If your smoke detector starts beeping because of a low battery, replace it right away. Pulling the battery out will put your home and life at risk.

The post There Is No Fire Without Smoke appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

The only downside with laminate flooring is that it is sensitive to damage from water and powerful chemicals, so you should avoid using those in cleaning the floor. While it is ok to use a little bit of water and mop the floor, you should make sure that it doesn’t pool up and sit for a while. For general cleaning, you should just use a broom or a vacuum so that your floor will last a long time.

The post Flooring at a Good Price appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

A home really has one primary “function” – to keep outside, well… outside. Yes, there are a lot of other functions, like being comfortable, warm, etc. But when it comes right down to it, a home protects us from the elements outside.

One of the primary elements a home protects us from is the rain. Rain is awesome and necessary – except when it gets inside our homes. That is why we have two primary ways to keep the rain out – a roof and our gutters.

A roof, when well maintained, will keep the rain from getting into our houses from the top. Flashing, shingles, and many other components make up this system. But what about the gutters?

While gutters are technically part of the roof system, their primary function is not to keep the rain out of the top of our homes, but the bottom. As water washes off of the roof, the gutters keep the rainwater in a channel that puts the water farther away from the home, and keeping it out of our basements and crawlspaces.

The post Your Home and the Rain appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

Gutters are a very important part of your home and your roof system. On top of that though, your gutters also keep moisture away from your home, out of your basement, and protect your home in other ways.

Many times on an inspection, there are parts of the gutter system that are not up to par. For instance, one of the biggest things we find is clogged or dirty gutters. Some are just a bit of debris that can be washed out – but some gutters are so bad that plants are actually growing in them because they are so full. Gutters in that condition are sometimes doing even more harm than good.

Another common issue is gutter leaders. Leaders are a section of gutter that goes at the bottom of the downspout to “lead” water away from your home. These are often missing at the bottom of the downspouts, so all that water gets dumped right next to the house.

These are just two common issues that are found with roof gutters. While there are many more issues, keeping your gutters clean and keeping the water away from your house with proper leaders gets you the basics.

The post Gutters and Your Home appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

To prevent this from happening in the first place, you should ensure that you have something in place that collects the hair before it makes it down the drain. To clean it up, on the other hand, you will most likely need some work.

One of the best ways to get these clogs out of the way is to use a wire hanger to pull the hair out. If you make a small hook at the end of the wire, you should be able to pull the hair out. It’s going to be a pretty disgusting collection of stuff, so you want to have a plastic bag or something similar to dump it into nearby.

The post When Your Shower Drain Isn’t Working appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

This is not to say that there aren’t any downsides to aluminum. It is fairly difficult to replace a single section of aluminum. Sometimes you will need to remove several before you can get the one you want to be replaced. You can paint it, but it will need upkeep. As always, you will need to weigh the benefits against the shortcomings to come to the best conclusion for your home.

The post A Sturdy Siding Choice appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

Asphalt shingles might not be the most beautiful or durable roofing material out there, but it definitely gives you one of the better returns on your investment.

While the lifespan of asphalt shingles isn’t one of the longer ones at 20 years, it is still quite respectable, and the roofing can last longer if well cared for.

Installation isn’t too complicated, which will mean a lower price from your roofing company, or, if you are feeling up to the task, you could even do it yourself. No wonder why asphalt shingles are resting on so many roofs across the country.

The post A Roof That Won’t Break The Bank appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

The post It Is Not Over Yet! appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

The post Pros And Cons With Steel Siding appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.

One of the things that are necessary in a home to prevent something like that from happening is an anti-scald valve. This valve will mix the incoming hot and cold water to get it to a safer level. While it is fairly simple, it is possible that the valve can fail, and need to be replaced.

Of course, you should avoid having your water heater set for a temperature that is too high. Usually, you can keep it a lot lower than the 160, which will make it less likely that a failed anti-scald valve will be as serious.

So how can you tell if there is an issue with your anti-scald valve? One telltale sign is when the temperature of your water changes quickly when someone else turns on a faucet or flushes a toilet.

The post Don’t Get Burned! appeared first on Riverton UT Home Inspections.