Rooftop Maintenance for the Winter

Rooftop Maintenance for the Winter

Whether you want it to or not, winter is coming to the Dallas area. We do not typically get heavy snows that pile up on our roofs, here. But this time of year does bring some changes to the environment that can cause costly problems for your home. These problems often start from your roof and work their way down. While you cannot stop Old Man Winter, you can perform some rooftop maintenance to protect your home from his tricks. Everything from rooftop dryer vent cleaning and inspection to gutter cleaning, we’ll outline several easy tasks you can do to prepare for winter!

Winter Weather Necessitates Rooftop Maintenance

In the Dallas metro area, temperatures can drop below freezing anytime from October through February. With these cold bursts come potential for snow, sleet and freezing rain. Ice storms have caused major damage in the past, just as they will in the future. The only thing you can do is to prepare your home and family through rooftop maintenance and other readiness for what winter can bring.

Early preparation is extremely important, especially when it comes to working on your roof. As temperatures drop, roof shingles become more slippery as these materials harden in the cold. Add even a little dew or rain, and performing rooftop maintenance can become deadly.

Start your rooftop maintenance early. Schedule important services, such as rooftop dryer vent cleaning and inspection, in late summer or early fall. In light of how the weather works in the Dallas area and for safety, you should try to get this work done each year by Thanksgiving.

Important Rooftop Maintenance Needs

For your Dallas area home, you need rooftop maintenance and inspection at least twice yearly. Ideally, you should schedule services for spring and fall. But who does this work and what do you need them to do?

Tree Maintenance

Tree Maintenance

Professional tree maintenance is very important for preventing a range of problems, some of which are catastrophic. A single tree branch can drop onto your roof from light winds or a heavy storm, breaking through your roof. Or, an unstable tree can fall over from wet grounds, heavy ice or blustery winds. A branch or a tree can also bring down power lines onto your home, causing a fire or risk of electrocution. Many people do not realize that rodents and racoons can use branches as a highway to your rooftop and into your home, such as through a rooftop dryer vent.

Gutter Cleaning Service

Your rain gutters quickly fill with leaves, twigs, acorns and other debris during autumn and winter. This debris clogs the gutters and prevents proper water flow. As a result, ice builds up at the edge of the roof and causes leaks and other damage. Having professionals clean your gutters is certainly safer than doing it yourself. Removing this debris can also add years to the life of your roof and interior walls beneath it.

Flashing Inspection

Roof flashing is an aluminum or galvanized metal covering placed where structures attach to your roof. These structures include joints, the base of the chimney, around skylights or at your rooftop dryer vent. This flashing plays a very important role, directing water away from these joined areas and off the roof slope.

Have this flashing inspected at least twice per year, such as when your dryer vent cleaning service performs their work and your chimney sweep cleans the chimney. Each of these professionals know how to ensure the flashing properly performs its function. If they find problems during inspection, they can fix the flashing for you.

Shingle Inspection

Loose, worn or missing shingles can cause major problems during winter weather, even in the fairly temperate Dallas area. The main function of these shingles is to keep your home dry. When compromised, one shingle can cause tens of thousands of dollars in water damage. One bad shingle can also cause others around it to lift, loosen or blow away.

Rooftop Dryer Vent Cleaning and Inspection

Rooftop Dryer Vent Cleaning and Inspection

Rooftop dryer vent cleaning and inspection is rarely considered as important as it is to the safety of your home. In fact, many home fires in the Dallas area start because of a poorly maintained dryer vent. These fires cost Americans over $238 million each year and injure 440 people. Dryer lint is the biggest culprit in starting these blazes.

If you think about the type of clothing you wear in winter and your family’s use of heavier materials like blankets, you can imagine how much more lint your household generates in colder weather. Although dryer fires can spark anytime of year, fall and winter certainly make your dryer and its dryer vent work harder. With excess lint, you are simply waiting for a fire to start.

Dallas Area Rooftop Dryer Vent Cleaning and Inspection

Have the experts at Superior Dryer Vent Cleaning to clean your Dallas rooftop dryer vents now as part of rooftop maintenance, before the weather grows colder. We can also inspect your dryer vent, internal dryer connections, roof vent flashing and vent screen. You need to schedule this service out to keep your rooftop dryer vent or other dryer venting clean and fire risk-free. Schedule Superior Dryer Vent Cleaning by calling (214) 494-9740 now.

Learn More:

Dryer Vent Cleaning for a Dryer Vent on the Roof

Where Birds and Rodents Bed Down for the Winter

Dryer Vent Repair & Maintenance Tips for Homeowners

Where Birds and Rodents Bed Down for the Winter

Where Birds and Rodents Bed Down for the Winter

Did you know that birds and rodents use aspects of your home for nesting during the winter? They need to stay warm just as we do during harsh weather. Because they tend to be less active during lower temperatures, many people believe they hibernate. Instead, they bed down in parts of your home where they can find warmth, protection and quiet. This is why you need to put forth a little extra effort before winter, to keep rats, mice, squirrels and birds out of your dryer vents and other places they like to hide.

Where Rodents Like to Bed Down for Winter

Rats, mice, squirrels, other rodents and even raccoons can sense that the inside of your home is toasty warm when the temperatures plummet outside. This makes them want to be inside, but where you cannot see or disturb them. They also seek to get closer to any food sources they can find, such as from your cabinets, pet food bowls and garbage. These destructive creatures can use any opening to your home as a wintertime superhighway to meet all of these needs. Some of their favorite entry points are dryer vents, garages, chimneys, broken basement windows, gaps in eaves and crawl spaces.

Extra dryer lint that can be found in your dryer vent works very well for rodent and raccoon bedding. This dryer lint provides a soft, absorbent and toasty warm material for them to build a winter nest. Dryer vents are warmer than the outdoors and provide shelter from winter elements. They are particularly warm when you are running your dryer.

In many ways, living in a dryer vent can provide everything one of these little animals needs to survive even the harshest winter. Whether you have a rooftop dryer vent or one closer to ground level, you need to ensure it has a protective vent cover before winter begins. You should also have your dryer vent cleaning company clean the vent before winter and at the start of spring. Ask them to check the dryer vent covers and for any signs of animal entry.

Other places in which rodents and raccoons like to bed down for the winter include:

  • Garages
  • Chimneys
  • Basements
  • Crawl spaces
  • Sheds and outbuildings
  • Vehicles
  • Burrowed dens around the home

Where Birds Seek Shelter from the Winter Weather 

Like rodents, birds seek warm spaces in which to retreat during cold weather. They typically prefer to stay in trees. But if they have few trees to choose from or need a safer space, they seek shelter in other tall structures. Your home can fulfill this need nicely, particularly if you have a rooftop dryer vent. Other places birds like to nest during the winter include corner eaves, gutters and chimneys.

To keep birds from nesting in these places around your roof, ensure you have a chimney cap installed. We recommend installing a Defender for side terminating dryer vents to keep birds and rodents out. It is very important to have your dryer vent cleaning company check the cover of your rooftop dryer vent a couple of times per year. At the same time, you can have them clean your dryer vent to prevent nesting and reduce fire risk. Have your gutters and chimney cleaned before winter sets in, too.

Why You Should Not Let Creatures Nest in Your Dryer Vents and Other Parts of Your Home

Although it can sound humane to let these little creatures nest in the warm spaces around your home’s exterior, it is actually quite dangerous. Rodent and bird droppings are highly acidic and contain disease-causing pathogens. They cause major health problems in people and animals, just as their acidity damages your roof and home materials.

You should not risk trying to prepare the roof areas and rooftop features of your home for winter unless you are specially trained to do so. Professionals have the right training, equipment and protective clothing to do this work for you. Call your local dryer vent cleaning company to properly clean and cover your dryer vent. Then have your chimney sweep perform the same work on your chimney. Your local landscaping or gutter cleaning company can clear your gutters and install vent covers as needed, too. 

Dryer Vent Cleaning for Winter in the Dallas Area

In the Dallas area, simply call the dryer vent cleaning experts of Superior Dryer Vent. We will provide seasonal cleaning and ensure you have a protective dryer vent cover. At the same time, this work reduces your risk for home fire, helps your laundry dry faster and keeps little creatures from getting into your home. Schedule your appointment today by calling (214) 494-9740.

Dryer Vent Cleaning for Winter in the Dallas Area
Schedule Now And Save! Dryer Vent Cleaning for Winter in the Dallas Area.

 

Learn More:

5 Warning Signs of a Clogged Dryer Vent

Fall Cleaning before the Holiday Rush

Fall rooftop dryer vent cleaning before the holiday rush

Almost everyone has heard of spring cleaning, but fall cleaning is equally important (cue laundry room organization, leaf raking and rooftop dryer vent cleaning). In fact, you should conduct a seasonal cleaning routine in your Dallas-Fort Worth area home at least twice per year. This effort refreshes your home and prepares it for the coming months.

But what cleaning should you do in the fall? Below, we explore important duties to include on your fall cleaning list. This list includes everything from your rooftop dryer vents and chimney, down to your laundry room and everything in between.

Exterior Fall Cleaning Tips 

You need to start your fall cleaning outdoors before temperatures drop too low. Small animals like mice, rats and squirrels like to find winter shelters early, such as in your ground-level or rooftop dryer vents.

Some of the most important exterior fall cleaning duties include:

  • Dryer vent cleaning and checking dryer vent screens
  • Chimney sweeping and placing a chimney cap
  • Gutter cleaning and screening gutters as needed
  • General rooftop debris removal
  • Checking roof shingles for signs of wear

You should also clear away clutter from your sidewalks, driveway and footpaths. Prepare your landscaping for harsh temperatures and rake away all of the leaves. Power wash your windows, exterior hard surfaces and patio furniture. Store outdoor furnishings to protect them from wintertime water damage.

Fall Cleaning for Your Kitchen

Particularly in colder weather, the kitchen is the heart of your DFW home. It is usually the first room people go into after school or work, during mealtimes and when you want to enjoy some socialization as temperatures drop.

Fall cleaning in the kitchen looks much like your spring to-do list. You need to clean your appliances, clear counters and wipe them down, scrub your sink and clean the floors.

Bathroom Cleaning for Fall

You should perform major cleaning in your bathroom for the fall, but continue smaller cleaning chores regularly throughout the year.

Fall cleaning in the bathroom should include:

  • Clearing off counters
  • Wiping down shower or enclosed bath walls
  • Cleaning the tub, shower, toilet and sink
  • Refreshing towels
  • Sweeping and mopping floors
  • Dusting walls and the ceiling to remove cobwebs
  • Cleaning light fixtures and the ceiling vent or fan

Living Room Cleaning for Fall

Fall cleaning in the living room should focus on removing allergens, clearing away dust and debris, and decluttering the space. You will spend a great deal of time in this room during a chilly Dallas area winter, so you need clean air to breathe and space to relax. Some of the most important fall cleaning duties for the living room include:

  • Remove clutter
  • Clean carpets, rugs and curtains
  • Dust walls and the ceiling to remove cobwebs
  • Vacuum or professionally clean the upholstery
  • Clean beneath furniture
  • Clean and prepare the fireplace
  • Sweep and mop hard floors
  • Clean light fixtures or ceiling fans
  • Clean television screens and other electronic devices

Bedroom Cleaning for Fall

As in the living room, much of your bedroom cleaning should focus on removal of dust, debris, clutter and allergens these typically promote. In the months when we spend so much time indoors, allergens and dust can cause breathing problems, increased sensitivity to colds, allergic reactions and headaches.

 Fall cleaning for the bedroom should include:

  • Carpet, curtain and upholstered furniture cleaning
  • Dusting walls and ceiling
  • Cleaning air vents
  • Cleaning light fixtures and ceiling fans
  • Removal of clutter
  • Laundering duvets, comforters, quilts and pillows
  • Dusting electronics
  • Cleaning beneath furniture
  • Sweeping and mopping hard floors

Laundry Room Fall Cleaning

Never underestimate the importance of seasonally cleaning your laundry room. Many household fires in the Dallas-Fort Worth area start in this space, particularly from built-up dryer lint and other debris. When you have your dryer vent cleaning company clean the ground-level dryer vent or rooftop dryer vent (and check the dryer vent screen outside too), ask them to check your laundry room indoors, too. They can inspect the dryer position at the wall and reduce your fire risk in other ways.

Besides rooftop dryer vent cleaning for fall, you need to perform some other chores in this space. These duties include:

  • Sweeping dryer lint and other debris from the floors and beneath appliances
  • Decluttering the laundry room
  • Placing hanging clothes and piled laundry in proper rooms
  • Properly storing cleaning solutions and other household products
  • Wiping down the inside and exterior of appliances
  • Mopping hard floors
  • Dusting walls and ceiling to remove excess dryer lint and cobwebs
  • Cleaning light fixtures and air vents

For dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent screen repair and laundry area safety inspection as part of your fall cleaning, call Superior Dryer Vent Cleaning in Plano, Texas at (214) 494-9740.

Exterior & Laundry Room Fall Cleaning
Home Exterior & Laundry Room Fall Cleaning

 

Learn More:

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A One-Week Plan to a Healthier Laundry Room with the Help of Your Dryer Vent Cleaning Company

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Getting Crafty with Dryer Lint

Getting Crafty with Dryer Lint, Dryer Lint Catchers and Dryer Lint Traps

Put Your Dryer Lint Catcher to Good Use!

If you are a DIY or composting type of person, you probably dislike waste. In fact, one of the biggest sources of waste in your home is garbage that could otherwise serve some other purpose. Maybe you have noticed the amount of dryer lint you throw away each week and wonder, “How can I get crafty with this?” Believe or not, the lint you collect from your dryer lint trap or dryer lint catcher can serve a range of purposes in your household.

What is dryer lint, anyway?

Dryer lint is the material you collect from your dryer lint catcher and is often made up of clean scraps of fluff and threads from your clothing. If you have pets, your lint filter also catches their hairs from your laundry. When the lint trap and dryer are working as they should, you do not have to worry about your clean clothing having loose fibers or fabric cast-offs all over them.

However, this lint builds up in places beyond just the lint trap. It also drifts into the dryer vent outside of your home, whether near ground level or on the rooftop. As much as you find in the filter between each load, just imagine how much lint goes through this vent! That is why you need professional dryer vent cleaning.

Why is dryer vent cleaning so important?

Regardless of whether you decide to recycle your dryer lint or throw it in the trash, it is important to clean the filter before or after every laundry load. After all, in the Dallas area and throughout Texas, lint is a frequent cause of home fires.

You also need semi-annual dryer vent cleaning to remove this excess combustible material from your vents near the foundation level or on your roof. Otherwise, it continues to build up. Then, these vents become even more attractive to rodents and birds for nesting.

Not scheduling dryer vent cleaning also leads to problems with this important household appliance. Your dryer can stop getting your clothes dry, at all. Then, it must work too hard to keep up with your laundry needs. From there, it is only a matter of time until breakdown.

5 Ways to Re-Use Your Dryer Lint

Dryer lint is one of the most recyclable substances in your home. It is already washed by the time you pull it from the filter. It is super soft and continually in supply. So why not get crafty with it? Below are some of our suggestions for doing so.

1. Warm and Cozy Bedding for Your Pets

Whether you have pet mice, hamsters, guinea pigs or other caged creatures, they will appreciate lint for their nesting purposes. Consider first how these little guys typically bed down on splintery pine shavings. Then, imagine how soft dryer lint will feel to their little bodies. They can use lint just like pine fragments for nesting, burrowing and soiling.

If you choose to reuse your excess lint in this way, switch to natural laundry detergent and avoid using fabric softeners. These pets are typically sensitive to fragrances and other chemicals.

2. Dry Material for the Compost Pile

Few people realize that natural fibers like those found in your dryer lint trap are perfect for composting. They make up part of your dry or brown composting calculations. The material does not bring moisture to the pile and will not rot. So, go ahead and throw the lint onto your heap of carrot pieces, eggshells and apple cores!

3. Sewn Craft Stuffing

Do you make stuffed dolls or other plush toys? How about throw pillows or comforters? If so, dryer lint is one of the softest materials you can use for stuffing these handicrafts. Commercially made items like these typically have less safe fibers within them, such as polyester fiber fill or other chemically-created material.

4. Fire Starting Material

Northeast Texas winters can be chilly because the air is often damp. When winter cuts through you, there is nothing better than lighting a fire in the fireplace, fire pit or chimenea. When you need to get a fire going, keep a supply of dryer lint handy. Wrap the lint in wax paper to get things burning. You can even stuff toilet paper rolls with lint to create miniature fire starter “logs.”

5. Packing Material

Are you moving soon? Or, do you need to pack away fragile items for storage? Start cleaning your dryer lint trap regularly and save your dryer lint to cushion the breakables you need to pack. This free material works just as well as bubble wrap or packing peanuts. But it is natural material, unlike those Styrofoam nuggets that frustrate any eco-conscious soul.

Schedule Semi-Annual Dryer Vent Cleaning to Keep Your Household Safe

You can get crafty with dryer lint as part of home economy and green living. But, besides being economical and eco-conscious, you want to keep your home safe. One of the best ways to do so is to have the experts provide professional dryer vent cleaning each year. In the DFW area, call Superior Dryer Vent Cleaning at (214) 494-9740.

 

Learn more with Superior:

A One-Week Plan to a Healthier Laundry Room with the Help of Your Dryer Vent Cleaning Company

How to Upgrade Your Laundry Room

Dryer Vent Cleaning for a Dryer Vent on the Roof