Where germs hide in your Keller home's kitchen

Your Keller home's kitchen may look clean, but here’s the dirt on what’s really happening. Although a quick daily clean might keep some of the bacteria at bay, it’s important to remember that germs are lurking in the dark corners often overlooked! Since the kitchen tends to be where family and friends congregate, not only is it alarming to discover that things may not be as clean as you thought they were, bacteria can come in contact with the food you eat. That raises your risk of getting sick.

These are three places in the kitchen where germs like to hide, along with things you can do to clean up your act.

1. Your refrigerator

It’s true, germs can and do hang out inside your refrigerator, especially in the meat and vegetable compartments. In the NSF study, these tested positive for E.coli, salmonella or listeria 36 percent of the time. To keep food safe, discard food that’s past its prime, and maintain a consistent temperature level in the fridge, ideally between 40 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. You should also get in the habit of regularly cleaning refrigerator door handles and meat and vegetable drawers!

When it’s time to replace your fridge, consider a smart refrigerator with a freeze panel, which acts like a barrier keeping cold air in where it matters the most — inside the refrigerator, extending the life cycle of your food. Many new features will keep food surrounded with fresh, cool air, so everything stays fresher, longer.

2. Your dishwashing station

Be honest. How long has that kitchen towel been hanging on that loop by the kitchen sink? A week? A month? Can’t remember? If you're not careful about how often you wash your towels, your kitchen rags could become a breeding ground for dangerous, stomach-sickening germs. According to researchers from the University of Mauritius, towels can develop some nasty bacteria — the kind that causes foodborne illnesses — when they’re used for a full month.

Yuck! And don’t forget the kitchen sink sponge. Other research suggests this so-called cleaning tool harbors some of the nastiest germs, with three-quarters of them contaminated with coliform bacteria, according to a study completed by NSF International. To keep things cleaner, get into the habit of grabbing a clean towel every few days. Sponges should not be used for longer than two weeks.

3. Your food prep surfaces

Whether you’re making your lunchtime sandwich or chopping veggies for dinner, don’t be deceived by the spotless appearance of your countertops, sinks and cutting boards. The NSF study discovered that fecal coliform has a presence on these surfaces — 45 percent of kitchen sinks, 32 percent of countertops and 18 percent of cutting boards. Even if these are wiped or rinsed daily, it’s important to take the extra step to keep bacteria from lingering on these surfaces where they can contaminate your food.

Before you gather your ingredients, wash all meal prep areas with hot, soapy water. Now that you know what to do to combat hidden bacteria lurking in your kitchen, you can prepare meals and feed your family with much greater peace of mind. Invest in your own health and safety.

Whether it's selling your home or finding a new one, we have designed this site so that you can quickly and easily locate the information you are looking for. The Grove Team's client-centered approach results in the best possible outcome for you. Please contact us now to begin the process of achieving your dreams in home ownership. Call 817-337-0000 for Keller Home's for sale in Keller ISD.

Keep pests out of your Keller home's chimney

As temperatures drop, many people will start spending more time in the warmth of their Keller homes. Animals don’t have the luxury of extra heating and take whatever refuge they can find, making chimneys a convenient place for pests to seek shelter.

The Grove Team has some helpful information to share so that homeowners can be better prepared to address critters that find their way into chimneys.

What kinds of pests can end up in your chimney?

If you hear rustling or scratching coming from your chimney, some type of rodent may be the culprit. Your visitors could be squirrels, which are excellent climbers and can be found in all sorts of places within your home, from attics to crawl spaces to wall voids. Or your chimney might become the den of choice for a female raccoon birthing her young.

Rats are yet another option. Norway rats can enter this area of your home from the ground floor and nest on little shelves inside your chimney. And while roof rats, a different species of rat found mostly found along the coasts, are more likely to nest in your attic, they can also find their way into your chimney.

Rodents aren’t the only animals that can end up in this space, either. Flapping sounds or chirps indicate that a bird may be nesting in your chimney. It may not look much like a tree to you, but to certain species of birds, your house’s chimney could look very similar to the hollow trees in which they like to build their nests.

How do you keep pests out of your chimney?

Ideally, you’ll want to set up some preventative measures to reduce the chances of a mother raccoon or other pest in your chimney. Installing a chimney cap can help keep birds, raccoons and other large pests out. When it comes to pests like rats and mice, you should focus on sealing smaller entry points, as a rat can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! It can be difficult to spot these access points from the ground, so you should have a professional inspect your roof and chimney for possible holes.

What do you do when a pest is already inside?

Pest control measures vary depending on what kind of animal has entered your chimney, but the general rule is that you shouldn’t light a fire or try to smoke the animal out. Pests like raccoons can attack when they feel threatened, and rodents can spread ectoparasitic insect pests like ticks and fleas, so you don’t want to come into direct contact with whatever animal has decided to seek shelter in your home. Leave the actual removal to professionals, like Terminex or DFW Wildlife Control, who can safely and effectively remove pests that have taken up residence in your chimney.

Whether it's selling your home or finding a new one, we have designed this site so that you can quickly and easily locate the information you are looking for. The Grove Team's client-centered approach results in the best possible outcome for you. Please contact us now to begin the process of achieving your dreams in home ownership. Call 817-337-0000 for Keller Home's for sale in Keller ISD.

4 winter preparations for Keller homeowners

Preparing for winter might be time consuming, but it's certainly a superior option to waiting until the December and January to address factors that are unavoidable for Keller homeowners. By following the preparation tips below, not only can you withstand winter in your Keller home, but you can thrive in it. Sure, the cold weather can bring with it headaches, both literally and figuratively, but having a well prepared home cuts your worries in half, if not even more. Check out 4 winter preparations:

Clean the Gutters

Gutters get clogged during summer because of all of the outdoor activity. This is especially true for homeowners with swimming pools. The problem with clogged gutters during winter is that they can freeze and create iced dams. These dams serve as blockages and hinder your guttter's systematic mechanics. The result is a leak in your Keller home, and one that could be costly in more ways sthan one.

Seal Entry Points

There's water leaks, as is mentioned above, but there's also air leaks. For those who've lived in homes for a while, you understand the nightmare that air leaks can become, not only on your living space's interior comfort, but on your energy bills. By caulking entry points around your home, you can prevent cold air from seeping in and causing your HVAC system to work on overload. 

Furnace Maintenance / Check Up

Get your furnace checked before the cold becomes excessive. It's better to have your furnace checked now while there's still time to prepare. Once in the dead of winter, problems with your furnace can prove to be much more severe. The results can be unlivable interior conditions as well as illness and overall despair. Do yourself and your family a favor and call your local HVAC mainteance inspector.

Let there be Light

Because the days go faster, meaning it gets dark sooner, checking your outdoor lighting, or investing in new ones, can prove worthy down the road. When conditions get cold enough, ice can build up on driveways, walkways, etc. It's much easier to be aware of slippery spots when you can see them. Lighting also helps for nights you're coming home late and it's hard to gain entry to your Keller home's front door while fiddling with the keys.

Whether it's selling your home or finding a new one, we have designed this site so that you can quickly and easily locate the information you are looking for. The Grove Team's client-centered approach results in the best possible outcome for you. Please contact us now to begin the process of achieving your dreams in home ownership. Call 817-337-0000 for Keller Home's for sale in Keller ISD.

Luxury accessories for Keller homeowners

Accessories bring a sense of purpose into a Keller home's space and, with thoughtful selection, can transform a room into an elevated experience. When used creatively and in unexpected ways, they add the perfect finishing touch to a space and can transform the overall aesthetic and design. From hardware to purposefully placed décor, integrate accessories artfully and functionally to achieve beauty and balance for an even more luxurious space.

A balanced perspective

Assess the space and identify underutilized areas of the room — opportunities to bring a design to life. Choose accessories featuring a variance of shapes, sizes, colors and textures to establish visual and spatial equilibrium. Boldly patterned pillows add dimension among solid tones, while lush flower arrangements effortlessly fill negative space, striking an unexpected balance of comfort and intrigue.

Sophisticated hardware

Complete a luxurious design with sophisticated fixtures that serve as anchoring details, thoughtfully integrated for aesthetics and utility. These necessary pieces add opulence to a room while providing unexpected functionality. Reimagine the use of hardware by adding robe hooks to a walk-in closet for belts or scarves, or to hang clothes. Incorporate an element of surprise by adorning a kitchen space with a towel bar.

Harmonizing accents

Find the perfect blend of tones and textures by sourcing contrasting, but complementary accessories to finalize a design. Contrast an industrial coffee table with an acacia wooden bowl, or furnish a sleek, modern shelf with coarsely textured relics. As inspiration strikes, pursue the unexpected. Fill the space, maintaining a balance of polished and personal, soft and avant-garde, and strong yet fluid elements, adding just the right level of contradiction to create the perfect harmony.

An elevated update

Once a design is complete, statement pieces can have surprising transformative power when updating a space. Select high-end pieces for major impact, such as a bold area rug or an oversized piece of original art to instantly augment a design. Update an existing piece with new drawer knobs for a fresh look, integrating smaller elements that reflect the personality of the space in new ways. From a one-of-a-kind sculpture to a tasteful timepiece, always keep in mind that small-scale updates have the unexpected potential to make a large-scale impression on your Keller home.

Whether it's selling your home or finding a new one, we have designed this site so that you can quickly and easily locate the information you are looking for. The Grove Team's client-centered approach results in the best possible outcome for you. Please contact us now to begin the process of achieving your dreams in home ownership. Call 817-337-0000 for Keller Home's for sale in Keller ISD.