1. Clear Leaves and Debris: Before the snow arrives, make sure your gutters are free from leaves, twigs, and other debris that can clog them. This will prevent water from pooling and freezing, which can lead to ice dams.
2. Inspect for Damage: Check for any signs of damage such as cracks, sagging, or loose gutters. Replace or repair damaged sections to ensure proper water flow.
3. Install Gutter Guards: Consider installing gutter guards to help prevent debris from accumulating in the first place. These guards allow water to flow through while keeping leaves and debris out.
4. Test the Downspouts: Ensure that downspouts are clear and functioning properly. They should direct water several feet away from your home’s foundation to prevent water from seeping into your basement or causing erosion.
5. Prevent Icicles: Trim overhanging tree branches that can contribute to ice buildup and icicles. Icicles can be beautiful but can also be a sign of poor drainage and potential damage.
6. Schedule a Professional Inspection: If you’re not comfortable with heights or the task seems daunting, consider hiring a professional to inspect and clean your gutters. They can ensure a thorough job and address any potential issues.

By taking these steps, you’ll protect your home from water damage, ice buildup, and potential foundation issues. Plus, you’ll be one step closer to enjoying a worry-free winter season.
Local Spotlight: Indoor Activities for Cozy Days As the weather gets colder, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore Chicago’s indoor attractions. Visit the Art Institute for a dose of culture, catch a show at one of the city’s renowned theaters, or simply indulge in a day of comfort food at local cafes and restaurants. A little maintenance now can save you from major repairs later. Stay warm and cozy, Chicago!Until next month,
City Home Inspectors, LLC
Cityhomeinspectors.com

As many homeowners prioritize natural beauty and ease of maintenance in their living spaces, hardwood floors have become a popular flooring option. And for many consumers, that means refinishing existing wood floors that need a little help to regain their original luster.

If you’re considering sprucing up your floors, you may want to pay close attention to the environmental impact of your plans. It’s important to factor in the processes and products that will optimize your family’s health and wellness instead of exposing them to potentially harmful chemicals.

Happily, today’s new hardwood floor refinishing systems and products offer better options for a safe and efficient process. Here are five steps you can take to ensure your floor project ends with a gloriously lustrous, durable, beautiful floor that won’t adversely affect the inhabitants of your home.

(1) Choose A Credible Contractor.

Shop around for a professional who understands how to work with the specific floors you’ve installed without introducing toxicity into your home environment. The best alternative may be a Bona Certified Craftsman® who’s been trained on how to revive, recoat and refinish wood floors of all kinds without using potentially harmful chemicals.

(2) Make A Joint Plan.

Instead of simply handing the entire project over to your contractor, work with him or her to create a refinishing plan that specifies how, when and where the work will take place and what kinds of products will be used. One way to make that easier is by using Bona’s Floor Visualizer, a new online tool that can help you visualize how different flooring choices will look in various rooms of your home.

(3) Go Dustless.

Insist that your contractor use a certified dust containment system that will eliminate virtually all floating dust particles from the floor sanding process. OSHA advises that airborne wood dust is carcinogenic, which can lead to respiratory issues or even cancer.

(4) Opt For a Waterborne Finish.

While some contractors offer less expensive options such as acid-cured varnishes, conversion varnishes, or “Swedish” finishes, those varieties contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can adversely affect your home’s air quality. The formaldehyde in acid-cured finishes can agitate respiratory illnesses and/or cause nausea, dizziness, headaches and irritation of the eyes, nose, or throat. Another problem? Those harsh finishes can keep emitting problematic chemicals for up to 90 days as it cures.

In comparison, water-based finishes are lower in VOCs, emit minimal odor, dry much quicker, and are overall safer and more convenient for people, pets, and plants. Further, they’re durable, beautiful, and clear-drying on all kinds of hardwood floors.

(5) Know Best Practices for Maintenance.

Once your waterborne finish is cured, you can best maintain your new gorgeous wood floors by avoiding the use of vacuums, steam cleaners, vinegar-and-water solutions, oil soaps, paste waxes, furniture polishes, and other harsh cleaning products formulated for other surfaces. Instead, look for cleaning solutions like Bona’s Hardwood Floor Cleaning solutions that are developed for wood floors, are biodegradable, use plant-derived ingredients, and are Safer Choice certified.

With today’s technology, there’s no reason to settle for hardwood floor renovation techniques that are harmful to the environment and your home. Choose wisely when it comes to the health of your family. For more information on safe and environmentally sound care of your hardwood floors, visit US.Bona.com.

Foundation planting refers to the plants that directly border your home’s foundation. The right look can make your home more welcoming or even a tad more dramatic. Some people are born with a green thumb while others have a difficult time picturing what their home could be. Maybe you know what you like but aren’t certain what’s right for your home. For a few ideas that you may not have considered, consider the following twists on traditional foundation planting.

Skip The Structure

Foundational plantings sometimes look incredibly formal, forming stiff rows of color in front of the home. However, you may get better results if you have one or two focal-point plants around your home that you group colorful shrubs around. Azaleas, salvias, and spireas will all serve as excellent highlights for the main event.

Modern And Minimalist

As with a lot of things in life, less is more. Many contemporary homes will use just a few rush marches to get a little greenery in an otherwise stark environment. This style might not be great for a 4-bedroom Tudor, but it will look excellent on a sleek home with a high wall as a barrier. There are plenty of shrubs you can get, like pale rush, that don’t require a lot of maintenance. How’s that for simplifying things?

Wild And Wonderful

There’s no rule saying that your foundational plants can’t bring a touch of the wild to your home. There are plenty of plumes, grasses, and seeds that will bring the meadow from the forest to your home. Trim the foliage when winter comes along or leave it as is for a little more visual flair and texture (even when the rest of the neighborhood looks a touch barren.)

Drama In Tight Spaces

If you have a small patio or deck between your home and garage, then make it a lot more dramatic by giving the garage foundation and home the right plants. You might be surprised at how good larger plants (like elephant ears) look in such a tight space. Contrast greenery on one side with a different color on the other, such as dark purple or even bright orange. It may create a more inviting space to encourage people to use the deck more often.

A Different Take On Traditional

There’s nothing wrong with wanting the more traditional shrubs that tend to border a home, especially if that’s what you’re used to. Evergreens are usually the go-to for homeowners because they truly do look beautiful all year round. If you want a small twist, try breaking the greenery into different shapes (e.g., circles or geometrically correct squares.) Or use boxwoods (rectangular containers to hold a single specimen) to break up the shrubs and to add a little more color amongst all the dark green.

Pale Green And Silver

For a more Mediterranean look, consider using olive trees or muted rosemary shrubs to complement a stone home. The paler colors won’t draw a lot of attention, but they can make it appear more understated. You can think of this choice like using the minimalist style with just a little extra.

— We look forward to working with you on your next real estate transaction. A referral from you would be our greatest compliment.

If you dream about transforming your home on a budget, chances are you’ve considered new paint, area rugs, or window treatments. While these updates can refresh rooms without breaking the bank, there’s a crucial and often overlooked design element that can truly transform a room – lighting.

The good news is, improving lighting doesn’t necessarily require all new fixtures. Simply swapping from standard to LED lightbulbs can upgrade the ambience of your home with stylish features and energy-saving benefits that can have a dramatic impact on your energy bill – and the look and feel of your overall space.

Lighting can alter the appearance of paint, furnishings, and decor, becoming even more important as seasons change. As the days get shorter and darker, brighten up your home with an elevated, energy-efficient home basic: LED lightbulbs.

Here are a few bright ideas to revamp rooms using the power of the humble lightbulb:

1. Go LED For Cost Savings

Select LED bulbs reduce household energy costs over the course of their lifetime. An EcoSmart lightbulb saves $0.55-$2.65 on average per bulb over its 25,000-hour lifetime. New LED lightbulbs offer the latest innovation in lighting technology and are available in a wide assortment of wattage outputs, colors, base options, and shapes.

2. Consider Function

LEDs are directional light sources, enabling them to cast light and use energy more efficiently. When choosing your ideal lightbulb style, consider the room’s purpose. A kitchen needs to be bright to aid food preparation, but

your bedroom should be a restful, cozy oasis. For a living room, you may want to switch from a game-and-puzzle center with focused lighting to a darkened home theater for movie night.

• Kitchens need light to perform cooking tasks, as well as for entertaining. EcoSmart LED recessed and track lighting (BR) offer strong overhead illumination in enclosed fixtures.

• Bathrooms need effective lighting, plus decorative style. Globe-shaped LED lightbulbs emit light in every direction, making them ideal for mirror and pendant lights.

• Dining areas are a great place to show off decorative fixtures with candle bulbs. New, improved decorative bulbs feature a thinner, longer filament design – with options like fine bendy or horizontal – that combine authentic styles and 360-degree light output with low glare for high-quality lighting that doesn’t sacrifice style.

• Bedrooms or living areas where ambience is paramount offer endless creative possibilities. Vintage is a look that never truly goes out of style and EcoSmart “Edison” bulbs give a more “true vintage look,” along with the benefits of LED technology. EcoSmart offers a dimmable option for these bulbs too, so you can choose exactly how much light you want.

• Outdoor living spaces benefit from security lighting. Turn any fixture into a state-of-the-art security fixture with features like motion sensors, high output, and dusk-to-dawn. Look for lightbulbs compatible with floodlights, security, and landscape lighting (PAR).

3. Choose “Color Temperature” To Change The Mood

Today’s LED bulbs offer a wide variety of color temperatures, empowering you to make the room feel warmer and cozier, or cooler and crisper.

Contrary to what you may think, the hotter the light source (measured in Kelvins), the cooler the “color temperature,” so lights with temperatures at 5,000 or more Kelvins look brighter, crisper and more bluish. However, light temperatures around 2,500-3,000 Kelvins emit an amber, yellowish or orange tinge which makes rooms feel warmer and cozier.

“Like choosing paint in cool or warm colors, picking the right color temperature for lighting can really transform a space,” said Sarah Fishburne, Director of Trend and Design for The Home Depot. “You can emphasize warm tones like yellows, reds and oranges using ‘warm’ colored lighting, or you can make a room feel lighter, brighter, and airier by choosing ‘cool’ temperature lighting.”

Experiment with different bulbs and settings to see what works best with your room. For the ultimate color selection, try an EcoSmart lightbulb with 5 CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) that lets you customize the color of light using an integrated switch. Bulbs equipped with DuoBright technology empower you to adjust the color temperature and brightness with your existing dimmer switch to meet your preferences at any time – emitting 5,000 Kelvins (Daylight) at full brightness and slowly transitioning to 2,000 Kelvins (Sunset Glow) when dimmed.

Change Your Lightbulbs, Change The World

The other good news about swapping out lightbulbs? You’re helping the environment, too. On average, an enhanced EcoSmart LED bulb uses 85% less energy than a traditional incandescent lightbulb.

Learn more about EcoSmart lightbulbs available exclusively in-store at The Home Depot or online at HomeDepot.

When we find good articles that can help around the home, we like to share them with our clients. We hope you enjoyed this article on LED bulbs.

— Please remember us when you or someone you know is in need of a home inspection. A referral from you would be our greatest compliment.
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