February Home Maintenance

To avoid home disasters and/or a lot of home improvement in one single weekend, I'm bringing you a home maintenance check list every month. Doing a little each month will save you time and money. Plus, you don't have to worry about printing a yearly list and then losing it. In case you missed January, you can check that out here. These lists are very short, but important.

For February, there are two things you need to do:

1. Check your sump pump. A what? A sump pump. A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a sump pit. A sump pit, commonly found in the home basement, is simply a hole to collect water. Check this now, before the first spring thaws of March, when melting snow and rain showers can cause basement flooding. To test, pour two gallons of water into the drain to raise the float and activate the motor. It should stop running once the water level drops below the activation level. You can read more about the sump pump here.
2. See if your gas meter is iced over. On average, February is one of the snowiest months of the year. Accumulated ice on the meter can cause it to malfunction and create a gas leak. If the meter is iced over, contact your gas utility as chipping off the ice yourself can damage the unit.