FreshDuctDryer Taking Two Cycles to Dry? Check the Vent Before You Blame the Dryer
It creeps up slowly. A load of towels that used to come out dry now needs another half hour, then a full second cycle. Through a wet Melbourne spring, when the clothesline is no help, that extra cycle every load adds up quickly, and many people assume the dryer is simply getting old. Quick answer: […]
Getting Oil and Tyre Marks Off a Concrete Driveway
A concrete driveway takes more punishment than almost any other surface around a house. Cars drip oil, tyres scuff and turn on it, and Melbourne weather adds a film of grime, moss and leaf stain on top. Most people only notice how dark it has become when they are getting the house ready to sell, […]
Can You Clean a Split System Yourself? What a Filter Rinse Reaches and What It Does Not
The first warm days of a Melbourne spring are when most people switch the split system over to cooling for the first time in months. Often that first blast smells a little stale, or the airflow seems weaker than you remember, and the obvious question follows: can I just clean this myself? Quick answer: Yes, […]
Clearing Gutters and Roof Leaf Litter Before Bushfire Season
For many households on the edges of Melbourne, the end of spring brings a familiar job to the top of the list. In the outer east, the Dandenong Ranges, the Yarra Valley, the north-east around Eltham and Warrandyte, and pockets right across the suburbs where gum trees overhang the house, the gutters and roof will […]
Used the Fireplace Only a Few Times This Winter: Does It Still Need a Sweep?
It is a common situation in Melbourne. The fireplace got lit a handful of times on the coldest nights, the ducted heating or split system did the rest, and now winter is over. The natural question is whether a chimney that barely got used really needs sweeping, or whether it can wait another year. Quick […]
Duct Cleaning After a Renovation: Where the Dust Goes When You Sand Floors or Cut Plaster
Spring is renovation season in Melbourne. Floorboards get sanded back, walls get patched and repainted, and old plasterboard comes down so a kitchen or bathroom can be opened up. Most people remember to cover the couch. Far fewer think about the ducted heating or cooling, and that is how a dusty week of work turns […]
Evaporative Cooler or Refrigerated Aircon During Bushfire Smoke: Which to Run
Most Melbourne summers bring at least a few days when the air turns hazy, whether from bushfires, planned burns or smoke drifting in from further away. On those days, the cooling system you choose to run matters. Evaporative coolers and refrigerated air conditioners such as split systems cool a house in very different ways, and […]
Wet Ceiling Insulation After a Roof Leak: Dry It Out or Replace It?
Melbourne spring storms have a habit of finding every weak spot in a roof. A cracked tile, a slipped ridge cap, a rusted section of flashing or a gutter overflowing back under the roof line can let water into the ceiling space, and the first thing it lands on is usually the insulation. By the […]
Lint Building Up Around the Dryer Vent Outside? What It Tells You
The outside dryer vent is one of the few parts of the whole drying system you can actually see, and it says a lot about what is happening inside the wall. Plenty of Melbourne homeowners notice it for the first time in spring, when they are out weeding or washing down the side path and […]
Colorbond vs Tiled Roof: How Cleaning Each One Differs
Melbourne roofs mostly come in two kinds: prefinished metal sheeting, which most people call Colorbond after the best-known brand, and tiles, either terracotta or concrete. Both collect the same things over the years. Moss and lichen on the shaded slopes, leaf litter in the valleys and gutters, dirt and pollution grime, and the black streaking […]