Woods Cottage: Caring for a Home in the Forest
Maintaining a Home or Vacation Cottage in the Woodlands
If you're fortunate enough to live in a wooded setting, your home maintenance chores can be quite different from the average suburban home owner. There can be issues with mold on the roof and in the interior when little sunshine makes it through the tall trees. The woodland setting can be delightful with regular viewing of wildlife, but having chipmunks in the walls is no joke. Here are tips for dealing with some of the maintenance requirements of a home in the woods.
If the home is only occupied in the summer, then additional care must be taken to properly store everything and prevent freeze damage in cold climates.
(photo by Virginia Allain)
Removing Moss from a Roof
Need some tips for getting moss off your roof? Here are some videos to show you how.
How to Remove Moss from a Roof
A Pressure Washer Can Save a Lot of Scrubbing
We have one of these and it's great for cleaning your deck of mold or power washing your siding or the roof.
More about Cleaning Moss from a Roof
- The Clean Machine - Why You Need a Pressure Washer
We use a pressure washer to deal with mold on our decks in New Hampshire. With all those trees around, it encourages the growth of mold.
This Is the Old-Fashioned Way to Remove the Moss
Getting Inspired to Clean Inside the Cottage
I'm pretty casual about cleaning during the summer when we are in our cottage. It's deep in the woods and is a marvelous retreat from the world. Towering pine trees and maple trees shade our lot and keep it delightfully cool except for the hottest days.
Those huge fir trees shed pine needles which we track into the cottage. Every so often I sweep those out and feel virtuous about cleaning the house. It's not really house cleaning though and I know it. Therefore, when a visitor is expected, I have to bestir myself and do some real honest-to-goodness house cleaning.
A friend from Missouri flies in tomorrow. This set me off on a belated spring cleaning. I doubt that he will notice that the windowsills are free of dust or that the mold spots are gone from the mini-blinds. I'll know and I'm glad I finally took care of those.
Now I can relapse into my usual slothful summer ways. I putter in the garden, read books, write on the computer and play golf. Clean the house? Not until another guest is expected.
Tell me about your cleaning habits... are you super neat or somewhat sloppy?
What Your Cleaning Style for a Cottage?
Vote in the Poll
Dealing with Dampness in a Woods Cottage
- How to Remove a Musty Smell
A musty smell usually means that there is an infestation of spores and is a general indicator of how you maintain and clean your household. While barely noticeable at first, if left untreated, the odor gets stronger by time. ... - Treat and Prevent Mold and Mildew in Home and Cars -...
Commercial mold sprays are very toxic and can harm you lungs and trigger allergies and asthma. Discover mild, natural home remedies to prevent mold - Top Ways to Prevent Black Mold in Your Home
There are four major factors in mold prevention: Moisture/Dampness, Humidity, Cleanliness, and Ambient Heat Levels. Utilize these steps to prevent black mold from setting up shop in your home!
Coping with Animals in a Woodland Setting - Co-exist when possible, but sometimes stronger action is needed
Common Animal Problems around a Cabin and What to Do about It
- How to Get Rid of Raccoons - Deterrent Methods
This article explains on raccoon deterrent and repellent methods. Raccoons are rather intelligent omnivores that make that can make them a nuisance and pest to many homes. - Bears in your yard
How to keep bears out of your yard so that they will return to their natural habitat. - How to Get Rid of Bats in the Attic and Other Areas ...
Bats are a wonderful asset to nature; however, when it comes to our homes, we prefer them to stay far away. It is a common call for pest and animal control technicians to remove bats from residential properties because they have somehow gained...
Cleaning Log Cabin Exterior - Pressure Washing a Log Cabin
Cleaning Mini-Blinds in a Woods Cabin - Dust and mold become a problem in a closed vacation home
Over the winter months, a closed vacation cottage in the woods becomes dusty. The humidty interacts with the dust and when the cottage is opened in the spring, there is often mold on the mini-blinds. This video shows a simple way to clean them fast. My neighbor used this method and said it worked great.
I tried cleaning with bleach and cotton rags each slat of the mini-blind while it was in place on the window. Very laborious.
Cleaning Mini-Blinds
Storing Gear Like Canoes for the Winter
Storing Outside Items
Get a good supply of tarps in different sizes and some rope. Save these for use year-after-year. Group together deck furniture and cover it with a tarp. Tie it so the tarp won't blow off during winter storms. Use the tarps to cover canoes and kayaks. Again tie everything down securely.
- Tips for Closing a Summer Home
If you're a snowbird with a cottage that gets closed up over the winter, you know there's a lot to take care of. Snowbirds are generally retirees who flit south when winter weather appears. That may not fit you. Perhaps you have a vacation home...
Tarps and Covers - for kayaks, log racks, picnic tables and other items stored outside
Cover Everything with Tarps for the Winter
Protect the Canoe or Kayak with a Cover Like This
Winterizing a Woods Cabin
More Advice for Closing a Cabin or House for the Winter
- How to Close Up a Cabin for the Winter With Cleaning Supplies | eHow.com
Cabins that will be vacant for a long time need to be cleaned in preparation for the winter season. This ensures the cabin will be in good shape when you return the following season. - How to Winterize Septic Systems in Vacant Houses | eHow.com
Imagine returning to your summer cabin after a particularly dreadful and cold winter. You may wonder how the cabin held up in the harsh conditions. Winter can wreak havoc on a home unless it has...
© 2010 Virginia Allain