Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We just got an offer accepted on a home. As I realize things I will post them. BUT I am hoping for tried, true and of course frugal ways to protect our investment. Truth be told, the house is in great shape and I'm nervous about a few things I'm bolding the "i need product ideas or advice" spots and filling in explanations with unbolded LOL

New to us house has a newly remodeled kitchen because Since we remodeled our kitchen I've been on edge to not ruin it because our kitchen was a train wreck for over a decade I got lazy.

I need product ideas and cleaning tips -

1. good trivets to prevent burns of pots and pans for countertops -- we cook a LOT and sometimes use counters to serve/cool/etc.
2. good cutting boards that don't slip and wash preferably in the dishwasher
3. shelf liner thoughts/ideas/preferences. I'd like easily cleanable and good protection for cheap
4. other tips/cleaning ideas to keep the kitchen really good shape? We cook a lot - we don't do convenience foods often and don't eat out.

Carpets. The entire house is carpeted except kitchen and bathrooms. We currently have about 20% of our home carpeted and We have allergies. We will likely slowly change this starting with the bedrooms but not right away. I am looking into cleaning them and found this link -- it's a local company https://blissfulchemdry.com Would love opinions on that
Other tips for carpets. We went to mostly hard wood/laminate at our current home due to allergies.


Duct work - this one has me very very confused. We have never had ducts. We have baseboard heating and window a/c. We are moving to duct work and central which I love and I also don't love cuz allergies.

Those with allergies, do you or do you not clean ducts? There are two very distinct lines of thought - some people say unless you have a reaction to your house, don't touch the ducts because it stirs things up and the way the dust and allergens settle, there isn't a lot of circulation to drive into house. They say that a good filter is important and skip the duct cleaning - thoughts? . Others say that duct cleaning is absolutely necessary. I had no visible reaction to the house (unlike the reactions I had to other houses - one I wheezed and had to leave). That usually is my first tests. Some houses I fled and said no before even looking around :shifty.

Other shelf liners/drawer liners for bathroom, built in storage - what do you use



Fireplace we will have a natural fireplace that can convert to gas. I'm aware with my asthma we may need to covert quickly. All I know is that we need to hire someone to inspect, maintain (what is a damper and how do i use it?) and teach us how to use it. We have the kind that can help heat the house if we want it to. So. . .what do I need to know and do? We were going to hire a fireplace expert to come in and tell us but I also have no clue how much we pay for that. and what to look for

walls - how do you clean painted drywall? we are not painting anything before we move but the basement living area. We will paint the 3 bedrooms quickly as possible after we've moved and then a little at a time the next year. They didn't smoke so I'm unconcerned about that but I'm pretty sure I'm not comfy using my steam cleaner on drywall. Here I just use a damp SH-mop and lightly go over it but we've painted the entire house the past 5 years and we are used to our own smell :shifty lolol


What do you do when you move to every house? I haven't moved in 19 years.

My todo list
1. rekey locks
2. reprogram garage door openers
3. change toilet seats and install bidets
4. clean everything
5 check water meter for leaks
6. shelf liners everywhere

:ty3

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------

Oh also need help with organizing a pantry. Found this but not sure what is best for us https://decoratedlife.com/how-to-org...o...%20More%20

So I just want pantry ideas - what are your favorite organizing tips for a pantry? It's L shaped and walk in. with wood shelving along the walls

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

I think a lot of thoes ideas are good.

Kitchen,. I cook a lot so I get that.

I have wonderful large cork trivits that I keep by the stove.

But I will say that a lot of the issue is solved by planning a work flow. So there isn't a need to pull a pot off of the stove and pace it on the counter.
What kind of stove do you have? With gass and I diction you don't get a significantly different of on the stove top vs off of the burner is actually turned off.

I have wooden cutting boards that can't go in the dishwasher but they have enough weight that they stay put on the counter ( we don't have much counter space and I can also use them over the sink when I need more prep space) I find them much much more useful than the dishwasher safe ones that slide all over the place.

I have neaver used shelf liners. I will wash my kitchen cabinets upon moving in and then I use them.

On air ducts I would clean them once ( and check on the company I really thinknsome.of the dicky cleaning things are mostly scam)before you move in and then have a good filter and see how things go.

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---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 AM ----------

We also didn't change the locks when we moved in to our house ( that we bought) I understand why some people do but I don't think it is an allways have to do thing.

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Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Locks— the neighbors all help the current owners so I feel we should for my anxiety and my kids anxiety. Dh thankfully can do them himself and there’s only three keyed locks .

Do you have a link to your trivets? New stove will be electric. I have to learn to cook on it :nails I’ve always had gas and I’m very nervous abt this. Dh says since the fireplace has a gas connection it would be ok if we switched but I don’t wanna spend money wildly. :sigh

I can’t do wood cutting boards cuz I’m a Germaphobe and we cut meat on them :hiding THats a great point on workflow. I will have to create a new workflow.

Shelf liners. Since I redid my kitchen cabinets I vowed in future to have liners. I cannot tell you how long and disgusting the process was. I ruined a lot of clothes and my hands even w gloves were a mess. Since this could be the last home we own and we likely won’t move for 20-30 years .... I might not clean them again so wiping contact paper or something when there’s a sticky spot sounds smart. Right now honey gets everywhere in my food area and I’m constantly trying to scrub it away cuz the wood is porous.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

I have always had painted cabinets so i could just wipe them clean.

The trivets I have are aparently not at ikea any more. They are like these except there is one large one and two smaller ones. The large one I can set under a casserole.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/p...bal%7Ccc%3A216

I won't try to argue with you about cutting boards, I will just say that if you continue to have issues with them sliding around you might want to look at the reserch on wood again.

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Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Id love to hear abt wood being clean. Some of my issue is my family is not 100% gluten free so I refuse wood which could absorb gluten

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Oh that would be a huge issue. I keep the hole house gluten free. And the only dairy I allow in is cram for dh coffee and a small bag of cheese that can't not touch cooking dishes and all serving that it toches must be hand washed before going in the dishwasher

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Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

I don't know a ton about a lot of those things but we are kinda nerdy about filters. We order them from filters fast and we get a Merv 13 filter so it filters out stuff- with allergies this would be important. We change it out once a month.

I just put potholders down to protect counters and have never had an issue.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Do you have a link to the filter you buy?

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We had a home inspector who gave us a maintenance binder to go along with our house's features. I don't remember much from it, but he recommended having the main line snaked once a year. We haven't had ours snaked in 10 years, but I'm really careful about fats in the drains and that sort of thing and we have old school toilets and wide, copper drains. I'm sure there was a water heater flushing schedule, too, but I've never opened the binder.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

https://www.filtersfast.com/Filters-...ack-Filter.asp

But depending on your furnace you may need different dimensions or thickness.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We have a maintenance booK and I already have a new one for the new house to keep track of dates and all :yes :yes my DH has snaked our main line more than once in our current home we’ve lived in 19 years

The new to us home has a new furnace, a/c, and hot water heater :tu I need to get dates on something else that’s pretty new that I cannot recall off the top of my head :think

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Is your electric stove a flat top or coils?
I have cooked with both- and electric is slower. I prefer gas, but its not an option in our current house. Happy to help trouble shoot. At first I’d give yourself extra time.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Flat, new, no coils. I have cooked very minimally on one at my moms. But never my best stuff. I will remember you are the one to ask. We don’t close until 10/15/2020. Do I need to know anything before I get there? This sounds dumb but assuming my cast iron and stainless are fine on electric? And that I can use my normal bakeware? Stones and stainless and some ceramic.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

You can use cast iron on a flat top stove, but if you move it around while on the burner, it can scratch the ceramic surface, so it is not recommended.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We have a flat top electric and we use cast iron. It took me quite awhile to get used to electric. We had always assumed we were going to update our kitchen and get our house plumbed for propane. I've now told DH it doesn't matter, I'm so used to electric and I'm fine with it.

Electric stoves are supposedly better for people with MTHFR, too. :shrug

I clean my glass stove top with my regular homemade vinegar spray for daily cleaning. To get it shinier, I use microfiber. If it gets really bad, I clean it with a little Bar Keeper's Friend.


We had forced air central heat in our home in WI. We had the ducts professionally cleaned once. I say if you feel like you're constantly dusting, have the ducts cleaned but do not get the spray treatment that they offer, supposedly some kind of antimicrobial. The main thing with forced air heat is to get good furnace filters and change them on schedule. I'm sure your DH can stay on top of that.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

I have seen some silicone things that are designed to go in the bottom of cast iron so you don't scratch flat top. I will see if I can find it again.

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Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We use silicone pot holders as trivets for hot stuff. I just looked in Dh's order history and we have these. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They are thick and easy to clean, no crevices. I usually just use hot soap water as needed but they can also go in the dishwasher. Ours are almost 12 years old and still look great.


No issues at all with our flat electric stove.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

The only pan I can think of that won't work on electric would be something with a rounded bottom, like a wok. I have a wok with a flat bottom that does work on electric.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

You also aren't suposed to use large heavy things like hot water bath cannerson flat tops because they can crack the glass

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Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Yes, you are not supposed to use a canner on a glass top stove. I know someone who does, though. I would not do it. I have a separate, electric coil stove that I use if I want to can.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We had a flat top electric stove in our last home. I liked it. We kept a cast iron comal to warm tortillas on a back burner and never had an issue.
I do recommend getting a cleaner designed for the stove top. I found it easier to keep it clean if I wiped it down each night (and used cleaner on any spots that needed it). Every once in awhile I had to use a scraper (something the builder gave us when we closed on the home) to gently scrape stuck on messes.
We have a gas stove in our current home (big move 2 years ago). I like it too, but sometimes I miss how easy it was to wipe down the stove top without lifting two big heavy grates out of the way and not worrying about knocking the covers off the burners. :giggle

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

My concern w the ducts is moving when my allergies are so bad and in the middle of mold season. Dust is my worst allergy. I’m supposed to see my pulmonologist on oct 20 which is likely the day we r scheduling movers ...

Dh said since a ranch he will clean them :hunh I’m pondering that :giggle

Great info on electric and cast iron.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

What abt pressure cookers? Anyone know?

---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 PM ----------

Like this? https://www.amazon.com/Induction-Coo...a-627652930935

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

It was more like this https://thecooktopmat.com/ but it was from a manufacturer of flat stove tops.

Which isn't at all what I described before but when I dug back though searches I had rembered it wrong

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Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

I love having a flat top stove. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to use a canner on it, so I have. But not too much- I do not can a whole lot. But I love how easy the flat top stove is to clean!

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Congratulations on the new house!

You put together a great list! Did your house inspector give you a report of all the things you can do to the house? One thing I suggest doing when moving in to a new house is getting a free energy audit by the state. They will send a company of your choice (from their list of authorized vendors) to check your energy efficiency and suggest things for you to do to your home. You don't have to use them to do anything they suggest but it's really helpful to have a general idea of what is needed to make your home more energy efficient.

As for cleaning the ducts, I am extremely cautious about getting it done. The wrong approach by a bad company can cause serious damage. Be sure the company is highly reputable before you do that.

For the fireplace, definitely do not use it until you get it inspected. Creosote buildup is one of the top reasons for house fires and you can't always tell easily if there is a crack in the flue. They typically cost between $200 and $300 in my area.

Some other things I like to do before I move in to a house is treat for any insects (like possible spider eggs if the house had been vacant for some time). I like to take pictures for potential before and after pictures when I do room makeovers. I like to get the dryer vent cleaned out. I also clean out the bathroom vents. And I like to give the house a thorough airing.... like all windows open for a couple of days.

Good luck with everything! When do you close on the house?

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

We have a glass cooktop. I use cast iron on it. I turn it on to 3 and set timer for 3 minutes to warm it before I grease and cook. Never 4. Food burns then.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

With that much carpet I would buy a personal carpet cleaner. I believe it pays for itself in just a few cleans. My friend had one because she said it was so much less expensive. We borrowed and it saved us a bunch of money and it was fairly easy to use. In the end we discovered the original hardwoods under the carpet and removed it all and restored the hard wood flooring so now we only have area rugs and I just vacuum them.

I have been told also in the past that carpet cleaning slowly removes the protective coating so it will stain easier after so many cleans.

I don't know if either are true but buying your own carpet cleaner might at least be worth looking into.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

Yea, I've heard all those rules about flat tops too and when I first bought this house 10 years ago I was worried because of that. That said, I use cast iron exclusively and my kids cook daily on the stove top with cast iron as well and we've never had an issue. I only point out that my kids do it too to prove that, in least in our case, it doesn't require precision and extreme caution because my kids are good at neither. ;) :lol :lol I also can on my flat top and have never had a problem. I've never used a stove top pressure cooker on it only because i haven't used a stove top pressure cooker since owning this home.

My fave cleaner for my stovetop is "Bar Keeper Friend." But for the most part unless I have something cooked on that I need to scrub off I tend to just use whatever basic spray cleaner I'm using on the rest of my kitchen.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

My dh (a former carpenter who was a foreman) did our inspection and has a list but doesn't do fireplaces or HVAC . . .I did get a referral for a fireplace guy :woohoo haven't called yet agree - would never use without inspection repair and cleaning. We just need to know what maintenance at home looks like so I'm hopeful that they will teach us??

Hope we may be able to air out the house. That's gonna be tricky in october. Praying for dry days or we will just be inviting mold in :( I haven't decided if it's better to shut the house up with a really good air filter or open up. (we have horrid mold allergies and I have been diagnosed with mold poisoning)

I didn't know that you could get a free energy audit. This is a wonderful idea. :tu We were grateful both of the toilets, the furnace water heater and A/C are new energy efficient models. With a ranch I'm expecting our electric/gas bill to plummet.

We have decided will not leave the carpeting in long :think We will either tear it all out if hardwood underneath it or we will replace it with laminate in the bedrooms first. Hoping that the bedrooms are a spring project and we just need to survive winter with so much fiber in our home :P . My allergies have reached an all time worst ever in my life (4 meds now :cry) Anyways, With our allergies, I only want to use dry chem. I have been researching and there isn't any water so doesn't cause carpeting to decline so quickly. as a part of his job, DH actually fixes personal carpet cleaners and told me to not use them. The water will potentially not dry fast enough in October in WI anyways -- since wet or damp things can grow mold in 72 hours. That's why he was hemming and hawing until I found a natural dry cleaner with amazing reviews.

That's awesome about your carpeting. I'm super hopeful we discover hardwood under our carpet. That would be a dream :heart

Thank you all for the info on electric stoves. I'm going to be coming back to this It's beautiful and I love the idea of it but I'm super intimidated. My mom has one and when we used to see her, she was still super fastidious about it. I told dh I wanted to try our new stove but set aside money to convert back to gas if I hate it :shifty We cook so much. I can't have a stove I hate. :no Since the fireplace converts to gas he said there's gas near by and not to worry we can convert if I hate it :shifty

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

The flat top stove is SO easy to clean and we've had no issues. None. I am not fastidious about mine. We use cast iron but not exclusively.

I also use Bar Keeper's Friend on my stove for anything that doesn't come off with vinegar. It's works wonderfully and has multiple uses. A bottle lasts me about a year.

I was so determined to get a propane stove but now I don't care, anymore.

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

https://www.clutterkeeper.com/organi...-professional/
Saving this. We close Thursday at 9.

Here’s a question. Anyone have tried and true reasonably priced contact paper they love?

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 

The dollar tree contact paper works ok. I haven't compared brands of contact paper to know if it's good compared to others. I used the wood grain one to cover a couple heavily used, plywood computer tables and they held up for years. It wasn't easy to keep all the wrinkles out, but I did it and I'm not very coordinated.