Hot & Muggy Weather Tips

With this terrible muggy weather we have had numerous customers ask Mr. Handyman what can be done to make their homes more comfortable. Here are some tips to keep cool during this season.

If it feels warm and muggy in your home and the A/C seems to remain on throughout the day it is time to take some action.

1. Have the A/C unit serviced. You may have condenser coils that need cleaned. The system may need a charge or the evaporator coil may need checked. The service man can look for other reasons the A/C unit is getting a workout this summer (duct work that can be directed to pull more warm air from the upstairs to be cooled).

2. Check the attic. You may not have enough insulation in the attic to keep the cool air in the home. The standards for the amount of insulation have changed in the last decade. If your home is 10 years or older you may not have the recommended amount of insulation for this area in your attic. A value of R39 is recommended which is about 19 inches of the blown-in type. Adding insulation will pay for itself in a few years so it is a great long-term investment. Also the attic may not be vented properly trapping the hot air and allowing that hot air seep down into the living space. My mother-in-law saves over $60/month because we added insulation in her attic.

3. Doors and windows may be leaking that cool air and allowing the warm muggy air into the home. Inspect and evaluate all windows and doors for signs the weather-stripping is doing its job. Replace any that is suspect. Weather-stripping is inexpensive compared to higher utility bills and it could save you $$$ each month.

4. Reduce the use of "heat-producers." Grill out more instead of turning on the hot stove or oven. Boiling water for pasta puts a lot of heat and moisture into the home. Use the microwave more. Run the dishwasher and dryer at night when the heat load is reduced.

5. Block the hot sun from coming in. Keep blinds and shades pulled on the South and west sides of the home during the day.

Controlling the Humidity Level in Your Home

Do you have a humidity problem in your home?  How can you keep the humidity level at a comfortable level during these hot and humid summer days.

Humidity is measured with a hygrometer.  Some of the least expensive hygrometers are part of a thermometer assembly on a clock.  See photo.  They are not the most accurate but they are great to get an overall picture of the humidity level in your home.
If it reads above 50% you should take steps to reduce the moisture content in your home to keep mold, mildew and the attraction of pests down in your living space.

Here are a few tips:

Run the bath vent fan during a bath or shower then for 20 minutes after

Grill out more and boil noodles and other food items on the grill.



Keep the toilet lids down (GUYS!!!)

Be sure the downspouts direct the water a minimum of 4-6 ft away from the foundation

Crack a window in the basement

Install a humidity-ridding device such as a dehumidifier, Humidex or Easy-Breathe type systems

Keep the AC turned down to the desired temp, do not bump it up and down.  Your AC system does a great job of removing humidity from the home but only when it is running!

Place large plants outdoors if possible, if not water them sparingly.

If you have a sidewalk or patio right up against the foundation, be sure the crack between them is completely sealed.

Remember a home that is too wet — where the humidity is greater than 50% — can be a breeding ground for mold, rot, pests such as termites and cockroaches, and condensation. It can cause health problems for you and your family, pets included.  Keep it under control by implementing these tips and observe your humidistat daily to see how you are doing.

Firework Safety - Home Fires

Every year thousands of people visit the emergency rooms in incidents related to a firework injury.

Each year homes catch fire from the burning embers of a downed firework casing resulting in the following statistics:

• In 2009, fireworks caused an estimated 18,000 reported fires, including 1,300 total structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,300 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in no reported civilian deaths, 30 civilian injuries and $38 million in direct property damage.

• In 2009, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 8,800 people for fireworks related injuries; 53% of 2009 emergency room fireworks-related injuries were to the extremities and 42% were to the head.

• The risk of fireworks injury was highest for children ages 10-14, with more than twice the risk for the general population.

• On Independence Day in a typical year, far more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for more than half of those fires, more than any other cause of fires.

Be careful where you light fireworks. There doesn't seem to be a lot of dry grass in the Omaha area this year but there may be areas that could ignite. Use a flashlight to inspect your roof at the end of your lighting ceremony, or the neighbors, for that matter. Have the hose prepared with a spray nozzle that could reach the peak of your roof line.

If one of your "high-in-the-sky" fireworks goes off course, at a low angle, follow up to be sure it did not catch your neighbor's home on fire. Be sure it is snuffed out.

Enjoy the celebration but be aware and take some measures to avoid becoming a statistic. 

Prepare in Times of Disaster

The threat of rising river water and more flooding has people evacuating that had never thought the river could rise to the level it has. It may go even higher in the next few weeks. Preparing for an evacuation should be done prior to the rising waters so when they come the family can continue to thrive after the emergency.


Ready in 10 Minutes Kit.

If a disaster was eminent, such as flooding, a chemical leak or a tornado bearing down on your community and you only had 10 minutes to evacuate, what would you do? It is vitally important to have a plan and an evacuation kit that is ready to go at any moment.

Ready in 10 evacuation plan must include a way to instantly locate and safeguard the vital information, documents and keepsakes that you’ll need to have access to after the emergency has passed. To start the plan you need to know:

• Who will be going with you, of course your immediate family and pets but others may be considered.

• Where you will go for the different disasters that may take place

• Where you will stay for both short term and long term stays. It may be a while before you can return or you may not have a home to return to.

• How will each of you get there?

The ready in 10 plan should also include a checklist of vital items to escape with:

• Medical records and medications for each person

• Insurance and deed information

• Wallet, purse, cell phone, chargers, keys, contact information for others

• Vital information documents, birth certificates, marriage license etc.

• Toiletries and a change of clothes for a couple of days

• Food and water necessities for the trip out

• Battery powered radio, flashlight.

• Keepsakes or treasured items

• Financial documents

A person or family can never fully prepare for a disaster but being able to pick up their lives after the emergency is the second most important task behind surviving it in the first place. Taking time to prepare your evacuation plan prior to any emergency situation may save your life and make it much easier as a survivor.

Tips for Tornado Season

June is tornado month in Nebraska. More tornados occur in June than any other month in our state.

With the recent terrible loss of life in Missouri and Alabama there are some tips we can do to protect ourselves in case of a tornado.

1. Have a plan. If you do not have a plan your chances of surviving a direct-hit tornado are slim. Retreating to the basement is not enough. Many times the force of the winds can pull you and your family right up out of the basement. If you do not have a basement find the location of the nearest storm shelter and become familiar with the route and time it takes to get there.

2. Create a shelter area in the basement with very strong walls and ceiling over your head. Many folks will use the area under the stairwell or in a corner. Beef if up, mount the walls and ceiling into the concrete structure of the basement. Follow the FEMA guidelines at FEMA.gov for creating a “safe-room” in your home. It may cost up to $2000 to create the safe-room but the cost is minor compared to loss of life.  Think of a tornado as a vacuum cleaner.  How could you survive if a huge vacuum cleaner was placed above your home?

3. Keep in mind that the average length of time spent in a storm shelter is ½ hour to 2 hours. Have something for the kids to do to take their minds off the situation. Make sure you have a battery powered radio, flashlight, blankets, water and snacks and a whistle, air-horn or other means of alerting for help.

4. Don’t be one of the people that think “it will never happen to me.” Many people in Missouri and Alabama may have had that same attitude. It happened to thousands who are without a place to live right now and over 500 so far this year have lost their lives just in tornado related deaths.

5. There may be some state or federal monies available to assist in the purchase and installation of a safe room or storm shelter.  Look to FEMA or your state Emergency Management Agency for more details.

Home Elecrtical Concerns

Here is how you know you need an electrician to visit your home


If you have one or more outlets that have loose prongs. They will be outlets that when you plug in your appliance the plug does not want to stay in the outlet, it droops or falls out.

If you have a light switch that arcs when it is turned on. Sometimes it may spark and sometimes it will make an arcing sound. Too much build-up of carbon can lead to resistance in the switch and can cause overheating and possibly, fires.

If you have lights that dim when another appliance is turned on. An example may be when you run the microwave, vacuum cleaner or the air conditioning cycles on. If the lights dim there could be an overload, or low voltage on that circuit which could lead to shorter-lived equipment or appliances, light bulbs and possibly a fire.

If you have a light fixture that you consistently replace the bulbs more so than other fixtures. It could mean an under voltage situation or an overloaded circuit breaker.

If you have a GFCI outlet in the house that keeps tripping, forcing you to reset it. GFCI outlets are the ones with the manual reset switch on the outlet itself. A GFCI outlet is required in bathrooms or in outlets where an appliance could come in contact with water. Others may be protected in the breaker box.

If you have more than 2 extension cords currently in use in the home because you do not have enough outlets for all of the fixtures or appliances you wish to have.

If you have any outlets with a charred face or burnt-marks. It may end up only being cosmetic but it may be worth it to have it checked out.

If you have any wires that are sticking out from electrical boxes or cover plates. All wiring should be concealed in conduit, in the panel, or box or in the “romex” sheath (2 or more wires in a thin, white plastic covering in use in most homes today).

Contractors - Know Who You Are Hiring

Each year Mr. Handyman receives calls from distraught homeowners stating they were taken for a lot of money and left hanging. They had hired a "fly-by-night' contractor without checking up on the company, individual or references.

Many homeowners only look at the lowest price. Let's face it, we live in a "Wal-Mart" world where we are conditioned to associate lowest price with a good value. In reality it almost never works out that way.

How do you check out a particular contractor?

First of all is he an individual or a company? You can follow the advice and tips from one of our previous posts to perform a general reference check on him/his company. See the blog post at: http://askmrhandyman.blogspot.com/2010/02/licensed-bonded-and-insured-what-does.html


Second, you can ask for and check up on references. Ask him for a list of several other customers he has serviced and ask that it be similar work for which you are requesting him to do for you. If he is a thorough and honorable businessman he will have a growing list of satisfied customers who will gladly provide a good reference.

Third, follow up with the local chapter of the BBB. The BBB is a well-known business rating service that ensures a good rating for businesses that follow basic general rules of behavior and interfacing with their customers. Angie’s List is another rating/ranking service but beware, I have seen many reviews on there that seem more like an ad for a particular company than an actual review by a consumer. When the rating includes details the person/company CAN do for you rather than what they ACTUALLY did for them, beware.

Fourth, look at their online presence. If they offer a website, check it out but remember what's on the website is information they want you to know about them. Look for a third-party rating service that validates customer reviews. Many unscrupulous companies sugar-coat their ratings and have their parents/siblings rate them for a better “presence" on the web.

View this video and be prepared. It was an investigation by MSNBC a while ago but is a pretty good idea of the types of contractors out there lurking. http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=msnbc&fg=rss&vid=b83da96a-d107-4f6c-ba7d-8d7c7bd3ba03&from=05
Fifth, hire a professional. They may be slightly more expensive up front but will guarantee their work and actually cost a bit more because they do the work the right way the first time. There is a reason others quote you a cheaper price. What are you really getting? What will be left out?

Mr. Handyman is Licensed, Bonded and Insured for your protection as well as ours. We perform background checks and drug screen our employees. We hire professional that have been in the trades for over 15 years and we stand behind their workmanship. Mr. Handyman has a third-party validate our ratings and reviews. Systino emails out a survey after the work is completed and compiles that data for us and displays it for you to see. We do not manipulate the data in any way. We also receive ratings on Service Magic that we cannot modify. We do all of this because we are professional and want to be honorable to you. Mr. Handyman is a proud member of the BBB and has only fielded one complaint in our four years of being in business, which was corrected right away. One complaint in over 5400 jobs/projects in four years in this type of business is an awesome feat!

The next time you have a project, call us and see why over 65% of our revenue each year is from repeat and referral business!