Sunday Fun Day or was it?

home repairThere is little that can destroy plans for a relaxing Saturday and Sunday quite like discovering you need to do home maintenance. And when I say “need to”, I can guarantee it was essential. My relatives were coming to my house for an lengthy stay and my hot water heater was finished. Done. Finite. Also, my garage door needed to be mended. The one thing I was not prepared for was learning that we needed to have an air quality examination as well. How does that happen? Well, it was my idea. Recently my niece was found to have asthma. Where are the chances they would find this out a few days before their visit? I was my intention to ensure that she wouldn’t be exposed to the common problems homes have in hot, muggy temperatures. Namely mold. Asthma flourishes in specific circumstances and mold is big cause. Because I had asthma as a kid, I know how miserable it can be when it flares up. Surely, I wanted to make certain that she didn’t have to tangle with any triggered symptoms. Rather quickly, however, we recognized that mold was not the sole thing I had to be worried about.

Granted, I have never been one to pay close attention to those foolish commercials about old structures causing mesothelioma from law offices that seem like unethical attorneys, at best, and charlatans at worst. In that moment, though, when faced at the prospect of hiring a mold inspector, I wish I had. I thumbed through the yellow pages (well, the Internet, but still…) to find someone I figured was reputable. When the mold removal specialist came to inspect my house, he discussed doing assessments for asbestos as well. Oh how I wished I had spent a time paying attention to those silly commercials or at least had my husband around. He was way on business, but as a general contractor, he sure would have come in handy and definitely has more knowledge of these kinds of things than I do. I am a sales rep and apart from partnering with these certified asbestos removal inspectors to generate leads through a digital marketing strategy, I could not tell anyone the first thing about the business.

There are assessments used to figure out if a home or other building has hazardous asbestos, much the same way one would test for mold. If the chemical is discovered, there is an entire method designed to remove it. Luckily, we did not need to go that route as my place was safe and sound. My home got a clean bill of health: no mold and no asbestos. It was not all rosy news though. In the meantime, there were still some complications with the water heater and garage door. The final verdict? Well, it turned out that the water heater was broken but it was a simple and cheap remedy. Instead of being switched out, we had a specialist come out and service it. That, my husband was able to determine over the phone. Quick and effortless. The garage though? That was a whole different story.

On his way to his business trip, my husband unintentionally backed into the garage door. How does that happen? In his haste to get away from his in-laws, I’m sure. As this happened early in the day, he was not intoxicated and he has not started any new medications. Simply, it was a simple case of setting the car in reverse when he intended to put it in drive. Again, I say in jest that his haste to get away …

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