[tempus vernum]

Originally Posted by Ms_Dahl

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?

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 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. 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.

Originally Posted by twoplustwo

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.

We have decided will not leave the carpeting in long 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 ) 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

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 We cook so much. I can't have a stove I hate. Since the fireplace converts to gas he said there's gas near by and not to worry we can convert if I hate it