05/07/2021
I absolutely cannot believe that we are into the month of May already and summer is upon us. Do we all say something similar every year, year after year?
Generally speaking my work as a home security person goes well from my week to week inspections. However, something is bound to pop up every now and again; a termite or two (or more), a plumbing issue, an appliance issue, failed pool equipment, failed irrigation. Mostly these are annoying issues, but sometimes they are serious and costly. Avoiding insurance claims is very critical in this day and age, as claims are tracked not only by policy owner names, they are also tracked by property address. Multiple claims can result in premium increases BUT, they can also have an adverse effect on closing a real estate transaction and obtaining home insurance for a buyer or a seller in any transaction.
I AM the reason you need a human set of eyes & ears on your property. Security cameras and alarm monitoring systems serve a purpose, but they don't catch it all. They cannot see termite tubes. They cannot see or feel water on the floor. They cannot pick up the odor of rotting food left in a refrigerator that has failed or the odor of food left in a garbage disposal, when someone has forgotten to grind before departing. Can you smell rotting trash? Yup, sometimes in their haste people forget to take out the trash from under the sink or another inside container. YUCK! A broken or cracked underground water line for irrigation is only detected by seeing puddles of water and/or the water meter reading being outside it's normal usage.
The suggestions I make during an interview or subsequently after getting very familiar with an owner's property are simply suggestions based on experience. My suggestions are also based on living in Lake Havasu City and a desert climate, far different from other geography.
Here are just a few suggestions:
1. Install an inside water turn off. This protects against toilets, sinks, showers, clothes washers, dishwashers and lines going to water filtration systems like R/O (drinking water) and soft water systems. While this will not protect against a hard line failure, it does serve up some protection. Turning off the water main to a home is the only protection against hard line (inside the wall plumbing) failures. However this more than often effects irrigations systems. I always recommend the advice of a licensed plumber.
2. Unplug all small appliances, clocks, radios, televisions, lamps etc. That are not going to be in use for extended periods of time. Anything plugged into an electrical outlet draws some amount of voltage, constantly.
3. If you do have water filtration systems. . . they need to be serviced by a professional. In order to maintain the integrity of the systems this requires annual maintenance.
4. Change A/C filters regularly. Check them monthly, you will know when you need to clean or replace.
5. Don't run your clothes dryer, when not at home to monitor it's efficiency. Clothes dryer vents are notorious for starting fires.
6. Don't store grains (rice, flour, pasta, etc.) in cupboards or the pantry for extended periods. Keep these items tightly closed or in sealed containers. Best to store in the refrigerator and/or freezer.
7. Don't store valuable wine at room temperature unless you like those corks to pop and change the color or your walls.
8. Don't store carbonated drinks at room temperature. YES, they do explode.
That's it for now. . . next post I am going to talk about traditional septic systems and AZ recycling of trash in Lake Havasu.
Have a fabulous day. . . be blessed, be grateful, be kind.
Terri
