Jim Brickman:  Well, even though it’s fall and almost winter  it still can be a good time for Do it Yourself.  You don’t just have to do it in summer, Fall is a great time to get ready for the coming coldness especially with people coming over for parties and, so its more important than ever that your home is in top shape.  So, lets get it that way with HGTV interior designer Chip Wade.  How to get ready for all these holiday events!  How ya doin Chip

Chip Wade:  Great!  Thank you so much for having me.

JB:  So we’re getting ready for the holidays and colder weather give me just some, some your best tips for preparing your home for the holiday months.

CW: Well having all these people come over in the Fall is…uh… a huge burden on the infrastructure of your house.  Your systems your plants all these things…5 DIY tips you can do is first start with your heating and Air system.  You wanna make sure that you have extra air filters on hand so if you don’t know what size your air filters are go down there, pull off the cover and it should be written right on there on the side.  Today I think would be a great day for people go to go and buy like a 3 pack of them, have them uh..ready to go and then be checking them during the fall or winter months about once a month.  Uh, as soon as they get dirty you have one right there on hand to replace.

In the laundry room, one of the biggest things homeowners can do is making sure to clean the lint trap every single time you road a load through the dryer.  Uhm, as you progress into the kitchen, two things on the refrigerator that people typically neglect, are cleaning the coils on the back or bottom of the unit as well as changing the water filter.  Now the coils can be typically cleaned with a coil brush that looks like a big pipe cleaner on a stick.  Or you can just use your vacuum cleaner.  Just getting the dust lint and debris off of those coils to make you refrigerator run more efficiently

JB:  And when is it the time to call in the expert

CW:  If you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing or if you’re just not doing it.  You might know what you’re doing but just be too busy.  So calling in an expert, a certified technician to come in a do these types of inspections and preventative maintenance is going to end up saving you money and time not even in a long haul but in the short term.

 

JB:  Chip Wade,  helping us get ready for the holiday season on The Jim Brickman Show