Get your Home Monsoon Ready – 10 Essential Tips

The monsoon has finally arrived in India, after the sweltering summer, bringing relief for everyone – with the mercury staying low, making for pleasant weather. Sipping hot beverages and watching the rhythmic fall of raindrops is the most beautiful picture of the monsoon season. This season imparts a heavenly beauty to nature, refreshing the soul and mind. However, the rains bring their own challenges for everyone, especially homeowners. 

The monsoon is filled with high humidity, heavy rain and dampness, this can bring about a host of problems. This is the time of the year when everyone looks forward to spending quality time with family and friends. However, monsoon brings with it its own challenges, and so you have to take care of your home to ensure that it is Monsoon Ready.

Use these handy tips to protect your home during the monsoon, so you can make the most of the dreamy weather without having to tackle pests, rust, water damage or costly repairs.

1. Get Rid of Dampness

With the rains, the air becomes even more humid, this can cause dampness everywhere in your flat in Bangalore. Check your apartment to see where the humidity is maximum and install ventilators to resolve the problem. Apart from eliminating dampness, this will also ensure cross-ventilation, giving you and your family fresh air, which is important for health.

Also you can keep some coarse sea salt in each room- it works as an absorber, which absorbs excess moisture.

2. Protect Your Electrical Fixtures

Dampness and moisture are particularly bad for electric and electronic equipment. This is one of the most important monsoon home care tips that you have to take care of.

Call your electrician and make sure that all your wiring is properly covered, and that there are no loose cables, sockets, or wires anywhere.

Get an inspection done by a professional of your fans, light fixtures, and so on, to ensure that there is no leakage of electricity or any potential for short circuits and shocks and so on.

3. Doors and Windows

Wooden doors and windows have a tendency to ‘swell’ during the monsoon because of the imbibition of moisture by wood.This can make the doors and windows tight and difficult to open and close. One way to prevent this from happening is to rub it with sandpaper, or use varnish or paint before the rains start.

Also, make sure to plug the gaps in the doors and windows so that moisture does not seep in and do further damage.

4. Rugs and Carpets

While they look great and offer comfort, rugs and carpets can absorb the moisture in the air and can start emitting a foul smell that doesn’t seem to go away.

Vacuuming and cleaning the carpets and rugs regularly can help prevent them from absorbing the moisture and hanging on to the dust.

If you have storage space, the best thing to do would be to wrap up the rugs and carpets in big plastic sheets and put them away till the season changes. This will prevent moisture damage, and as well as insect infestation.

5. Prevent Damage to Wooden Furniture

Monsoons can be particularly tough on your expensive wooden furniture – chairs, desks, cabinets, cupboards, drawers – nothing is immune.

Use naphthalene balls, neem leaves or fragrance sachets inside cupboards, dust your furniture regularly, and ensure that there is sufficient ventilation and circulation of fresh air.

Keep windows closed when it rains to prevent water spray from coming in and settling on your furniture.

Keep vinegar based disinfectants and cleaners handy, and wipe down your furniture at the first sign of mold or fungus. If possible, keep furniture 4-5 inches away from walls.

6. Eliminate the Musty Odour

With monsoon comes a weird smell – a musty odour that seems to just hang around the house without wanting to go away.

To get rid of this annoying smell, keeping your apartment clean and ventilated is very important.

Use air freshener sachets in all rooms or potpourri (a mixture of dried petals and spices placed in a bowl to perfume a room) in glass containers, or even scented candles, if there’s no danger of them being upset or touched by children or pets.

7. Use the Right Type of Curtains

It is a good idea to use heavy fabric for your curtains in the summer – like blackout drapes so that you keep out the excess heat and light. However, these curtains are impractical for the monsoon.

You need light to enter, and you need curtains that you can wash and dry easily. Make sure you have another set of curtains that are lightweight.They will also reduce the humidity in the rooms and you won’t have a bad smell.

8. Store Kitchen Ingredients Properly

Don’t be shocked if you open your containers to find flours, powders or cereals clumped up, spoilt, or smelling bad.

In the monsoon, you need to ensure that all your ingredients are stored properly in airtight containers and kept away from damp places.

If possible, roast spices lightly and then store. Vegetables can be wrapped in paper and placed in sealable plastic bags before storing in your refrigerator. This will help them to last longer.

9. Keep Moisture Absorbing Plants

Plants are our best natural friends, there are some indoor plants who can absorb excess moisture and also improve the air quality of your home. Peace Lily, Snake plant , Spider Plant, Aloe vera are some moisture absorbing indoor plants.

You can also consider some plants in your balcony or terrace that repel insects, like lavender, lemongrass, mint, sage, or rosemary. 

10. Safeguard Documents

Your documents are very important but are likely to be forgotten in the monsoon mania.The best option is to laminate all your important documents and store them in a waterproof box in a dry place where moisture has little chance of penetrating. Make photocopies of your documents, and also save soft copies on your computer, phone, or email.

Conclusion

It may be a good idea to get a pest control treatment done to prevent or minimize pests like termites, cockroaches, and flies, which are bound to breed during the rainy season.You have to consider and implement the above listed monsoon home care tips in a serious way.

With a little effort and care, you can enjoy the monsoon, and keep your home looking, feeling, and smelling great.