Chicago and Midwest Region Brace For Next Wave Of Storms
October 19, 2011
Protect Your Home from the Approaching Wild, Wet and Windy Weather as Severe Storms Expected To Hit Chicago and Detroit Regions Today
Wild, wet and windy weather is expected in the Midwest and the Northeast on Tuesday through Thursday. There are already flood warnings in Chicago along portions of Lake Michigan where the tides could surger. This cold weather resulted from the combination of certain climatic elements such as a strong autumn cold front, a powerful middle-level disturbance hailing from the Rockies and tropical moisture arising from the Gulf. The cold front will move toward the East Coast during this week and bring much colder conditions in the southern and eastern regions of U.S.
This cold weather will strike the Ohio Valley and the East by this week. The wet and windy conditions could cause flooding, damage and travel problems. Much colder air that will follow this major cold front could cause snowfall in certain parts.
A low-pressure area that could develop tropically in the Gulf is also being watched closely. This area of low pressure, whether it develops or not, is expected to bring torrential rains into Florida and drag the moisture into the storm advancing toward the East in the middle of the week.
Extensive rainfall in the range of 1-3 inches is also expected throughout the Ohio Valley and across the Northeast on Tuesday night through Wednesday night. Boston, Columbus, Erie, Ohio and New York are some of the cities where the heaviest rainfall may occur.
Homeowners have been urged to take necessary precautionary steps to protect their homes from potentially expensive damage during the winter season.
Cold weather with snowfalls and interspersed spells of melting and freezing can cause substantial damage to your home. You should make sure that the entrance to your home and sidewalks are clear from ice and snow. Regularly examine your gutter downspouts for ice dams. Check that the leaves and debris are not clogging your gutters. This will ensure that the water from melting ice and snow flows freely. Ice dams can result in the build-up of water, which can, in time, seep into your home damaging roof and walls.
Frozen water can cause your pipes to burst that can damage your home considerably. Experts recommend that you should keep your home heated to at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This will ensure that the inside walls where your pipes are located stay warm. Insulating your pipes, especially those that are located in crawl spaces, is also highly suggested. You should know where your main water supply is located and turn it off immediately if a pipe bursts. If pipes in your home freeze, you should thaw them instantly or hire the services of a competent plumber to fix the problem.
Inspect your home and make a list of things that you need to fix. You will be glad that you took the trouble to fix things in time because the winter season is very punishing period for your home.
Home Odors Offer Strong Indication Of Larger Problems
October 14, 2011
Home odors are often a sign that a property may have a serious mildew, mold or deterioration issue. The sense of smell can often guide most property owners to uncover serious problems that need immediate attention in their home or business, as structural integrity issues could be hidden from view, but the lingering air quality is a signal things are not in great shape.
Have you ever been invited inside a house for a birthday party, and just when you were about to greet the celebrator, a certain smell caught your attention? Like a whiff of perfume, it reached your nose in time, but the problem is you don’t actually smell a hint of lavender or jasmine. You don’t even smell raspberries. You can’t put your finger on what it is exactly, but all you know is that it’s nowhere near pleasant. You scrunch up your nose in distaste, and while your entire evening isn’t ruined, it has certainly been rudely interrupted. Every time we encounter unpleasant odors, we tend to recoil. But what happens when we find those unpleasant odors at home?
What on Earth is that Smell?
When you live in a house, you don’t usually notice the presence of unpleasant odors straight away. This is mainly because you’re so used to them. For instance, if there’s a smoker in the house, you become so used to the smell of cigarette smoke that you’ve actually learned to live with it. You forget that once upon a time, the smell disgusted you. If you have pets, you’re so used to cuddling them that you’ve grown accustomed to their smell as well. The only time your attention is called is when a visitor points out that something smells weird, or if you return from an extended vacation and you notice it yourself.
Of course, there are certain odors we can avoid. When a baby spills milk on the couch or when the cat urinates on the carpet, we clean the mess right away. When we smell a dead rat, we search for it and get rid of the problem. But there are also odors that tend to build up over time. Cigarette smoke is one, because it actually gets absorbed by things like curtains and furniture. Another one is the smell of cooking. Odor residues may build up in the filters of vents over time. Leaks can be avoided, but as time passes, water tends to cause a musty smell in faucets, sinks, and even windows.
What It Does to Your House’s Market Value
Bad odors may not be pleasant to homeowners, but they’re even more unpleasant to prospective buyers. If not eliminated, odors can really downgrade a house’s market value. Nobody wants to buy a stinky house, and bad odors communicate to prospective buyers that the house is not as well-maintained as they hoped it would be. Bad odors give buyers the perception that the house is not cleaned regularly, or that the current homeowners don’t care enough to ensure that their house smells fresh. If the current homeowners don’t care enough to eliminate certain odors, the buyer will wonder what else the current homeowners have neglected.
In reality, these perceptions can actually be far from the truth. But in the business of real estate, first impressions last. The circumstance that led to that unpleasant odor doesn’t count for much. What counts is that it’s there.
