Before the rainy season comes up, you have to be attentive to various parts of your home. It is essential to do this to ensure that your home exteriors and interiors will be safe from rainwater, moisture and gusty winds during monsoon. If you are planning to do house cleaning Cottage Grove, you have to understand which areas of your home will need more attention during the rainy season of Oregon. Here are some tips that will definitely help you.
Gutters and Downspouts
It is essential for you to pay attention to these things before the rainy season arrives. Get rid of moss clumps. Remove pine needles. Clear out matted leaves that often block drainage paths.
This is very important. Clogged gutters cause water to overflow over eave lines. Water runs down exterior siding. You can also find it pooling near the foundation. This can lead to rotting and damage to the structure. As a best practice, you have to make sure that downspouts direct water several feet away from your home.
Windows and Exterior Seals
You should look for:
- Window condensation,
- Peeling paint, or
- Softening wood around window sills and frames
This is absolutely necessary because wind-driven rain can penetrate degraded caulking or weatherstripping. If this happens, it can rot framing timber silently. It can also encourage the growth of mold in your indoor environment. That is of course one of the last things that you will like to experience – during the rainy season or afterwards.
Flashings and Roofs
It is a good idea to inspect valleys, roof shingles and chimney/vent flashings. You have to look for signs of damage, wear or moss buildup.
This is essential for you as part of your weekly cleaning activities. You have to understand that rainwater causes moss to swell. Moisture gets directly trapped against the roof deck. If your roof or flashing fails, or gets compromised, it can be the main entry point for leaks in ceiling and attic.
Yard Grading and Surface Drainage
Look at the soil and grading around the perimeter of your home. You have to make sure that these slope away from the foundation rather than sloping towards it.
This is very important. There can be hydrostatic pressure against the walls of your foundation if you have water pooled at the bottom of a sloped yard, driveway or low-lying area. There is increased local flood awareness due to the low-lying terrain of Cottage Grove and its proximity to the Row River, Coast Fork of the Willamette River and Silk Creek.
Crawl Spaces and Basements
During or after heavy rainfall over multiple days, you need to inspect your lower wall-to-floor cove areas and crawl spaces regularly. Proper inspection is essential. The persistent wet weather of Oregon saturates surrounding soil. It pushes moisture through small gaps. This leads to damp insulation, mold, musty odors or standing water under your home.
HVAC and Heating Systems
During the rainy season, you should also take a look at your HVAC filters. Change these properly. You should also make sure that your furnace or heat pump is serviced well. It should run smoothly before the arrival of peak cold, wet weather.
This is another important thing for you to do. Cooler, damp outdoor air causes heating systems to cycle more frequently. But you have to keep your indoor spaces comfortable and dry.
As you can see, these are some of the most prominent areas of your Cottage Grove home that need more attention during the rainy season of Oregon. If you are unable to take care of these things on your own, it might be a good idea to call professional cleaners who can do the needful for you.
