Lockdown DIY - How To Maintain Your Home Exterior
We’re all having to stay at home these days which can be difficult, so we’re doing our part to keep you busy with DIY hacks and tips that help to keep your home in good shape.
You’re stuck at home but not inside, so step outside! There’s plenty to be done without special equipment or supplies, which means you don’t need to head to a hardware store if you’re looking for home-improvement satisfaction.
So, put on some old clothes, turn on the hose, grab the ladder (and someone to hold it) and get cracking with these tasks.
Deep clean your gutter and drainpipes
The first task you can tackle is cleaning the winter muck from your drains and guttering. So, find your trowel and garden gloves and climb your ladder.
Once you’re up, scoop out the muck and throw it into a single pile or a wheelbarrow. Don’t take a bin bag up with you because it could hinder your balance.
Then, once you’ve got the bulk of it out, get down, grab your hose and pop back up to flush out the remaining debris. Also, make sure to flush down your drainpipe for a minute or two.
If your drain in the ground is clogged, do your best to clear it by hand, then pour down 100ml of neat bleach to destroy any build-up you can’t see.
Give your windows a good clean
If you’d usually get a window cleaner in, now is a great time to tackle the job yourself and save money.
First, grab a microfibre cloth or an old towel cut into three or four smaller ones. You’ll also need a spray bottle of window cleaning solution (or you can use a mixture of one part vinegar to two parts water) and a bucket of clean, cool water with a few drops of liquid dish soap.
If you have one, a squeegee with a rubber blade will come in handy, or some kitchen roll will do.
Also, if you have a sponge mop that you use to clean hard floors, you can use this to clean elevated windows instead of having to go up a ladder.
Start by rinsing the windows with the hose, then use your cloth or sponge mop to scrub the windows clean with the soapy water, working from the top, down.
As you go along, rinse each window with the hose so the solution doesn’t dry on the surface.
After they’ve been rinsed, clean each window one-by-one again using your window cleaner (or homemade mixture) and a dry cloth. For stubborn stains, try soaking with the solution and leaving it a few minutes for scrubbing.
After each is done, use the squeegee or dry kitchen roll to remove leftover liquid, working downwards on the glass.
Remove ugly algae and moss
Algae and moss grow on wet spots on the outside of your home and can erode and weaken surfaces like brick, concrete and mortar. This can lead to some costly damage.
But don’t worry, if you catch small spots of these organic nuisances before they become a big problem, they’re easy to get rid of using normal bleach and laundry detergent.
First, mix one scoop of the detergent and one litre of bleach with four litres of water in a bucket. If you have any dry bleach (a powder that dissolves in liquid) throw a couple of scoops of that in, too.
Then, if you have a garden sprayer, fill it with the mixture. If not, an empty spray bottle will do.
Next, soak the algae and moss by spraying it heavily with your mixture. After 15 minutes, scrub the area with a firm brush.
Lastly, grab your hose and rinse the walls you just scrubbed. Make sure to wetting any surrounding grass first so that the bleach form the walls down glides over it and doesn’t damage it at the roots.
Make a day of it
So, now that you have a list, why not set aside a day to get these jobs done? They’ll give you plenty of DIY satisfaction and the great feeling of knowing you’re avoiding costly fixes in the future.
For more DIY tips to tackle during your time in quarantine, check out these pages:
