the steam may felt the fibers.) Allow the carpet to cool completely. To give the rest of your carpet a fresh look without shampooing, try sweeping the carpet with a broom, which will make the nap stand up and loosen imbedded dirt. Then vacuum. The rug should show a noticeable improvement. To avoid further crushing, use casters under furniture legs.
 

* Tip # 4: To remove hard water spots from the shower doors, cover stains with paper towels soaked in white vinegar. Let them set for about an hour, then scrub with dry baking soda on an old toothbrush. Once stains are removed, applying a light coat of lemon oil to the glass will help keep the build-up to a minimum and the glass sparkling. You may want to consider installing a high quality water softener if the problems continue.
 

* Tip # 5: While it seems that drains get clogged at the most inconvenient times, the fact is that drains warn us ahead of time. The problem is that we tend to ignore a "slow" drain until it’s too late. Prevention is still the best solution. To keep kitchen and bathroom drains clear of hair and clogged grease, try this weekly: pour one cup baking soda into the drain, followed by one cup vinegar. As the soda and vinegar foam, flush the drain with very hot water. In the event you do find yourself with a clogged drain, plumbing snakes, industrial clog removers or a professional cleaning may be required
 

* Tip # 6: Remember when you were a kid and you smelled everything? Well we still do. Especially when entering a home. Of course, its hard to smell your own home, because you live there all the time. But for people who don't have pets, even the cleanest dog still smells like a dog, and the freshest cat box still smells like a cat box. Keeping a special blend of cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel, in the water, simmering away in the kitchen is a great way to take the last minute showings, a quick and easy way to remove per hair from upholstery is to wipe your hand across the fabric while wearing a latex glove.
 

* Tip # 7: Many people are confused by the difference between continuous-cleaning and self-cleaning ovens. A self-cleaning oven provides for the removal of soil during a separate high-heat cycle. This means you have to set the cycle for cleaning when needed. A continuous-cleaning oven gradually reduces oven soil on a specially treated surface to a "presentable" clean condition during normal baking or broiling operations. Each time you cook, the oven burns off the dirt and grease. You'll need to clean up large spills as they occur to keep the oven looking good. NEVER use any kind of cleaning aid in a continuous-cleaning oven or self-cleaning oven. The finish will be removed. Once that happens, the oven will no longer clean itself. Do all wiping up with ordinary detergent and water or window cleaner. In self-cleaning ovens, use plain water-dampened sponge or paper towels to wipe up the ash that remains in the bottom after the cleaning process has finished.

NEW Model to view on Acker St., in Guelph's East End. Come check out the benefits of a brand new home for yourself.

Model Home 519-831-9288 or email: sales@biltmorehomes.on.ca 

Location: 4 Acker St., Guelph, Ontario
(Watson Road and Eastview Road Area)

 

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Model Home Hours
Monday, Tuesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.