Thoughts From Kaufman Homes

We are proud to present to you our affiliate company, Cascade Microbe free solutions, a Clear Pro Certified team member, whose mission is to mitigate and destroy harmful and deadly microbes existing in abundance in our living environment. With the present flu epidemic spreading so quickly in America, we felt this was a great time to present a very effective microbe killing process.

You Need To Protect Your Home

In today's world of ever changing health concerns, it is imperative the American public do everything in its power to help protect our living environment, which includes our homes, businesses, and any high touch surfaces. The news media and the Center for Disease Control has made it very clearthe newest strain of influenza (flu) is spreading  rampant.  It is now classified as a pandemic in many states and has cost the lives of Americans of all ages.  The news article in this link, here, explains the ins and outs of how this is effecting us all, what to look out for, and what we can do to protect ourselves and loved ones to the greatest extent possible. The standard methods currently  suggested to combat this epidemic, are: to promote the flu shot, encourage people to increase washing of hands and  quarantine people with this very serious flu virus. The good news is there is much more that can be done to help protect our living environment, which harbors and transmits some of the World’s toughest and deadliest microbes.  Cascade Microbe Free Solutions, provides products, when applied on surfaces, becomes an ongoing killing system which continually and collectively, for an extended period of time, attracts and destroy dangerous microbes.

Dean and Duane Kaufman, owners of Kaufman Homes, are excited to announce we have developed and will be operating a new company called Kaufman’s Home Maintenance. We have for many years observed people struggling with maintaining their homes as they don’t always know what to do, how to do it and who to call when they need things done.  Good news! This new company was developed to relieve the stress of your past struggles!

Kaufman's Home Maintenance, is a professional, full service company dedicated to maintaining your home from top-to-bottom, inside-and-out. Our trained professional technicians use skills to service and maintain and observation skills to spot problems or potential problems and finally documenting, suggesting and providing solutions.

Kaufman Home’s success in remodeling has been greatly enhanced with five highly skilled technicians who each have fully equipped trucks allowing them to do all phases of construction at the highest skill level.

In remodeling and repairs, one of the most difficult things to do is to repair cracks and patches on drywall due to settling issues, leaks or matching in an old section into new construction.  Textures need to match, new and old must be feathered in to blend and when the painting is finished the patch must disappear into the original wall or ceiling.

Drywall patching and texturing is an art form best done by a trained and skilled drywall technician.  At Kaufman Homes, all of our remodel and repair technicians are well trained in patching and matching drywall and making the paint blend. They have available the best equipment, including a revolutionary power sander with a dust collection system and they all utilize the same time tested drywall products along with proven techniques.

Dripping faucets, chipping paint, overflowing gutters, clogged vents, cracked seals and a sagging roof … ah, the joys of owning your own home!

Regular home maintenance solves these problems and protects the value, condition and safety of your home, but keeping your home properly maintained can be a major pain. Even the most-well intentioned homeowner lets preventative maintenance projects slide only to face bigger and costlier problems down the line.

The torrential downpour in January of 2012 caused a lot of headaches for homeowners and businesses in Salem.  I am sure there could be many stories written of instances where the extreme wet weather caused varying degrees of problems.

I was personally aware of a happening where a friend of mine had a good part of their back yard slide down and into the yard of the home below.  This was a steep lot with a lot of fill dirt pushed up to the home in a steep angle. The cause of the slide was a leaky and partially broken water pipe that was out of sight out of mind and no one saw the leak.  As it sprayed out over a portion of the backyard it soaked the ground and combined with the huge rain, gravity and the extreme weight caused the ground to give away.

As a follow up to our article at the beginning of December 2011 on, preventing and minimizing fires in your home I thought it would be good to include a very important article on wood burning in your home.  With the increasing natural gas and fuel oil heating costs, many homeowners are turning to wood burning stoves to keep their home warm. Beware, that while you are saving money, you may increase your risk of a home fire.

I personally had an experience at my home a few years ago with a small fire that could have been disastrous. A candle up on a pedestal was not extinguished before going to bed and the candle in the glass container burned to just liquid and broke the glass spilling the hot candle fluid on top of the table cloth starting a big fire.  Luckily our fire alarm worked very quickly and let us know where the fire was.  I grabbed the fire extinguisher in the bedroom and ran out with the flames shooting to the ceiling.  I snuffed the fire out quickly by covering it with a nice tablecloth (cheaper than a new home) my backup was the extinguisher. The only damage we had was a little suet on the ceiling.  My dry natural Christmas tree was only a few feet away from the fire.  This was a very good lesson to put out all candles, make sure the natural Christmas tree is kept moist and last but not least we have for the most part changed to battery operated candles.

Below is a list of items that I feel are really important and hope you find this useful.

It is always wonderful when we can learn from the knowledge of others gathered from experiences. One thing I have learned, from being in business for many years, is that somewhere someone has already figured out something we want to know and are usually willing to share. Add to this list and pass on to others!

1. Wax paper is endlessly useful. Use it: To catch grated cheese, to place under seasoned flour for breading or spices for blackening, to tear into strips to slip under a cake you are icing, to cover a dish you are microwaving.
2. If you store your best silver in self-sealing plastic bags, it will tarnish much more slowly.
3. Never use disinfectants to clean the fridge, foods will pick up taste and odor.
4. Freezers run more efficiently when they're three-quarters or more full. When provisions drop, fill milk cartons or jugs with water and put them in the freezer to take up empty space.
5. For a fresh smelling fridge, keep a box of baking soda, a can filled with charcoal or dried coffee grounds or a cotton ball soaked in vanilla extract inside of it.
6. Drain de-clogger: 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup vinegar. Pour baking soda down drain first then follow with the vinegar. Close drain and let sit until bubbling has stopped then follow with a bucket of hot boiling water.
7. Refrigerate candles for several hours before lighting; it will cause fewer drips.
8. Have you ever peeled garlic or handled it and your hands smell to high heaven? The next time that happens, take any stainless steel bowl, pan or other stainless steel kitchen gadget and rub your hands on it. It will take away the smell of garlic.
9. Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simply sprinkle *pure* peppermint extract on the items in your garage you don't want the mice in or on.
10. Spread some ground cinnamon where you think the ants are coming in to the house.
11. Minimize bacon shrinkage by running bacon under water before frying. This reduces shrinkage by about 50%
12. Always season your food while you are cooking. The seasonings work while the food is cooking and will not be the same if you add it at the table. And, always salt your meat before cooking will not become tough-It will bring out the juice and flavors.
13. Have Wooden Floors?
    Tired of your rocking chair making marks on those shiny floors? Glue some felt weather stripping underneath the rockers! Should stop some of the creaking, too!
14. Don’t forget to remove the emergency starting batteries in your gas fireplace to prevent corrosion of the battery case.  Batteries should only be re-installed when in an emergency you need to light the fireplace.
15. Always have a multi-purpose fire extinguisher accessible on each floor and especially in the bedrooms.Make sure the light bulbs in all your fixtures are the correct wattage.  Excess wattage over the recommendation may cause overheating of fixture.  When buying light bulbs buy 130 volt bulbs instead of the standard 120 volt because they will last much longer.
16. Have readily available the phone #’s of a plumber, electrician, heating contractor, and a roofer.
17. Review your fire escape plan with your family.
18. Test to See if You Have a Leaky Toilet 
    1. Add food coloring to the toilet tank (not the toilet bowl) Do not flush for 30 minutes. If the water in the toilet bowl changes color, you have a leaking toilet.
19. Unstuck sticky windows by opening them and rubbing wax or spraying silicone into the tracks on both sides. Move the window up and down several times to work the wax or silicone lubricant into the frame.
20. Protect all your electrical appliances from power surges and lightning by installing a whole house surge protector to be done by a licensed electrical contractor.
21. Replace all extension cords that have become brittle, worn or damaged.
22. Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.  Excess dust or insects on the inside may cause a false alarm.
23. The average life span for household appliances:
    • Central Air Conditioner 15 Years
    • Room Air Conditioner 12 year
    • Clothes Dryer 18 years
    • Washing Machine 13 years
    • Dishwasher 12 years
    • Refrigerator 20 years
    • Upright Freezer 20 years
    • Kitchen Stove 18 Years
    • Water Heater 13 years

If you have additional household living tips we would appreciate if you could This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it them to Kaufman Homes!

The changing world of mandated new lighting energy efficient bulbs

At Kaufman Homes we have found Customers of new homes or remodels experiencing the changing of now partially mandated more energy efficient type lighting. Change is not always easy but eventually energy efficient lighting and bulbs will be a way of life that we will get used and the payback will be lowered energy costs.

We get various questions from homeowners regarding the maintenance of their granite countertops. Granite is perceived to be durable and maintenance free, and in most cases that applies to most stone counters, but not all granite is the same. Although granite is extremely hard, some of the minerals in it may be very soft, depending on the type of granite.  The type of finish may affect how often the countertop should be cleaned and sealed. A polished finish is more desirable in the kitchen because it is easier to keep clean. Other finishes, such as, honed, flamed, sand blasted and brushed are available but will require more attention to the maintenance of the countertop. Knowing how and when to clean and seal your granite countertops will ensure they will maintain their beauty well beyond the life of your home.

The easiest way to keep your stone looking great is to avoid bad habits that may damage it. Granite, marble, travertine, limestone, soapstone, quartz and solid surface are similar in many ways, but their differences require varying degrees of maintenance.