Avoid these home nightmares this Halloween

Before you get too carried away carving pumpkins and watching horror movies, why not check your home for hidden horrors first? Most of the really spine-tingling home problems at this time of year are easy to prevent. So join us for a look at how to banish these nerve-wracking nuisances before they get too scary.

Ghastly gutters and deadly drains

Now autumn’s in full swing and the leaves are falling, it’s worth checking your gutters and your drains. Why? Because water damage to your home can be a bigger headache than ghouls, ghosts and goblins. To check your drainage, just wait for a good downpour. Then dig out your wellies and a brolly and take a walk around your home. If water’s spilling from your gutters or flowing through gaps, it’s a sign that you need to get them sorted. Most of the time a gutter-clearing company will clear blockages to get your home ready for the winter rains. They can often carry out simple fixes too, like reconnecting sections that have come apart or re-fixing a bracket. Before you dry off, check out all your grids and gully pots too. They tend to block less often, but can cause total chaos if they’re not working during a storm. You can sometimes pop the lid to clear things out yourself, but anything worse will need a drainage expert.

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What’s haunting your heating?

When’s the last time you had your boiler serviced? Most boiler manufacturers recommend once a year to keep things running smoothly. Why? It helps clean out soot and waste products that build up inside your boiler, and heating engineers will also replace worn-out parts before they break. This keeps your boiler healthy and also lets it run more efficiently, using less fuel and cutting your heating costs. An expert will also check your boiler’s venting properly and burning cleanly – which means it’s not emitting dangerous carbon monoxide into your home. So who ya gonna call? We’d suggest a heating engineer.

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Manky mould and green slime

Cooler weather and central heating can work together to summon an unwanted presence in your home: mould. It’s because water from warm air condenses on cold surfaces like walls and windows and, if left unchecked, it can start growing mould spores. These unwelcome intruders show up as black or green spots on walls, ceilings and furniture, and black stains around your bath and shower. And if they get too bad, they can start affecting your health. Often you can fix it with a simple extractor fan. These bathroom and kitchen essentials move warm and humid air out of your house before it condenses, making for a cheap and simple fix. If you’re still having problems, you might want to talk to an insulation expert. Condensation often happens when a house has been unevenly insulated – either from dodgy installation or different levels of insulation in different places.

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Don’t get a shock

Are your electrics giving you spooky signs? Problems like fizzing sockets, brownouts and tripped circuit breakers probably aren’t restless spirits trying to send you a message. They’re more likely to be worn electrics or a previous owner’s dodgy DIY. It’s not just damage to your TV, laptop or appliances you need to worry about: there’s a real risk of electrical shock or fire. That’s why we suggest getting an electrical health-check from a qualified electrician. They’ve got the skills and the kit to trace any faults, and they can advise on how to make things safe and bring them up to modern standards. So this year, why not finally get it sorted?

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