Important Things You Must Know About Power Washing and Pressure Washing

Going for power washing annually or semi-annually will help lessen the number of harmful bacteria around your home.

You’ve noticed mold and dirt on your home’s exterior is diminishing its value and curb appeal and have finally decided it is time to have it cleaned up! Before you make that trip to Home Depot and purchase a pressure washer to begin your “do it yourself” project, there are a couple of very important factors you should know and consider.

Power Washing or Pressure Washing?

Although power washing and pressure washing are viewed as the same, very few people are aware of the differences. Power washing and pressure washing are both a process in which dirt, mud, mildew, and mold are removed from a surface using heavy machinery to blast water at high pressures. However, power washing uses heated or hot temperature water. The heat of the water aids in effectively breaking down hardened contaminated material from your property’s surface.

Pressure washing, on the other hand, uses water at a normal temperature. The effectiveness of pressure washing solely depends on the force and speed at which the water is being released. Pressure washing and power washing have the same water release velocity and can be dangerous and damage property if handled by untrained individuals.

Dangers of Power Washing and Pressure Washing

Most home residents are under the impression that pressure washing is as easy as spraying water across your driveway like you would with your thumb over your hose. What most do not know is the unexpected high velocity in which the water is released by pressure washers and power washers can cause damage to your property.For example, it is not recommended for an untrained individual to use a pressure washer or power washer on the roof. The kickback, which is a result of water being released at a high pressure, can cause your ladder to fall back, along with you. Be advised that the wrong pressure level can also shorten your roof’s lifespan, which can cause a major dent in your wallet prematurely.

Pressure and power washing your roof can clean off more than dirt, mold, and mildew. Many homeowners across the region have stripped the granules from their roof’s asphalt shingles. If your roof shingles are made of plastic or metal, you could dent them. With 10 years of experience, HomeForce professionals are trained and knowledgeable on the appropriate pressure levels to use, or not use at all, on your roof. You don’t and you’re not expected to. We highly recommended you leave the exterior maintenance of your property to HomeForce’s professional team as your roof is not the only area of your exterior property at risk. You might not see the damage you caused , but it will eventually show down the line, without fully understanding that the pressure washing may have attributed to the premature replacement.

Benefits of Power Washing and Pressure Washing

Do not get the wrong impression, pressure washing and power washing are extremely beneficial for your home if handled by trained professionals. Having your home power washed annually or semi-annually will help lessen the amount of harmful bacteria around your home as it rids and eliminates contaminated dirt, grime, mildew, and fungi. It leaves your property’s exterior environment looking clean and aids in preventing illness for you, your family, and your pet(s).

In addition, pressure and power washing, using the appropriate pressure, will prevent the accumulated mildew and grime from breaking down and rotting your property. Exterior areas and properties such as your sidings, fence, garage door, driveway, deck, outdoor furniture, swimming pool, and decorative statues will last longer if you invest in maintaining them.

We highly recommend pressure washing and power washing for the exterior of your home as it comes with tremendous benefits and maintains the value and appearance of your property. However, we do not recommend utilizing the pressure/power washer’s heavy equipment that can be damaging to your property when mishandled or poorly operated. Save your time and the risks and choose HomeForce’s team of professionals as the guaranteed option to get your property’s exterior clean. Be it in Abbotsford, Langley, or Chilliwack, HomeForce is ready to provide you with quality home maintenance services with maximum satisfaction. Not only will your property look clean and safe, it’ll also maintain its value. A maintained home is a valuable home, invest in the outer appearance of your home always.

CONTINUE READING NEWS

by Brendon Szabada

5 Easy Lawn Care Practices for Stunning Curb Appeal

You love your home, and you want nothing but the best for it. You clean it, you air it, you even plant the best flowers to improve its outer appearance. But no matter your lawn care efforts , your curb appeal is no match to that of your neighbors’. The grass is always greener on their side. But here’s a little secret, the grass is not always greener on the other side, it’s greener where its maintained. Here are five important things to do to improve your lawn’s appearance and maintain your curb appeal in tip top shape throughout the Spring and Summer.

1. Get New Sod Rolls

If your lawn is patchy, dried out, and simply refuses to grow green and healthy, it’s a sign that you need fresh new sod rolls in your backyard and front lawn. Many HomeForce customers have improved the appearance of their home and increased its’ value using our lawn care services. Within a day, your home will be surrounded with beautiful green grass. However, sod rolls usually take two to three weeks to root and establish where it is placed before you’re able to do any sort of activities on your new lawn.

Sod rolls are an option with multiple benefits. Apart from getting instant results, this option is great for erosion control and results in significantly less weed growth. Keep in mind, the best time to replace your unappealing lawn is during the spring, summer’s high heat levels can stunt the establishment and growth of your sod roll. Get an appointment with  HomeForce’s lawn care services in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Maple Ridge,  Langley, Surrey, Richmond, and Burnaby, before the summer heat beginnings by clicking here!

2. Fertilizer

Now that HomeForce’s lawn care services has replaced your patchy and unhealthy lawn with new sod rolls, you have to maintain that gorgeous curb appeal enhanced by your healthy lawn. Fertilizers are a great provider of nutrition for your lawn, and as your grass continues to grow, the more nutrient it uses and needs. Sure, it might not have an appealing aroma, but fertilizing your lawn one to three times every year will make a huge difference in maintaining a healthy lawn. For maximum result, fertilize your lawn early spring, late spring, and towards the last summer days.

3. Water Sprinklers

During the Spring, your grass is getting an abundance of water and moisture. Lawns look their best during this season. They thrive, they grow, and flourish during spring season due to all the rain. However, Summer can be a trying time for your lawn. Your lawn should be watered every day for the best result but very few people have the time to do so. Therefore, we greatly encourage home owners to invest in lawn sprinklers. Depending on the size of your lawn, you will not be spending more thank $100 on your sprinklers. Attach your sprinkler system to your hose, turn it on, and continue to attend to your busy schedule.

4. Cut your Lawn Regularly

Now that your lawn is even, full of nutrition, and provided with sufficient water and moisture and you’re seeing results, do not slack! Make sure you maintain a groomed lawn. Nothing says “uncared for home that probably has a hundred things wrong with due to lack of maintenance” more than sky-reaching grass stems. We advise that you do not let your lawn reach an unattractive length before mowing it. To keep a tamed and healthy lawn, mow it once a week. On a beautiful Saturday morning, make it a point to groom that lawn or pay your, or your neighbor’s, kid to do it! Whichever way works best for you, simply make sure your grass is groomed, and your curb appeal remains incomparable.

5. Trim Your Grass Edges!

This step is gravely underestimated, and probably the step that will edge your curb appeal ahead of your neighbors’. Clean cut lines are what makes your exterior look like art, a million dollar paradise visual art. Little details, such as trimmed grass edges, are what pulls everything together. It’s like cleaning up your hairline after a nice haircut or putting on a nice pair of earrings for that extra ‘wow!’ factor. So it is very important to keep your grass edges from overflowing onto your driveway or crawling up your fences, keep them short and neat! Edge trimming only takes a few minutes but makes a huge difference in the visual presentation of your lawn.

There you have it, all the secret to obtain and maintain a beautiful lawn. A healthy lawn greatly impacts your curb appeal, and great curb appeal is what makes a Star Home. When you get new sod rolls installed by HomeForce’s professional team, make sure you maintain the beauty of your exterior property by fertilizing, watering, mowing, and edge trimming your healthy lawn. Not only will you have one of the best looking lawn on the block, you’ll have the best curb appeal in the real estate market. A maintained home is a valuable home, invest in the outer appearance of your home always.

CONTINUE READING NEWS

by Brendon Szabada

5 Home Maintenance Tips: Spring Edition

Spring is here and your Fraser Valley home has been taking a beating for the past 6 months. Here are 5 essential home maintenance tips to help your home recover from a rough British Columbia winter.

 Check the Gutters

Even from the ground level, you can take a look at your gutters’ overall condition. Things to look for are leaks, broken downspouts, and proper downspout trajectory. Rain should always be taken away from your home’s structure, not towards it!

Inspect the Concrete

Take a walk around your yard and look for signs of cracking, movement, and algae build-up. All exterior slabs except for pool decks should drain away from the home’s foundation to avoid costly damage. Fill cracks with a crack filler, power wash the concrete to remove slippery algae and seal the concrete.

Check Power Equipment

Check your gas and battery-powered maintenance equipment to make sure it is ready for summer use. This is more for convenience but staying on top of this will make it much easier to keep your home maintenance under control.

Examine Roof Shingles

Whether you feel comfortable doing it, or get a professional to do it, it is important to examine the state of your roofing material in spring. Summer can also be damaging to roofing with intense heat so not maintaining this can result in leaks when it starts to rain again. Also check flashing around vents, skylights and chimneys and repair if needed.

The last Home Maintenance Tip..Move Firewood

Remove firewood stored near your home. Firewood should be stored at least 18 inches off the ground and at least 2 feet from your home’s structure. Firewood stacks will inevitably attract critters and moisture so it is best keeping these away from your house.

CONTINUE READING NEWS

by Brendon Szabada

Why the Time is Now for Gutter Cleaning: 8 Benefits

It’s Gutter Season! For Fraser Valley homeowners who find themselves obligated to maintain their properties and keep them looking nice, make no mistake they will need to arrange for gutter cleaning service on a semi-regular basis.

Cleaning gutters can be a tedious and sometimes dangerous chore, particularly for elderly homeowners who are not used to getting up on ladders. But letting your gutters get clogged is too much of a risk to your home. The easiest way to keep gutters clean is to keep them from jamming in the first place.

So if you, like so many homeowners, have been procrastinating on getting a gutter cleaning service for your home, now that spring is here, it’s time to get a move on this project. To keep your home safe, spring and fall are the two times a year you can’t pass on gutter cleaning service.

1. Gutter Cleaning service done timely Prevents Water Damage from Occurring to Your Home

One of the top reasons to clean your gutters is to prevent water damage, a leading cause of structural damage. Gutters are intended to channel water off the roof and away from your home and its foundation.

However, a clogged gutter floods your foundation, thereby reducing the integrity of your building. Besides spoiling your foundation, a blocked gutter can also cause roof leaks that can damage your ceiling, your walls, your floor, your fascia board, and other parts of your building.

If left unmanaged, such loss can reduce the stability of your building, thereby reducing its value. Cleaning your gutters is among the primary ways of maintaining your structure’s glory.

2. It Eliminates The Nesting Place Of Pests

The second reason why you should consider cleaning your gutters is to eliminate the leaves, twigs, and any other debris that serves as nesting and breeding places for pests like rats, mice, insects, birds, and mosquitoes that may carry the deadly West Nile Virus.

Furthermore, the debris in your gutter may decompose to form an organic matter that supports the growth of tree seedlings, fungi, and other plants. It is common knowledge that pests like mosquitoes, rats, and other bugs that breed in a clogged gutter may spread deadly diseases.

On the other hand, tree seedlings can damage your roof while giving your home an unsightly appearance. Regular gutter cleaning eliminates pest’s nesting areas, and it gets rid of the organic matter where plants thrive on.

3. Gutter Cleaning service also Prevents Destruction Of Landscaping

Landscaping is a critical process that improves the aesthetics of your home. Besides adding beauty to your home, landscaping also enhances the value of your home, regulates temperature extremes, and improves your home's comfort and livability.

However, did you know that a clogged gutter can damage your landscaping? Unmanaged water from clogged gutters can cause soil erosion, sweep away your cherished flowers, or even destroy the plants that you chose for your landscaping.

Clean gutters and downspouts/leaders channel rainwater away from your landscape, thereby eliminating soil erosion and any other damage that may be associated with unmanaged water flow to your landscape project. In certain situations, the water can be purposefully channeled into certain flower beds and gardens to help eliminate the need for watering.

4. Shields Your Home Against Basement Flooding

Basement flooding is one of the problems caused by blocked gutters. This is because clogged gutters overflow and spill rainwater around your basement. In turn, the spilled water may quickly find its way into your basement where it causes flooding.

Basement flooding is a severe problem for homeowners as it fuels the growth of mold and mildew. Mold spores may trigger allergic reactions and other respiratory disorders. Furthermore, basement flooding damages your basement's interior décor and spoils furniture, electronics, and other valuables housed in your basement.

Gutter cleaning minimizes basement flooding by funneling rainwater from your roof to the drainage where it is funneled away from the house.

5. Extends Your Roof’s Lifespan

Another reason why gutter cleaning is an outstanding service is that it extends the lifespan of your roof. During winter, clogged gutters trap ice, thereby adding unnecessary weight and stress on your roof. This additional weight may cause your roofing materials to collapse unexpectedly.

Moreover, clogged gutters will not drain water as intended, and when the water freezes, it moves your shingles apart, opening a way for roof leaks. A well-maintained gutter facilitates water and ice flow from your roof. This way, ice, and water will flow smoothly from your roof eliminating the excess weight and pooling.

6. Shields Your Home Against Roof Leakage

The principal purpose of gutters is to facilitate water flow from the roof to a managed drain. However, clogged gutters will not drain all water from your roof. As a result, the excess water can find a way into your home through the roof.

It is not hard to tell that a leaky roof can damage your ceilings as it fuels the decay process of your house’s roof rails. With water leaking through your ceiling, the people living in the house risks suffering different types of injuries that could result from the decaying materials. Therefore, cleaning your gutters not only shields your building against roof leakage but also keeps you safe from other associated problems.

7. Enhances the Beauty and Value of Your Home

Gutters are among the parts that improve the aesthetics of your home since they are a noticeable part of a building. Neglected gutters may fall off, and their overflow will stain the fascia boards.

Such issues will reduce the integrity of your structure and may be interpreted as irresponsibility on your side. Also, houses with clogged gutters have a lower value and may take longer to attract a buyer.

For this reason, you should consider cleaning your gutters if you are planning to sell your building. Gutter cleaning will also save you from earning a reputation for irresponsibility and neglect.

8. Increases The Lifespan Of Your Gutters

Building experts say that clean gutters last longer than clogged gutters. This is because un-cleaned gutters accumulate debris and other particulates that add unnecessary weight onto the gutters.

As a result, the gutters may detach from fascia boards and fall off. Likewise, the organic matter in a clogged gutter may cause rusting and corrosion. Therefore, you need to clean your gutters regularly if you want them to last long.

Gutters protect your home's integrity. Even though they are essential, most homeowners do not maintain their gutters as required. As a result, they leave the gutters to accumulate debris like leaves, twigs, and other particulates. Clogged gutters damage your roof, foundation, fascia boards, and they may cause basement flooding.

Do you remember to clean your gutters periodically? If not, you need to start cleaning them to increase their lifespan, improve the aesthetics of your home, extend your house’s lifespan, prevent basement flooding, and protect your landscaping project from water damage. Other benefits of gutter cleaning include the fact that it enhances the value of your home and helps the house to attract buyers and fetch a reasonable price. You may choose to clean the gutters yourself or hire a gutter cleaning professional to help you.

CONTINUE READING NEWS

by Brendon Szabada

Features of the 3rd Gen Nest Learning Thermostat: New age temperature controller

Features of the 3rd Gen Nest Learning Thermostat - New age temperature controller

The 3rd generation Nest Learning thermostat was released in October 2015. This smart temperature controller learns the heating pattern of your home and eventually adjusts to your schedule within a few days. It quickly programs itself to follow your daily routine and is compatible with other Nest products.

The Nest Thermostat comes fully equipped with a bigger display, new features and allows you to see useful information including the current temperature, time, and weather. Below are some of its incredible features.

• The new thermostat has a 40 percent bigger screen. Furthermore, it has smaller pixels that make the display sharper, clearer, and sleek.
• The thermostat’s sensor window is smaller, thus, taking up less display space.
• Nest has added seven temperature sensors bringing the total number to ten for increased accuracy.
• The Nest thermostat is thinner than the previous versions resulting in a sleek display profile.
• The new thermostat boasts of Farsight allows the thermostat to light up whenever it senses your presence. It allows you to see information displayed from across the room. What’s more, you can choose what information is displayed on the screen.

 Benefits of the New Nest Learning Thermostat

1. Security Settings

For data security and protection of your privacy, the 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat is equipped with Secure Boot technology. This technology blocks malicious and incompatible software from gaining access to the thermostat’s system.

2. Nest Learning Thermostat Adjusts to Your Schedule

The 3rd generation thermostat from Nest quickly and automatically adapts to your life as well as the season’s changes. You only need to use it for one week before it programs itself to your daily routine.

3. Easy Installation

The installation of the latest Nest Learning Thermostat requires just thirty minutes before it starts operating. You just need to pop off the old thermostat and install the new and improved one.

4. Phone Access

You can access your thermostat direct from your phone when you are not at home. Thus, if you have a sudden change in schedule, you can adjust the thermostat using your phone. Furthermore, the thermostat uses sensors to check your phone’s location.

5. Eco-Friendly

The Nest learning thermostat is designed to help you save energy and reduce your utility bills. It shows the history of your energy usage and sets itself to eco temperature mode when you are away.

The latest version of Nest Learning Thermostat is a convenient smart heating controller that automatically adjusts to your schedule making it easy and practical to use. It also allows remote access by phone, is eco-friendly, and saves energy.

CONTINUE READING NEWS

by Brendon Szabada

The Convenience of Home Automation Products

The Convenience of Home Automation Products for Your Smart Home

Home automation often sounds like a complicated and expensive affair, but surprisingly many systems are simple to install and quite affordable. Imagine having automatic lighting control, thermostat control or video surveillance accessibility from your personal cell phone. Home automation systems for your smart home lets you do this and much more.

In a nutshell, home automation offers you access and control of your home’s appliances, video monitoring and security from a centralized or remote location. These systems primarily make your life easier and convenient. With home automation systems, you can simply turn on or off all your lights without getting out of bed, use your portal device to activate your home security system or control home appliances using voice recognition. If your whole family is on vacation, you can remotely access the CCTV footage of your home in real time.

Smart Thermostats

Unlike the typical thermostat with a control panel or a dial, a smart thermostat is convenient, user-friendly, and allows you easy access to your home’s heating. It is directly connected to your boiler and the main control. For remote access, you need to download the application on your smartphone or tablet. Some smart thermostats can learn your daily schedule. They detect your smartphone as soon as you enter your home and adjust the thermostat temperature accordingly.

Smart Doorbell Cameras

Smart doorbell cameras offer high-quality video, easy to use, and have a quick response time between events and notification. They detect any motion at the door or when the doorbell is pressed. A suitable smart doorbell camera has good sound and video quality, motion detection and night-vision capability, and offers live video feed of what is happening at your door.

The smart doorbell camera is connected to the home’s Wi-Fi network and your personal smartphone or tablet. They are used primarily for security purposes, avoiding salespeople and solicitors, screening visitors, or watching out for delivered packages.

Automatic Door Locks

Smart door locks do a lot more than locking and unlocking your door without the use of a key. They allow you to receive real-time alerts, track the people leaving and entering your home as well as unlocking and locking your door remotely. Some locks can email limited-access codes to visitors, trusted service workers, children, or guests.

Smart Lights

Smart home lights offer you remote control to switch them on and off at any time of the day. You can dim your lights or change their color. Some lights can automatic turn on and off when a smart door lock is opened, flash when your security cameras detect movement outside or turn off as soon as your car drives away.

Home automation products offer convenience and saves time and effort otherwise used to perform household tasks. Furthermore, these systems allow you to efficiently control your home’s energy consumption leading to lower bills and fully customize your home to fit the unique needs of your lifestyle and family.

CONTINUE READING NEWS

by Brendon Szabada