Top Tips for Maintaining Your Home in the Desert Heat
It’s no secret that Arizona sees some searing temps during the summer months - and often during the other seasons as well. Along with the heat comes some incredibly dry conditions. Compared to the national average of 38 inches per year, Tucson averages about 12.3 inches a year.
All that heat and dry conditions create some unique challenges for homeowners. Compared to homes in more temperate climates, desert homes need some unique or extra maintenance to stay cool and avoid damage, as well as soaring energy or water bills.
Needless to say, summer requires some specific home maintenance in Tucson. If you’re lucky enough to be a Tucson homeowner, keep reading to learn a few tips to maintain your property in the desert heat.
Show Your Air Conditioner Some Love
The last thing that you want to find out on the first day of triple-digit temperatures in Tucson is to discover that your air conditioner isn’t working properly. Before those days arrive (ideally a few weeks before the start of summer), always be sure to turn your air conditioner on for a test, if you haven’t already been using it.
Other things you can do to make sure that nothing stands in the way of that sweet, cool air and the inside of your home is to regularly change your air filters, stay up on your Zerorez® Tucson carpet cleaning maintenance (because as we know, your carpets act as a secondary air filter in your home) and make sure that no dirt and debris have formed around the exterior AC unit.
Check Your Window and Door Seals
Just because your air conditioner is functioning properly doesn’t mean that your home will stay nice and cool. If your door or window seals are old, dry, cracked, or damaged, that cool air will start escaping back outside just as quickly as it got in. And cracked or damaged window and door seals are yet another side effect of all that dry, hot air.
If you find that your door and window seals are all intact, but the area around the edges of your doors and windows still feels overly warm, it could be time for an upgrade. New doors and windows, along with new frames, may better lock in the nice, cool interior of your home.
Along the same lines, older homes may lose their cool air through the windows and the roof. Replacing your home’s insulation can help create an extra barrier to keep the heat out and the cold air in.
Think Twice About Your Home’s Exterior Paint Color
A dark-gray, black, or navy home might be a trendy, modern choice. But it’s a style that’s best kept to homes in moderate climates.
Your Tucson home is going to spend a lot of the day baking in the heat. A dark color will trap heat, rather than repelling it. This can actually translate to more heat inside your home as well.
If you’re thinking about painting your home or if your home is a dark color and you’re struggling to keep it cool, consider colors like light gray, brown, or orange to reflect heat instead. As a bonus, these tones are perfect for creating those desert vibes! Add some low-maintenance desert plants like cactus and succulents to your landscaping and you’ll have a beautiful home that won’t turn into an oven on a hot summer day.
Install Window Coverings
Another great way to keep your air conditioner from working overtime during the summer months is to add some window coverings designed with insulation in mind. Blackout window shades, stick-on films, and even room darkening shades can help your well-sealed windows and functioning air conditioner work better, and help to keep your energy bills lower during the summer months.
Understand the Effects of Hard Water
Desert conditions often go hand-in-hand with excess levels of mineral deposits and sediment in the water. All that hard water can wreak havoc in your pipes, faucets, bathtubs, shower tiles, and on your skin and hair. If you’re unsure of whether your home’s water is hard, signs you can watch for include:
- White scale build up inside the mouth of your faucets
- Rough, scaly, shiny texture on the walls of your shower, inside of toilets, and in your sinks
- Dishwasher that no longer seems to clean dishes as well as it once did
- Clothing fresh from your washer that don’t look clean or that feel rough
- Towels fresh from your washer that feel rough when they were once soft
- Hair that feels overly dry and prone to breakage
Unfortunately, these are only the signs that you can easily spot. Hard water also causes a build-up in your pipes. Over time, this affects the efficiency of many of your appliances, increasing your utility and water costs.
A water softener can help to reduce the effect of hard water on faucets, inside your tubs and showers, and on your skin. If you’re adding a water softener to a home that previously didn’t have one or that had one that was past its prime, it’s a good idea to have your pipes checked and serviced as well.
If you are noticing these effects of hard water on your shower tiles, or tile floors, perhaps it’s time to give Zerorez® Tucson a call:
Zerorez® Tucson Shower Tile Cleaning
The Zerorez® Cleaning Process is amazing at cleaning shower tile and grout, especially when it comes to hard water stains. The process can restore brilliance to your tile and color to your grout. No more hard water, black grout lines, or dull tile!
The Zerorez® shower tile cleaning process is powerful enough to restore color and brilliance to your grout without hours spent on your hands and knees scrubbing those hard water stains furiously with that poor old toothbrush.
While Zerorez® cleans your shower tile and grout you can sit back and relax knowing that not only are your shower tiles and tile floors going to look awesome, no hard water stains, soap, or chemical residue left behind!
Maintaining Your Home in the Desert Heat
Tucson’s beautiful, but hot summers can wreak havoc on your desert home. But staying cool is easy with a little pre-season maintenance and some smart design decisions.
From showing your AC some love, keeping your carpet filters clean, adding in a water softener, utilizing Zerorez®’s shower tile cleaning, to rethinking your home’s exterior paint, these tips can all help you stay cool and comfortable, lower your energy and water costs, and help you to better enjoy your home all year long!