Summers should be the stuff dreams are made of long, sunny days and warm nights filled with important questions like, “Ice cream on the porch, or another pint on the patio?”
Summer also comes with bugs, heat, humidity, and other annoyances around the house. So this year, eradicate 13 of the worst irritations of summer before they crush your summer buzz. Here’s how:
#1 Mosquitoes
These ubiquitous party crashers can suck the fun out of any outdoor fiesta.
What to do:
- Clean your gutters! “That’s often a main, and neglected, breeding site for mosquitoes,” says Chris Enroth, a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension office in Macomb.
- PLUG IN A FAN. Or install a ceiling fan. “Mosquitoes don’t like flying in high wind,” Enroth says. Cheers for cool breezes sans bug bites!
#2 Doors That Stick
Wooden doors can swell, outgrowing their jambs (what holds doors steady as you open and close them) on humid days, causing an annoyingly sticky situation.
What to do:
- Tighten the hinge screws. There’s a chance your door’s just slipped out of alignment.
- Scale back the weather stripping. If you installed it in the winter to keep out drafts, it could be too thick come summer.
- Shave down the door. As a last resort, use a planer or sander to trim down the door ever so slightly, concentrating on the area with a visibly worn finish. Seal the newly exposed edge with paint or wood sealant to block out future humidity.
#3 Carpenter Ants and Carpenter Bees
Although named for a helpful trade, both carpenter ants, and carpenter bees often make their nests by burrowing into your home’s wood, which can cause some really pricey damage on top of their annoying presence.
What to do:
- Keep all exposed wood sealed or painted. Don’t Forget the bottoms of window sills!
- Direct water away from wood. Gutters and flashing will help keep wood dry, says Bob Boucher, owner of a handyman company in Concord, N.H.
- Evict existing colonies. Look for sawdust trails to find the entrance, then use a rinsed squeezable ketchup bottle to blow an insecticide dust or boric acid powder into the hole.
#4 AC That Causes You to Freeze in One Room and Sweat in Another
Moving from your first-floor kitchen to a second-floor bedroom shouldn’t require a wardrobe change.
What to do:
- Check your ductwork. Look for unsealed joints or hire a prop to make sure your ducts are properly sized. Both can affect your system’s ability to deliver conditioned air to each room.
- Set your whole-house fan to “on.” This continuous circulation will mix the air so no space is too hot or too cold.
- Direct more cool air upstairs. Look for ductwork dampers in the basement to open during the summer months.
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Hirt, Amy Howell. “The Most Annoying Things About Summer – And What to Do About Them.” Houselogic. HouseLogic, 01 May 2017. Web. 02 June 2017.