If you have kids, you know that sometimes it can be hard to keep the house clean. Toys seem to have a way of ending up lost under the bed, little hand print shaped stains seem to appear on the walls and furniture, and clothes can wind up all over the place. It’s unrealistic to expect that your house will always look catalog-level pristine, especially if your kids are younger than 10. But there are a few cleaning habits that you can teach your children early on, which will make for a cleaner home in the long-run.

• Take your shoes off when you enter your home. Some families already practice this regularly, but make sure that your kids take off their dirty shoes as soon as they enter the house, because you don’t want them to leave a trail of dirt and germs from their daily adventures in the house. Having a boot tray by the door can help the whole family with this habit.
  
• Bring any cups from your room into the kitchen every morning. Many of us like to keep a cup of water or tea by our bedside at night, but reminding your kids to bring these used cups to the sink to be washed every morning is an easy way to keep them from stacking up throughout the week.
• After meals, have your kids bring their used dishes and silverware to the sink. The same rule that applies to used cups every morning should apply to used dishes after a meal. Even if they’re a bit too young to wash all the dishes, getting them in the habit of cleaning up after themselves is always a great thing to do early on. Once this becomes a routine, it will be like second nature and you won’t have to remind them to do it.
• Practice the 5 minute rule. Every evening before going to sleep, encourage your kids to spend 5 minutes tidying up their room. Put away any clothes or toys that are lying around, put books back on the bookshelf, and put any other daily use items back in their proper place. This regular tidying takes little time, but it is probably the most crucial cleaning tip, as it prevents messes from piling up, which often results in a much longer cleaning time by the end of the week.

Here at AROCON, we believe in taking care of your home, inside and out. Whether that’s by encouraging the whole family to keep a tidy home, or getting them involved in your latest home improvement project, AROCON is here to support you every step of the way.

The return of falling leaves, heavy rains, and gusting winds means it’s once again time to make sure your gutters are in top shape.

Before You Get Started

Before you get to work on your gutters, here are a couple quick safety tips to keep in mind.

1. While inspecting your gutters for glogs and loose sections, please use extreme caution and have a second person on hand any time you mount a ladder.
2. Try to schedule your gutter inspection and cleaning duties for a period without rain, because it’s easier, safer, and less messy to remove dry materials than wet ones.
3. Avoid working near or even too close to power lines attached to your home; the risk of injury or death is too great.

How Often Should I Clean the Gutters?

With or without a leaf protection system, plan on cleaning out your gutters at least twice a year. If there are a lot of seed-producing or pod-dropping trees growing near your home, be prepared to clean out your gutters more frequently. Leaf protection systems work best with steeply sloped roofs. If your roof has a gentle slope, this type of system might need to be cleaned and inspected more than usual.

Why Clean the Gutters In The Fall?

Completing the task of clearing out your gutters is especially important now, in the fall, because free-flowing gutters help your roof move ice-melt away from the gables, where it might otherwise lead to ice dams. Ice dams often occur when trapped ice melts then rapidly freezes again, creeping up under shingles and into the sensitive underlayment materials below. Ice dams are infamous for causing considerable damage. Avoid them at all cost.

Don’t Forget The Downspouts!

Downspouts are just as important as the gutters themselves, as they’re designed to lead water away from both your home’s foundation as well as its more sensitive wooden elements. If a downspout becomes clogged with debris, it won’t be able to redirect water and snow-melt fast enough to keep it from leaking into your home. Check the area where a downspout exits from the bottom to the gutter for loose or missing rivets, replacing any problem areas with new rivets. Improperly attached downspouts can damage siding if they tear loose.

Poorly Installed and Neglected Gutters Are No Fun!

Water and ice can be heavy, so make sure your gutters are securely attached through the fascia board to the rafter behind it using the appropriate hardware. Neglected gutters clogged with ice and rotting vegetation have been known to tear loose from their moorings, damaging houses and even injuring persons, pets, or property located below. Since leaks can lead to the buildup of ice at ground level, plug holes or gaps in leaky gutters using an all-weather silicone putty.

I Finished Cleaning My Gutters – Now What?

Once your gutter cleaning duties are finished, grab an umbrella and go outside on the next rainy day to check for overflows, blockages, or other problem areas. Hopefully, you won’t find any! For professional help with cleaning or repairing your gutters, contact the roofing experts at AROCON Roofing and Construction.