RED WALL Property Inspection

Wayne and I insert in every report a reminder to clean your dryer vent and duct every year. I decided to listen to my own exhortation and take care of mine today. Truth be told, I bet it's been five years since it was last tended. This run is just a bit over 12 feet long and only has one bend. Longer or more bends would just make it worse. Use the can as a gauge, but I would estimate there's two gallons of lint that got pulled out. Mea culpa! Clogged vents are a fire hazard and I clearly had one brewing. I found a tear in the line where it passes through the wall and the wall was full of debris too. If the fire started there it would be in the attic easily. I bought my cleaning brush at Home Depot for less than 15 bucks and it took a couple hours since I needed to make a few repairs upon re-assembly. Get yours checked out!

We have been getting a lot of questions concerning smoke alarms lately. In December of 2016, the state Fire Marshall published this handy guide. Take a look and let us know if you have questions.

Hi everyone. This is Wayne with RED WALL. Here is a link to an interesting article about home security.

When performing home inspections, we are always looking for weak security areas and make comments where necessary. Older homes often lack deadbolts or they are not installed properly. I learned a few things in the article and need to make a few improvements around my own home. Be safe :-)

We asked 86 burglars how they broke into homes What burglars said were the biggest deterrents, what didn't stop them and how you can protect your home.

WATER KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT - I love my water :-) Water is life and a cold glass with some hard work or after a run is awesome, BUT when it comes to your home, water can also be the enemy. I get a call or two every year from a panicked home owner wanting me to remind them how to turn off their water.

In every inspection with a 2nd floor laundry, I vaguely describe equipment which can be purchased to recognize a laundry leak and shut off the water to the washing machine. But that's only part of the problem.

Wouldn't it be awesome if there was something to recognize a leak in all the wet areas of your home? What if the water heater leaks? Or a pipe bursts under a sink? How many times have you heard stories of a refrigerator ruining a kitchen floor?

Well, just recently, I ran into the Water Cop system. Not only will the Water Cop system recognize leaks in all these areas (and more), and turn off you water, but it can also send a message to your phone to tell you what happened.

Because Tim and I were interested in the system, we tracked down and met with Greg Neurohr of NW Water Stop, Inc. Greg is the main distributor of the Water Cop system in the NW. Greg demonstrated the equipment and answered our questions. He is very excited about the technology and has already installed the equipment in many homes and businesses. In several cases, the equipment payed for itself within months as leaks were detected and water was shut off before real damage could occur.

So anyway, Tim and I have decided to tell our clients about this system. In our opinion, no home should be without one. If you would like more information, visit the Water Cop website at www.nwwaterstop.com. You can also contact Greg at 503-487-7108.

Watercop automatic water shut-off system A WaterCop automatic water shut-off system will provide your home with round-the-clock indoor flood protection and works with wired and wireless flood sensors, wall switches, and most home security and home automation systems.