Category: Overland Park Home Maintenance

Preventing Frozen Pipes

This year the cold weather came in like a lion and preventing frozen pipes is something you must do! My pipes froze last year and I was without running water for days. Here are some tips for preventing frozen pipes and what to do if your pipes do freeze.

Locate your water shut-off valve

First of all, do you know where your water shut-off valve is located? Before you do anything else, go to your basement or garage and find your water shut off. Furthermore, be sure to tag it so everyone in your household knows where it is and how to turn it off in the case of an emergency of a burst or frozen pipe.

Did you disconnect your water hoses?

Hopefully, you remembered to disconnect all of your water hoses from your exterior spigots before the freeze this week. By leaving your hoses connected, the water in them can freeze, expand and back up into the spigot and actually burst an interior pipe.

Open your cabinet doors

If you have interior sinks located on exterior walls, it’s normal for your plumbing to be vulnerable because the exterior walls are not insulated. The cold air from the outside can and will cause frozen pipes. Open the doors under your sinks to allow the heat from the room to get in there and keep the pipes warm.

Preventing frozen pipes best tip

When the temperatures drop below freezing, be sure to leave your faucets on those exterior wall sinks at a slow drip. This will keep the water moving through the pipes. It may increase your water bill a little, but that small increase will be much cheaper than burst or frozen pipes.

How to know if you have frozen pipes

If your water pressure is low, you may have a frozen pipe somewhere in the house. A pipe that feels extremely cold to the touch may be frozen. It’s imperative to clear the blockage as soon as possible to prevent a pipe from bursting in some inaccessible area of your home.

If you have no water service, more than likely the main line from the street may be frozen. Call me for a referral to an honest plumber to assist you.

Thawing frozen pipes

Open a nearby faucet slightly so the pipe can drain as it starts to thaw. You can use a hair dryer or heating pad to thaw a frozen pipe. Do not use in standing water as you could be electrocuted. Do not use a blow torch or pour hot water onto frozen pipes.

Need a plumber?

Finally, if you need a referral to a plumber for any regular or emergency service, please call or text me at (913) 515-3250 anytime 24/7.  Heaven forbid you call one of those plumbers that advertise heavily on television. That one mistake alone could cost you thousands of your hard-earned dollars. Please allow me to refer you to someone who is NOT on my own personal DO NOT CALL LIST and will look out for your best interests.

I want to be your Realtor!

Check out today’s new listings either below or in the sidebar. Call or text me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here to see inside one of these homes. I AM NEVER TOO BUSY to show you a house. Real estate is my main hustle after 35 years! Everything else I do is bells and whistles to enhance your experience!

Remember…the Realtor you choose determines the results you get. Choose carefully!

  • List View
  • Map View

See all Real estate matching your search.
(all data current as of 6/2/2023)

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

 
 

Jump-Start Your Spring Cleaning

It’s spring break and if you’re anything like me and not taking a break, here are some simple yet effective tips to jump-start your spring cleaning.

Granted not everyone likes to clean but a couple of times a year it’s necessary to tackle some big projects. So whether you hire it done or you are the cleaning lady, make a list this week of 5 things you should do around your house and get busy.

5 ideas to jump-start your spring cleaning

  1. First of all, wipe down your kitchen cabinets and appliances – whether you have painted or stained cabinets, they can get pretty grungy after a few weeks. In addition, use a good cleaner or lemon oil and wipe down the outsides of all your cabinets. Likewise, clean your knobs and pulls as well. Then tackle your appliances. Take your stove apart, clean the oven and do the same with your refrigerator.
  2. Clean your baseboards all through your house. This includes moving the furniture away from the walls and getting behind there. If you have pets, you’ll be surprised how much pet hair is trapped that you didn’t know was there.
  3. Wash your throw rugs, furniture throws and store them away for spring and summer.
  4. Shampoo your carpets or have them professionally cleaned. If you need a referral to a professional carpet cleaner, contact me here.
  5. Finally, with a week of nice weather predicted, open your windows and let some fresh air in and stale air out. Clean your window sills and wipe down your blinds – one slat at a time.

Those are the 5 things I do every year. You can copy from me or create your own 5 projects to jump-start your spring cleaning. Either way, keeping your home clean is not only good for your health but your house will love you for it as well.

Once you get these big things out of the way, the rest of the spring cleaning will naturally fall into place.

The faster you get this done, the more time you will have for the fun stuff. What will you do to reward yourself for a job well done? I’m having lunch with friends, making a carrot cake with my granddaughter, Brooklyn, and vintage shopping, of course.

Above all else, if you have any questions or need help with any of these tasks, you can call or text me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here.

Spring Home Maintenance

No matter the weather, it’s time to get started on your spring home maintenance. While we’re currently experiencing spring-like weather in Kansas City, Mother Nature will surely have winter rearing its ugly head one more time before it’s all over. So don’t get ahead of yourself but maintaining your home only increases its value!

Winter and cold weather can do a number on your home. It’s time to get busy and check things out. This is your March Home Maintenance Checklist for your home and is an important part of homeownership.

Here’s your spring home maintenance checklist

  • Wood rot – take some time and walk around the exterior of your home. Grab a screwdriver and look for areas on your decks, spindles, doors, trim and especially around your windows. If the area looks soft, poke it with your screwdriver. If it goes in easily, you probably have wood rot that needs to be repaired or replaced. Allowing water to get in behind your siding will cause you bigger problems later.
  • Gutters – clean your gutters so the spring rains can get through. Check the downspouts and make sure you have a splash block under them or a downspout extension to direct water away from your house.
  • Foundation – here’s another biggie. Check to make sure you have enough dirt around your foundation. It should not touch the siding but needs to slope away from your house so the rain water will run away from your home – not into your basement or crawl space.
  • Roof – look up at your roof and check your shingles to see if any are missing, buckled or cracked. I have a roofer that will perform a FREE roof maintenance evaluation if you have any concerns.
  • Tools – now is the time to check your tools to make sure things are working. If your lawnmower needs maintenance, don’t wait until it’s time to mow the grass. Get out your power tools and get them ready for use.
  • Detectors – if you haven’t checked your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors this year, now is a good time to do so. Remember, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors save lives.

Spring home maintenance appointments to schedule:

  • Air conditioner check up – hopefully you are on a maintenance plan with your heating or cooling people. Get your spring check up scheduled now. Those guys get busy and you don’t want to be put on the back burner. Yearly maintenance will keep your systems running better and longer and will save you money in the long run.
  • Termites check-up – you should do this once a year to make sure you don’t have any active termites. Even if your house has been treated, checking it yearly is always recommended. Those pesky termites can do major damage to a home in no time. Believe me, I’ve seen some horrifying situations due to termites.

Everything on this list will save you time and money if you use preventive maintenance. Print this off and stick it on the refrigerator. It’s a good reminder that spring weather will be here shortly and you need to be ready.

Need spring home maintenance service referrals?

As always, if you need any referrals to people to help you with your spring home maintenance checklist, just let me know. Remember, I also have a DO NOT CALL list of those so-called nice guys that advertise a cheap price and take you to the cleaners once they are inside your home. They have repeatedly tried to cheat my clients! DO NOT fall for their gimmicks! Thank goodness my clients called me and I had them get a second opinion!

Call or text me at (913) 515-3250 to see if you are considering hiring someone on my DO NOT CALL LIST or contact me here.

What is your home worth in today’s market?

Want to know the latest stats in your neighborhood? Don’t rely on the Zillow Zestimate. Here’s a quick tool that will research your subdivision and provide you with a report within minutes – direct from the local Multiple Listing Service. It’s fast and it’s FREE! Click here and insert your address.

Overland Park latest homes for sale

Check out today’s new listings either below or in the sidebar. Call or text me at (913) 515-3250 to see inside one of these homes. I AM NEVER TOO BUSY to show you a house. Real estate is my main hustle after 35 years! Everything else I do is bells and whistles to enhance your experience!

  • List View
  • Map View

See all Real estate matching your search.
(all data current as of 6/2/2023)

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

 
 

December Home Maintenance

While it may seem like summer outside, here is your December Home Maintenance Checklist of things to do before winter. And yes, it is coming!

Plan for it

I’m a big planner. Being prepared is what I live by. Be ready for winter. Don’t wait until winter to do these things. Get started on them now.

What do you need to buy in case of bad weather? Get things now rather than when everyone else is trying to buy the same things you are and they are nowhere to be found. Especially with the shortages we are experiencing. I’d rather buy it and return it, than not have it at all.

You’ve got all month to get these things done. Yes, there will be more home maintenance to do in January. That’s why it’s called maintenance. You are maintaining the value of your home.

December home maintenance things that are easy to do:

  • Reverse all of your ceiling fan blades to counterclockwise to push the warm air back down.
  • Cover your patio furniture to save from the winter elements and make it last longer.
  • Check your snow equipment and make sure everything is in good working order.

Things to schedule:

  • Chimney inspection – many house fires are caused by a cracked liner or chimneys that are blocked
  • Furnace check-up – yearly maintenance is much cheaper than allowing your furnace to quit working. Be sure to stock up on furnace filters now for the winter months ahead.

If you don’t know a chimney sweep or furnace guy, reach out to me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here. I can certainly tell you who is on MY DO NOT CALL LIST. After 34 years in real estate, I certainly have had some bad experiences and avoided many more situations with people who shouldn’t be in business.

December home maintenance things to do outside:

  • Inspect your trees for any broken limbs or branches hanging over your house. One bad storm could cause you major problems when those branches fall on your roof.
  • Clean your gutters now so snow can melt into them which will prevent ice dams later.

That’s a pretty simple list. The key to December Home Maintenance is to be winter-ready. That’s about all you have control over. The rest is out of your hands.

If you have questions, please call or text me at (913) 515-3250. I’m just a phone call away from your most pressing question. Call me or ask Google. But in my opinion, it’s always better to talk to a professional.

Look how many people Zillow just let down. Poor Zillow. I won’t let you down!

  • List View
  • Map View

See all Real estate matching your search.
(all data current as of 6/2/2023)

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

 
 

Just for fun…check out today’s new listings in Overland Park! And call or text me at (913) 515-3250 if you see something that piques your interest.

Frozen Pipes in Overland Park

This year, with the cold weather coming in like a lion, it’s time to think about frozen pipes in Overland Park. First of all, do you know where your water shut-off valve is located? Before you do anything else, go to your basement or garage and find your water shut off. Be sure to tag it so everyone in your household knows where it is and how to turn it off in the case of an emergency of burst or frozen pipes.

This week’s home maintenance tip

Before it gets any colder outside, be sure to disconnect your outside water hoses. By leaving your hoses connected, the water in them can freeze, expand and back up into the spigot and actually burst an interior pipe. This happened to so many people last year in Kansas City.

How to prevent frozen pipes in Overland Park

I don’t know about you but last year was a winter I won’t soon forget. My pipes froze and I was without water for almost a week. Once they froze, I opened all of my faucets only to come home one day and I heard the water running. Yay! And without any damage to my pipes and without any sinks filling up and overflowing.

There are several precautions you can do to help keep your pipes warm and prevent frozen pipes in Overland Park during the frigid winter temperatures.

Open your cabinet doors

The first thing you always hear about is to open your cabinet doors if you have interior sinks located on exterior walls. If that’s your situation, it’s normal for your plumbing to be vulnerable because the exterior walls are not insulated. The cold air from the outside can and will cause frozen pipes. Open the doors under your sinks to allow the heat from the room to get in there and keep the pipes warm.

Leave the faucets dripping

When the temperatures drop to below freezing, be sure to leave your faucets on those exterior wall sinks at a slow drip. This will keep the water moving through the pipes. It may increase your water bill a little, but that small increase will be much cheaper than burst or frozen pipes.

How to know if you have frozen pipes

If your water pressure is low, you may have a frozen pipe somewhere in the house. A pipe that feels extremely cold to the touch may be frozen. It’s imperative to clear the blockage as soon as possible to prevent a pipe from bursting in some inaccessible area of your home.

If you have no water service, more than likely the mainline from the street may be frozen. Call me at (913) 515-3250 for a referral to an honest plumber to assist you.

Thawing frozen pipes in Overland Park

If you think you can solve the problem of a frozen pipe yourself, go ahead and try. Open a nearby faucet slightly so the pipe can drain as it starts to thaw. You can use a hairdryer or heating pad to thaw a frozen pipe. Do not use in standing water as you could be electrocuted. Do not use a blow torch or pour hot water onto frozen pipes.

Need a plumber?

If you need a referral to a plumber for any regular or emergency service, please call or text me at (913) 515-3250 anytime 24/7.  Heaven forbid you call one of those plumbers that advertise heavily on television. That one mistake alone could cost you thousands of your hard-earned dollars. Please allow me to refer you to someone who is NOT on my own personal DO NOT CALL LIST and will look out for your best interests.

Want to know the real value of your home versus the dreaded Zillow Zestimate? Click here to see what’s selling in your neighborhood!