LENNAR CARES

Spring Maintenance Tips

Lennar — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:00:55 +0000

With spring just around the corner, you may be starting to think about your annual spring home cleaning routine. For many, this is an annual ritual that consists of cleaning the interior of their home from top to bottom. Besides cleaning the interior of your Lennar home, this is a great time to focus on inspecting your home’s exterior, as well.

We have focused on issues pertaining to your home’s exterior in previous posts, including Caring for Exterior Walls, Caulk – A Valuable Tool for Home Maintenance, Caring for Your Landscaping, Caring for Your Home’s Exterior, Mold and Efflorescence, Maintaining Proper Drainage, Caring for Your Flatwork, Landscaping – Getting Started, What Are Weep Holes?, and Hurricane Shutters. These are great reference tools for each of these subjects, but what about an all-around plan?

We thought it would be helpful to provide a checklist of specific items to inspect at this time of year – and we found one at ConsumerReports.org. This convenient Spring checklist for the home lists 8 major areas to focus on, describing what to look for, making recommendations, and when to call in the professionals.

Caring for Exterior Walls

Lennar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:06:06 +0000

Just like the interior walls, the exterior walls of your Lennar home may form hairline cracks on the surface or in the mortar joints. These cracks should be addressed quickly to help prevent any possible water intrusion. To ensure that cracks are handled quickly, you should inspect the exterior surface as part of your regular home maintenance plan. While inspecting the exterior of your home, be sure not to confuse cracks with weep holes, which are intentionally included as a means of ensuring proper ventilation and drainage.

This section of the Lennar Home Care Video focuses on your exterior walls, how they will change, what to look for, and how to care for them. Click here to view this 2-1/2 minute video to learn more about caring for the interior walls of your Lennar home.

As always, if you need help or have a question about your home, please contact our Lennar Customer Care Team for assistance.

20 Tips to Live and Clean Green

Lennar — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:58:03 +0000

It’s that time of year again: spring cleaning time. Time to clean, freshen up and declutter your house. This year though, as you get ready to bring out the chemicals and toss out old unused items, think Green! Lennar has some great tips to help you tackle your chores in a way that’ll be great for your home and for the environment.

Forget ammonia-based window cleaners! The windows in your home can be effectively cleaned with 4 tablespoons lemon juice mixed with a half gallon of water. Other effective cleaners for glass and mirrors are rubbing alcohol and witch hazel. +
Vinyl – Dipping a cloth in straight lemon juice and rubbing it onto the stained area can remove stains on vinyl items such as recliners or flooring. +
Tarnished copper or brass – Use salt, vinegar and flour. Make a paste using equal parts of the three ingredients; rub the paste onto the brass or copper item with a soft cloth. Cover the entire surface and let the whole thing dry out (this will take about an hour). Wipe off the dried paste with a clean, soft cloth. +
Wood polish – Mix 2 parts olive oil with 1 part lemon juice and apply it to your furniture using a soft cloth. The combination gives your wood furniture a nice smell and a sparkling shine. +
If your wood-burning fireplace has gathered soot and smoke smudges around its exterior, you can spruce it up by applying a paste of cream of tartar and water. Rub the paste into the stains, let it dry, then scrub it off. +
Cleaning bare floors – Your basic vinegar and water solution is really the perfect choice for cleaning most types of bare floors in your home. Mix 1 cup vinegar with 1 gallon warm water and mop it onto a ceramic tile, linoleum, vinyl, or wood floor. There is no need to rinse afterward — saving both time and water. If your vinyl or linoleum floor looks a little dull after cleaning, you can give it a shine by mopping it over again with straight club soda. Try not to saturate wood floors with the vinegar and water solution. Use a light touch; the mixture will make your floor shiny and remove any greasy buildup. +
Use natural fiber rags and sponges – Avoid disposable paper towels. *
Keep mold and mildew at bay with a spray of 1 cup water to 1 drop tea tree oil. *
Consider using simple non toxic cleaners like baking soda, lemon, vinegar, essential oils and borax. *
Use old clothing and sheets for dusting and cleaning rags, rather than paper towels. **
If you use mothballs, consider replacing them with a more natural alternative. Try cheesecloth-wrapped cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, or whole cloves. **
Instead of air fresheners, try dabbing essential oils like lavender or citrus on cotton balls and placing them discreetly around your home. *
Collect your unused items and clothing and separate into piles for donation to your local thrift store or community garage sale.*
Recycle old paint, oil and electronics at appropriate locations in your community. *
Eliminate the need for chemical fabric softeners by adding ¼ cup of vinegar to your washing machine’s rinse cycle. **
Let your houseplants do the cleaning! Some houseplants—such as Boston ferns, English ivy, rubber plants, and peace lilies—can help clean your indoor air by absorbing toxic chemicals. **
Pour some baking soda down a drain then add some vinegar to clean out slow running kitchen or bathroom drains. Finish up by pouring a kettle of hot water mixed with salt or a half cup of lemon juice down the drains to keep them odor free. ++
Baking soda by itself can remove odors from carpets (just sprinkle it on your carpets ten minutes before you vacuum), or make it into a paste by mixing it with a little water to scrub counters, tubs and toilets. ++
For cleaning kitchens and walls, use a cloth dipped in hot water, baking soda, and a little bit of dish soap. ^^
Clear your drains with a mixture of 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup salt, and ¼ cup cream of tartar. Pour ¼ cup of this mixture into the drain, followed by a pot of boiling water (cream of tartar is the common name for potassium hydrogen tartrate, a salt often used in cooking.) ^^

For more information on Green Cleaning and Green Living, visit these helpful sites.

* http://www.therenewableplanet.com
+ http://home.howstuffworks.com
** http://www.greenamericatoday.org
++ http://www.doityourself.com
^^ http://www.greendaily.com

Caring for Interior Wall Surfaces

Lennar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:16:50 +0000

As you settle in to your new Lennar home, you will probably start paying even more attention to the details that surround you on a daily basis. As you settle in, so does your home and certain things may happen, such as minor settlement cracks and nail pops. These are normal and are due to the expansion and contraction of the materials in your home.

This section of the Lennar Home Care Video focuses on your interior walls, what to expect, and how to care for them. Click here to view this 6-1/2 minute video to learn more about caring for the interior walls of your Lennar home.

As always, if you need help or have a question about your home, please contact our Lennar Customer Care Team for assistance.

Caring for Your Appliances

Lennar — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:59:34 +0000

Something that is one of the luxuries of modern day living is the appliances that you will find in your Lennar home. Whether your home came with a stove, dishwasher and refrigerator, or various other appliances, many of us have come to rely on these “necessities” of life. Like the other components in your Lennar home, appliances need care and maintenance, as well.

This section of the Lennar Home Care Video describes the appliances you may find in your Lennar home, how to care for them, and what the warranty policy is when it comes to these items. Also included in this section are gas fireplaces. Click here to view this 3-1/2 minute video to learn more about these topics.

As always, if you need help or have a question about your home, please contact our Lennar Customer Care Team for assistance.

How to Handle Ice Dams

Lennar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:25:32 +0000

With the recent extreme wintery weather conditions in various parts of the country, we have been asked how to handle some of the symptoms, such as roof leaks.

Your local building codes are based upon the average weather patterns for your particular area. For instance, insulation R-values and roof flashing requirements are described in the code book for your area. These building codes are determined by the government and are based on historical data. While many hours go into planning the proper codes for each area, weather systems can sometimes surprise us, as is the case with hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and other severe weather.

One phenomenon that can occur during times of heavy snowfall is called an ice dam. The University of Minnesota Extension website describes an ice dam as: “…a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas.”

If snow and ice are on your roof, they may cause your roof to leak. Removing snow from your roof is considered a homeowner maintenance item, as is shoveling your walkway. When the snow on your roof reaches the point that water begins leaking into your home, it becomes a necessity for you to take corrective action. Removing snow from roofs is common in areas of the country that experience heavy snowfalls, such as New York, New Jersey, and Colorado. While snow removal is considered a homeowner maintenance item, we encourage you to contact an expert to assist you with what can potentially be a dangerous task.

In addition to ice dams at the edge of the roof, any openings such as roof vents should be cleared of snow and ice to help prevent water intrusion.

If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact our Lennar Customer Care team.

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Caring for Your Floors

Lennar — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:54:35 +0000

Floors come in many different colors and styles – and each one requires its own special type of care. Our Lennar team put together some great tips on taking care of the floors in your Lennar home, as well as some general information about the different flooring components we use.

The Lennar Home Care Video includes a specialized section that focuses on care and maintenance of various types of flooring, including hardwood, carpet, tile and grout, and vinyl. To find out more about these topics, click here to view this 6-1/2 minute portion of the Lennar Home Care video.

As always, if you need help or have a question about your home, please contact our Lennar Customer Care Team for assistance.

Organizing Your Garage

Lennar — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:50:01 +0000

A great feature in many Lennar homes is the garage. While this space is designed with automobiles in mind, it has come to be used for many other things. Unfortunately, this mindset that the garage is so multi-purpose can sometimes lead to an accumulation of “stuff”.

Our Lennar team decided to search out some ideas for how to keep this space neat and organized. We found some very helpful articles and decided to share these two with you. Camille VanAarle shares 4 easy-to-follow steps in How to Organize Your Garage and HGTV.com breaks it down in this comprehensive article entitled Garage Organization Made Simple.

If you have other organizing tips that you would like to share, please leave a comment or contact us. We’d love to hear from you!

Attics, Crawlspaces, Basements, and Sump Pits

Lennar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:10:26 +0000

Your Lennar home has areas that are common to many homes such as the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, and the living room or dining room. In addition to these areas, your home likely has an attic, and may have a crawlspace or a basement, as well. These areas come with their own particular features that require attention.

We have created the Lennar Home Care Video to help answer some of the questions that our Lennar homeowners have posed over the years. In this section of the Lennar Home Care Video, attics, crawlspaces, basements, and sump pits are described. Click here to view this 3 minute video to learn more about these topics.

As always, if you need help or have a question about your home, please contact our Lennar Customer Care Team for assistance.

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How to Organize a Mudroom

Lennar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:01:25 +0000

One area of the home that is often overlooked is the mudroom – the area that greets your family and friends as they enter your home. Holding everything from jackets, shoes, boots, and hats to sports equipment, the mudroom has become the ultimate storage area. Considering that it’s one of the smallest rooms in many homes, it can be difficult to control everything that gets packed into this catch-all space. However, it can be done – and done with style.

Our Lennar team set out to find some tips on gaining control of this special room and we came up with a couple of great articles. For some basic suggestions about organization, furniture and storage solutions, check out Mudroom Organization Ideas by Prerna Malik. And for some good ideas and a great photo sampling of mudrooms, Better Homes and Gardens’ Make the Most of Your Mudroom is a must-see.

If you have any thoughts about organization – or any other topic of interest that you would like to share, please leave a comment or send us a message. We’d love to hear from you!