Winter preparations
  1. Ice Melts: Stock up on ice melts and prepare your driveway/entrance for upcoming snow and frozen ground.
  2. Exterior Faucets: Turn off exterior faucets, remove hoses, and guard them with a cold-weather faucet cover. This will prevent the pipes from freezing when colder temperatures occur.
  3. Interior Pipes: To protect pipes from freezing inside your home, It’s recommended that you set your heat to 62 degrees Fahrenheit when you’re on vacation or when you leave the home for an extended period of time.
  4. Test your detectors: Test your Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors regularly.
  5. Seal the cracks: Caulk around holes and openings to help prevent cold air from seeping in. Install weather stripping and seals around openings such as windows, doors.
  6. Stop the slips: Keep driveways and sidewalks clear of ice and snow and repair any issues with steps and handrails.
  7. Clear the yard: Keep the trees trimmed and remove dead branches and debris from your yard. Ice, snow, and wind can weaken trees and cause branches to fall, and potentially damage your home, car, or even yourself and others.
  8. Plan for Power Outages: Be ready to have other heat sources or even ways to heat your food, water, and a plan B.
  9. Plan for Snow Removal: Having Ice melts is good but sometimes not enough, make sure you have shovels any items that will help you be ready.~ The County is not responsible for clearing our community road.
  10. Pets: Remember Dogs and cats feel the cold outside too 🙂 Do not leave them or walk them for an extended time and keep them warm, Don’t forget to clean after them too.
  11. Dryer Fans:

    To avoid dangerous mold and humidity, ventilate the laundry room as much as possible. We have a special timer that controls that in every laundry closet, make sure it is functional and in working order. In addition, open the door and windows to increase air circulation especially when the washer or dryer are running as these appliances generate heat and increase humidity levels while running when possible.

    Inspect your clothes dryer to make sure the ventilation hose exhausts outside of your home. If you suspect that it doesn’t, hire a professional to inspect the ductwork and the exhaust system. Keep your ducts clean and lint-free.

  12. Help your neighbors: We are a community and we are strong together, help your neighbors who need it, assist if needed, let’s be here for each other.  
Summer Preparations
  1. Follow Grilling Requirements: Make sure there is a six-foot distance between the grill and any buildings or trees. Keeping this wide distance reduces the chance that anything will catch fire. If your association has guidelines, please ensure that the guideline is followed. Keep a large water bottle or a fire extinguisher by the grill. This way, if something does catch fire, you can put it out quickly. Keep grill lids closed when you’re not tending to your food. You’ll avoid flare-ups this way. And, covering flames also cuts off oxygen, so fires are less likely to become uncontainable.
  2. Don’t Post Travel Details on Social Media: Social media is great when it comes to sharing information with friends and family. However, it’s important to not post travel details on social media. By indicating someone is on vacation or away from their home for a prolonged period of time it lets the Internet know the house will be vacant. This increases the risk of a possible break-in.

    For those who do go on vacation, it is recommended to let the HOA know ahead of time. This way, if something strange happens around the unit the HOA will know it isn’t from those who live inside. Residents may also want to consider investing in timers for their appliances and lighting. This way, lights can turn on and off at different times of the day, in order to give the appearance of someone home.

  3. Pet Safety: Hot southern days can be dangerous for anyone, including pets. Here are a few reminders for residents:

    • Keep pets inside during extreme temps.
    • Make sure there is an abundance of cool drinking water.
    • Be mindful of sun-absorbing sidewalks that can easily burn paws.
    • Try to keep your pets active so they don’t get cabin fever by walking them in the early morning or late afternoon hours.
  4. Sun Safety: Stay hydrated. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and keep track of how much you drink, especially if you’re spending the day outside. It is good practice to drink a cup of water (8 ounces) before you even go out into the heat! Wear sunscreen.
  5. Wilderness and Wildlife Safety: Be aware of your environment. Always scan the area for large dirt mounds, a clear sign of fire ants. Snakes love to hide in brush, wood, and piled-up debris, so be vigilant in areas that have any of these. Care for your yard. Regular maintenance lowers the chance that wildlife will come into your yard. You’ll want to keep the lawn clean and treat mounds with pesticides. 

 

 

Trash & Recycling

It’s something that everyone does, sometimes every day – taking out the trash.  Though it’s not something we often think much about, improper trash disposal can lead to unnecessary messes and problems for members of your community.  Here are some tips for keeping garbage properly contained and community trash areas clean.

  1. Tie it up. Make sure all of your garbage is properly contained and in a tied trash bag. Having your trash bag tightly sealed will not only keep odors contained, it will also ensure that no garbage falls out.  No one likes having papers, old food, or other gross garbage blowing around the neighborhood.  It brings down the property value and the overall aesthetic of your community.
  2. Keep it enclosed. Place all of your trash completely inside the dumpster or fully enclosed in your garbage can. This will help to reduce odors and prevent unsightly garbage from being seen around your neighborhood.  Rules like this may seem trivial, but they are intended to improve community aesthetics and protect homeowners.  Trash that is easily accessible attracts wildlife looking for food and thieves who go through trash in search of personal documents.  Plus, your waste disposal company may even not collect trash that is not contained in a proper receptacle.
  3. Follow the rules. If your community utilizes individual garbage cans for each residence (as opposed to community dumpsters), be sure to follow all HOA guidelines for when to take out the can and when to bring it in. These timetables aren’t arbitrary, though it may seem so.  They are designed to keep trashcans out of sight, out of the road, and out of your way.  Also, like we mentioned above, rules to keep trash out of sight are in place to keep wildlife and thieves away. If necessary, ask for variance on trash rules that you find yourself unable to meet.  For example, if you work off-peak hours and require additional time to bring in/take out trash cans.  By asking for variance, you won’t have to risk getting in trouble with the HOA and can still comply with the rules.
  4. Never put hazardous waste in the trash. This includes batteries, paint, electronic devices, fluorescent lamps and tubes, and flammable items. To find out where and how you can safely dispose of these items, as well as a list of other items that shouldn’t be put in the trash, visit earth911.com.
  5. Mind the recycling protocols. Keep recycling bins free of anything and everything that is non-recyclable.  If in doubt as to whether or not something is recyclable, read the label, look it up on the Internet, or err on the side of caution and throw it out.  Loads that are contaminated cannot be serviced.  When you put non-recyclable items in the recycling bin, you increase costs for everyone and risk getting into trouble with your local waste management company.  If the problems are continued, it’s even possible that you’ll lose the opportunity to have recycling in your community.

Following HOA rules regarding trash disposal will ensure that your community remains clean and free from unnecessary debris.  The rules that are in place are often very reasonable and not time consuming.  If everyone follows the guidelines, your neighborhood will remain clean and will continue to be a place that you’re proud to call home.

For additional questions about managing your HOA community, contact HOA@tambarkcorner.com