Intruders are the least of your worries when it comes to your basement. Most of your woes will come from floods, mold, and pests. Containing these problems can be as easy as keeping the underground space off-limits. But it’s always better to have a holistically clean house. Know how to keep your basement safe for everyone with these four tips.
Keep Your Boiler Maintained
The easiest way to maintain your heating system is by hiring a boiler service in Salt Lake City to inspect, clean, and repair it. If you want to take care of it yourself, you can always do some routine cleaning. Turn off your boiler and wait for about 3 hours to work on it. You don’t want to burn yourself before you get some actual cleaning.
The next thing to do is to remove the covers and vent stack from your boiler. Once you’ve removed them, you’ll have access to the base and its tubes. Use a cleaning brush to scrape off dirt and soot. Rinse them off with water and let them dry. You should also scrub dirt off the boiler exterior.
Reassemble the vent stack and covers and start the system again. If you see a blue flame from your pilot light, you’re good to go. If you see an orange or yellow flame, however, turn the system off again and call a heating expert to inspect it.
Weatherproof It
Your basement is vulnerable to floods from rain and snow. Make sure the ground surrounding your house is sloping away from it. If your underground space has windows, make sure they have wells around them to drain water.
You should also check the sealing around the windows to ensure no water gets in, in case the water wells fail. You should inspect your washing machine and heating system as well for leaks. If you find any, turn off the water and attach a pipe leak repair clamp to the opening. This is a temporary fix, so call a plumber to remedy the leak for you as soon as possible.
Pack Your Things Correctly
It’s common to use the basement as a storage space for unused stuff. If you haven’t gone the KonMari route yet, make sure you’re keeping your extra things elevated. Use an old table or cabinet to store them above ground. Keep them in airtight bags or plastic containers.
Avoid storing your extra stuff in cardboard as much as possible. Pests like mice will eat through the cardboard and wreak havoc on the things inside. Plus, cardboard does little to protect your stuff if a flood comes in.
Exterminate the Pests
It’s horrible for anyone just trying to get their laundry done in peace to encounter a mouse running across their foot suddenly. Inspect your basement for rodents by checking every tight space and corner for droppings — or the critters themselves. If you find any evidence of pests, call an exterminator immediately to eradicate the problem immediately.
Though your basement is underground, the problems that happen within it can reach the surface of your home. Pests can migrate to your rooms. And most importantly, the boiler could malfunction — causing your whole house to lose heating during the winter. Work on your basement’s problems now. You’ll sleep better knowing every part of your house is safe and dry.
