Judy Naimo, Homeowner Dilemmas: Keeping your house healthy | Home & Garden Columnists
Judy Naimo and friend
We have spent a lot of time in the last 10 months trying to keep ourselves healthy.
And even though we have been pretty much confined to our homes, there are a few “ounce of prevention” things we may have been overlooking.
Now is the time you are pruning your landscaping. Take this opportunity to remove and shape vegetation so that it will stay a foot away from all structures.
And make sure that the level of the dirt or groundcover is below the level of any wood (this varies with how the house was constructed). If you have a raised foundation, walk around the outside and make sure all the vents are intact and have no holes and are not blocked or painted over.
If you have vents along the eaves, do the same.
Inside your home check the kitchen and bathrooms for any leaking, missing, or discolored caulking. Check for staining or discoloration in the ceilings.
Here is why doing these things inside and out is important.
You know that when a home is sold there is most often a “pest inspection.”
This is a misnomer. The correct name is Wood Destroying Pests and Organisms Inspection Report. Wood destroying organisms, are defined as arthropods or plant life that can infest decaying, or “seasoned” wood and cause damage to a structure. The most common occurring WDOs are termites, powder post beetles, old house borers, and wood-decaying fungi. Most folks worry about “bugs” eating their home. Fungi is just as damaging.
