Tip three - know the history of your major appliances!

Appliances have the uncanny talent of crapping out on you at the most inconvenient time. Like when your oven blow torches the Thanksgiving turkey to a crisp just before the in-laws arrive... anybody got the number to Dominoes?

Your major appliances are not just the refrigerator, dishwasher, washer/dryer and stove. But also look at your furnace, water heater, and A/C unit as major appliances.


Brand new or used, write down the serial number of your appliance on the owner’s manual that came with the appliance (if the serial number is not already printed on the manual or warranty card), and keep it along with the warranty card in a safe place. If you don’t have the owner’s manual for a specific appliance, contact the manufacturer, or look it up on line at manualsonline.com

I searched the web for sites that you can download appliance manuals and the best one I could find is manualsonline. I looked up 6 of my household items on manualsonline and so far I only could retrieve 1 manual (good thing I did keep the hard copies). But don't let this discourage you. Manualsonline is still a cool tool to use to maintain your appliance records on line, and if you can't find the manual you are looking for, you can have on line discussions or email manualsonline about your item. You can even upload and share your manuals with other members. Oh... and the best thing about manualsonline is the membership is free!

Manualsonline isn’t just for appliances, but for many of your household items.
If your household items are brand new, start a home maintenance log/schedule to keep tract of scheduled maintenance, repair costs, warranties, etc. If you purchased used appliances and there are no history reports... start one!

Tip 2 - Seasonal maintenance on your furnace

Yearly furnace maintenance is important to keep your furnace running efficiently. For complex preventive maintenance, schedule a reliable maintenance and repair expert to perform complex tasks such as cleaning the combustion chamber and burners, and check the carbon monoxide level. Here in the Atlanta area, I have used Logan’s heating and air. They have been in business since 1987. They do have yearly maintenance packages and their prices are very reasonable. Visit the website at loganair.com.

Performing quarterly maintenance on your system is simple and it shouldn’t take you any more than a few minutes. If you have a gas furnace, just follow these simple steps, and grab the following items:

a screwdriver

a new air filter

soft bristled radiator brush

vacuum or shop vac

eye protection and paper filter mask

Step 1-Turn off the gas and electricity to your unit. Normally the gas valve is located nearby, and the power switch is on the furnace or somewhere close.

GAS VALVE IN THE OFF POSITION.

Step 2- Open the furnace door. With your vac having a crevice attachment, vacuum out the base of the furnace and around the gas burners. Clean out any loose dust or debris from all crevices.

Step 3- The filter can either be located in the furnace next to the blower unit or located between the blower and the return air duct. You may need a screwdriver to help pry open the access panel or blower door.

FILTER LOCATED BETWEEN FURNACE BLOWER AND RETURN DUCT

If you have metal filter, you can clean it with a hose or a blast of compressed air (like from the air pump at your local gas station). Then go to your local hardware store or home center and buy the spray-on chemical designed for your filter (specifications are usually on the filter frame). Follow the manufacturer's directions for re-coating.
PERMANENT METAL AIR FILTER

If your filter is the paper-type, buy a new one. Before replacing that dirty air filter; ensure that your replacement filter is the correct size. Replacing your air filter is big part of seasonal maintenance, if your paper filter is dirty do not attempt to vac it or wash it, just replace it!

PAPER AIR FILTER


Step 4- Replace the furnace cover and turn the electrical power and the gas back on. If it is necessary to relight the pilot light, follow the instructions which are usually on the cover panel of the furnace.

Step 5- Check the registers in all rooms. Remove the register covers to make sure there are no objects or dirt that might block the flow of air. Vacuum the register covers and with your radiator brush, gently sweep out the inside of the ducts as far as you can reach to remove accumulated dust and debris(wear your eye protection and filter mask). Depending how much dust you have, you may have to have a professional come and clean out all ducts in the home.

SOFT BRISTLED RADIATOR BRUSH

Make sure rugs, furniture and draperies are pulled away from the registers so the air flows freely into the rooms. That’s it! Your quarterly maintenance is done!

The next five

The first five items on my top ten list are very essential to have, and you can pick up all five tools in a single kit at your local hardware or home improvement store.
The next five items are just as important, but are not necessarily used in everyday home care and maintenance.

6. Level – let’s say you decide to hang a picture, a wall hanging, curtain rod, etc. You want to make sure what you are hanging is not lopsided. Hence the level. Laser levels are really neat to use, but you can get away with using the low tech bubble level.

7. Wire brush - used to remove rust, paint and clean conductive areas.

8. WD-40 – always keep a can for lubricating joints and hinges, removing dirt and cleaning parts, loosening screws and bolts.

9. Ladder – either a step ladder or a 6 foot ladder, you will need one to get to those “hard to reach” areas.

10. Simple shop light – In case it’s dark… you need to see what you are doing.

Top five of the top ten

Well gang, here are the top five tools of my top ten list. You should have at least these five essentials in your home improvement/maintenance survival kit. As my best friend Jim says… you have to have the right dang tool for the right dang job!

1. The hammer-there are a bazillion types that come in different shapes, sizes and uses… for basic household use you only need one… the household (claw) hammer.

2. Screwdrivers – come in a variety of lengths and head types. For basic household use there are two basic head types, the Phillips head and the flat head.
Screwdrivers are used to tighten and loosen screws… hence the name screwdriver. You can purchase a set with a hundred screwdrivers, all with different lengths and several head types; but more than likely, you can get away with a set of six or seven.

3. Pliers – there are a bazillion types of pliers, focus on four; slip joint pliers are the most common and have a variety of house hold uses, the needle nose pliers for cutting and crimping wires, the channel locks for light plumbing jobs and for that the job that requires extreme gripping action, the locking pliers a.k.a. the vice grips.

4. Socket wrench (ratchet) set - is used to tighten or loosen bolts or nuts. A typical set will contain a wrench, sockets in a variety of sizes both standard and metric, and other accessories.

5. The tape measure - for normal household use, there is the 25’ to the 33’. For the outdoors there is the 100’.

Tip 1 - the tool kit

Hi I am back again! Here is tip number 1... Have a well stocked tool set for small jobs around the house! How does this help with home maintenance? You need the basic tools to do the simplest tasks around the house, DUH! Just recently a friend of mine asked me to help her hang a set of curtains in the bathroom. When I asked her for a screwdriver, she searched all over the house looking for anything that remotely resembled a screwdriver. After about 30 minutes of searching envelope packed drawers, and closets piled high with boxes, she came to me with these teeny tiny tools that only Papa Smurf can use! But that’s OK, we managed with some tools I had in my truck. Check out my video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfzlNi460xY and stand by for my list of tools that every home tool kit should have! See ya!

Look for 10 easy tips for home maintenance coming soon!!

Hi, I am Lamont from Two Screws and a Nut! Women stay tuned to my blogspot as I dedicate it to all of you who feel overwhelmed by the time and cost to maintain the overall health of your home(relax fellas, I have a blog coming for you too!). I dedicate this blog to the single woman who works the grind… the single mom who dedicates most of her time to her children… the military wife who is holding it down while her man is fighting the wars abroad and any woman who just enjoys doing a little tinkering around the house. Stand by as I bring you 10 home care tips that are simple to follow and will allow you to maintain your greatest asset… your home! Also look for my new internet radio show Two Screws and a Nut on themarketingproject.tv coming soon!