Home Care - Interior

Wood may contract or expand with changes in temperature and humidity resulting in cracks around doorways, arches, windows, and wall joints, or causing nails to pop in floors and baseboards. Although it is impossible to completely alleviate this problem, maintaining constant temperature and humidity levels is an excellent precautionary measure to control the shrinkage and swelling of building materials.

Cracks in drywall may occur as the walls dry out and settle. This process is normal due to changes in the moisture levels in the spackle and taped wall seams and the underlying wooden support beams. No attempt should be made to repair minor cracks in the drywall until your home has gone through a “dying out” period. After one year, use spackle, which is available at any hardware or builder’s supply store, to fill in cracks. Then touch-up these areas with paint that was provided at the time of occupancy.

Doors

Heating during the winter months may change the moisture content of wood doors in your home causing temporary warping. Use a humidifier to help control warping. To keep bi-fold doors from sticking, apply wax to their tracks. Use graphite on door locks, not oil, which may gum up the mechanism. Don’t slam doors, because this may cause them to crack, sag or jam. Do not hang heavy objects, such as clothing racks, from the tops of doors. Do not allow children to swing back and forth on doorknobs.

Hardwood and Resilient Floors

Your home has been equipped with resilient floors. We recommend that hardwood floors be kept sealed and waxed to minimize the effects of humidity variations. Sharp objects can damage floors. We recommend you use casters to protect your floors from damage. Dust and damp mop floors. When cleaning the floors, do not use an excessive amount of water, which may cause seam lifting or peaking.

Movements of floor joists due to shrinkage and deflection cause raised nail heads. We have attempted to minimize this problem by gluing the sub-floor to the joists and using special nails. We suggest you re-drive raised nail heads with a block of wood and a hammer.

Seam lifting or peaking is caused by water seeping into the mastic through a seam, which usually occurs near bathroom tubs. As part of routine home maintenance, caulk the tub and floor joints with a compound made for this purpose. Care should be taken to avoid water spills. Lifted seams may flatten out after drying.

Ceramic Tile Walls, Floors and Countertops

Your new home may have durable and beautiful ceramic tile covering walls, floors and countertops. Care should be taken to avoid dropping heavy objects on tiles, which may crack or break as a result. Hairline cracks may develop in grouting between tiles, and between tiles and bathtub due to normal settling. Repair these cracks by filling with grout. Clear silicon sealer can be used on grout lines of ceramic tile to maintain the original look of the grout.

Carpeting

Carpeting of a standard width is professionally installed in your home using “tack strips” to hold it in place. Carpet seams are unavoidable, but every effort is made to limit the number of seams and locate them as unobtrusively as possible. Seams are more noticeable in flat even-piled carpeting than in shag carpeting. Carpeting may appear loose under humid conditions. Yarn fibers may appear on the carpet surface for the first few months, which is a normal occurrence in new carpeting. The shed fibers can be vacuumed away.

When cleaning spots, do not rub the spot, but rather blot clean with warn water and a mild detergent. Have your carpet professionally cleaned to remove dirt and grit that will shorten the life of your carpet. The frequency of cleaning depends on the type of yarn, the color of the carpeting, the size of your family and the amount of dirt tracked in. Steam cleaning is hard on carpet, but conventional shampooing is beneficial.

Hot Water Heater

The water tank may occasionally leak due to the release of excess pressure. Hot water heaters should be flushed out every six months using the hose connections at the bottom of the tank to remove the small amount of dirt and scale that normally collects in the bottom of the water tank. If the pilot light goes out it may be due to either a drop in gas pressure or dirt in the gas main. Follow the instructions in the water heater’s manual that has been given to you during the walk-through inspection to light the pilot.

Plumbing, Water and Sewer Line

Single lever faucets have been installed in your home that usually require little or no maintenance. Faucets may leak or drip due to worn or defective washers that can easily be replaced by the homeowner. Care should be taken to close the faucets just hard enough to shut off the flow of water. If closed too forcefully, the washer may be cut. We ask you to thoroughly inspect all plumbing fixtures in your home during your walk-through inspection. Any chips or damage must be noted at that time.

Avoid stuffing large objects into drain lines, which will cause backups and clogs in water and sewer lines. Care should be taken to avoid disposal into the plumbing of sanitary napkins, disposable diapers and other materials that will cause clogging. Try a household plunger before calling for service.

Use generous amounts of water while using the garbage disposal to obtain its most efficient operation. If the garbage disposal’s mechanisms stall, be sure to turn the power off at the circuit breaker before clearing the obstruction. After clearing the disposal, depress the reset button.

Kitchen Appliances

All kitchen appliances are warranted and serviced by the manufacturer, installer and/or supplier. We do not warrant any kitchen appliances, including the refrigerator, freezer, icemaker, trash compactor, range, oven, kitchen center, dishwasher, oven hood, clothes washer or dryer, or other appliances, which may have been installed in your home.

Electrical

The wiring in your home will accommodate a number of electrical appliances, which are protected by circuit breakers located in the main panel box, usually placed in the basement. Using large appliances or many small appliances simultaneously may trip one of the circuit breakers. Check for a breaker that is in the “off” position and click it to the “on” position. If after resetting the circuit breaker, it again becomes tripped, immediately attempt to locate the cause such as worn ort plugs, defective plug connections or defects within the appliances themselves. When you first move into your home and discover an outlet or circuit that does not operate, check the wall switch usually located closest to the door that controls the outlet and then the circuit breakers before calling for service. If a lamp will not light, it may simply be a burned out light bulb.

10.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Your new home is furnished with a furnace and may include a central air conditioning system. The furnace will automatically turn on if the room temperature drops below the setting on the thermostat. The furnace will not heat any faster if you set the heating controls on high. We suggest you allow the pilot to burn during summer months. Before calling for service, the following points are suggested in case of any difficulties:

Check your circuit breaker
Check the furnace’s electrical switch, located on or near the furnace.
Try relighting the pilot in accordance with your instruction manual. Be sure the thermostat is turned down before relighting.
Leave doors open for better circulation of air in bedrooms.

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Kitchen Cabinets and Bathroom Vanities

The kitchen cabinets used in your home are factory finished and should be cared for in much the same way as fine wood furniture. Scratches may develop that can be easily concealed by rubbing with a scratch-removing furniture polish or coating with a wax stain. You may enhance and preserve the rich wood grain finish on your kitchen cabinets by applying a coat of paste wax.

12.

Sliding Glass Doors

Sliding glass doors lock from the inside and outside. The bottom tracks must be kept clean and clear of debris so they will operate freely. Paraffin is a good lubricant for the tracks.

Under certain lighting conditions the glass doors may be hard to see. As a safety measure to prevent people from walking through the glass, keep the screen fully closed when the doors are open to make people more aware of the presence of glass, or apply decals.

13.

Windows

The lower double-hung insulated panel windows in your new home may be tilted inward for easy cleaning. Call a glazier to replace any broken glass. Keep all windowsill channels free of dirt for proper operation. The drain holes around the windows must be kept from of debris for proper drainage.

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Countertops – Laminated Plastic

The laminated plastic countertops are scratch and heat resistant, not heat proof. To avoid damaging the surface of the countertop, do not put hot pots, pans or cigarettes directly on these surfaces, instead please use trivets, hot pads and ashtrays. To avoid scratching the countertops, do not cut or slice food on the countertops. Use a cutting board when cutting food or other items. Do not scrub the countertops with heavy abrasives that will damage the surface, but use a low-abrasive cleanser. The gloss on shiny countertops can be maintained with a coat of wax, but do not apply wax on countertops with a dull finish.

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Cultured Marble Vanity Tops and Basins

Use only mild liquid cleaning products on cultured marble surfaces. Do not use any type of abrasive cleansers. Do not place cigarettes, curling irons or any other hot objects that may leave burn marks on the cultured marble surface.