What the house needs in February, north of the equator
10 jobs, in four groups.
February is the last month of the hard weather and the first month worth planning in. The frost is not finished and the heating is still doing the work, so the indoor jobs from January still stand: air the rooms, watch the damp, keep the vents clear. What changes is that the mowing season is now close enough to be worth preparing for, and a mower serviced in February is a mower that starts in April, while one taken in during the first week of long grass sits in a queue for a fortnight. This is also the month to read the water meter overnight, because a slow leak that started in the frost shows up now and costs nothing to find. Clear the sink and shower traps by hand while you are indoors anyway. The days lengthen quickly from here to April, and London is gaining more than three minutes of daylight a day by the end of the month. The mower service belongs in February or March, before the first cut, when the workshops are still quiet.
Safety
Water and heating
- Read the meter overnight to check for a leak
- Read it last thing, use no water, read it again first thing. Any movement is a leak somewhere and it is cheaper found early.
Inside
- Watch the cold corners for condensation
- Still due this month. See November for how.
- Air the house for a few minutes a day
- Still due this month. See November for how.
- Clear the sink and shower traps
- Twice a year, by hand rather than with drain cleaner. Most slow drains are hair and grease in the first ten centimetres.
- Wash the cooker extractor filters
- Three times a year, in the dishwasher or in very hot water with soda crystals. A greasy filter moves almost no air at all.
The garden edge
- Service the mower before the mowing starts
- New plug, clean filter, sharp blade and fresh fuel. Everyone books a service in the first week of long grass.
- Clean the feeders and keep them filled
- Still due this month. See November for how.
- Keep a hole open in the pond ice
- Stand a pan of hot water on it rather than breaking it, which sends a shock wave through the water that fish do not survive well.
Tick them off as you go
This page is the plain list for February. The same list is tickable on the house through the year, where the ticks are kept on your own device and cleared at the start of each year. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The garden half of the month is on the almanac page for February, which covers what to sow, what to plant out and what is ready to pick.