Monthly:
  All Year:
  Check supplies see Periodic Automatic Replenishment)levels
  Check operation of appliances (e.g. missing tray on microwave
     broken tray lid in the refrigerator
  
  Check light bulbs
  Light pull chain for fan/lights should be set for lights on
  Blinking yellow light on alexa in ecobee -
      Check for messages "alexa play messages"
      
  Clean dishwasher filter and run a cycle with the cleaner power every couple of months.
     
  Summer:
    Check BBQ condition and clean if necessary
    Burned out or non operational lights
   TV should be operational and remote accessable
    Burners on stove should be alligned properly
    
  Winter:
    Check remove ashes in wood stove
    Check fire wood level
    Thermostats set in away mode or temperature < 55

• Wood burning stove Chimney Maintenance: Done: Jan. 2023 $245
  Tahoe Chimney & fireplace, Truckee 530 414-7650

  Yearly: look at the top of the chimney with some binoculars to see if there is creosote buildup on the screen.
  Open the door and if some smoke comes out it probably needs cleaning.
  The average wooden stove needs cleaning after 3 or 4 cords.
  Many recommend and some insurance companies require yearly cleanings.
  Creosote could get wet and create sulfuric acid which can corrode stainless steel, if not used over a rainy season.

  How to test: Open the door and if some smoke comes out it probably needs cleaning.
  If you see a lot of buildup on the chimney cap it needs cleaning.

  Factors affecting cleaning interval:
  

  • Unseasoned wood - moisture content > 10-20%
  • A chimney with a more outside exposure will cool off faster causing more creosote condensation.
  • Bends in the chimney
  • Burning slowly so there is less flow in the chimney giving the creosote more time to condense.
  • Burning wood like pine which has more creosote content. However pine burns hotter which helps avoid condensation.

  See: How to know if you need a chimney cleaning
  

  Cabin:
  A cord is 128 cubic Feet 8x4x4.
  Our back porch pile is with 2 rows is about 53 cu ft.
  So we burn about less than 1/2 cord per year.
  See cabin firewood

  So we could go about 6 years, which is about right, because the chimney completely closed off around 2023 and probably handen't been cleaned for more that 5 years.
  We cleaned it then.

• Fire extinguisher check Every April
  4/16/25

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  Flushing the water heater:
  It depends on how hard your water is:
  If you don't have hard water you probably don't need to do it.
  Water at Tahoe is pretty soft, so we could skip. I inadvertently did it in 2023 when I connected a hose to the drain to spray a stream into the side of 10' of snow on the back bedroom to create a shelf to hold snow melt tablets.
  Some say never do it if you haven't flushed for 4 or more years, because some deposits may be blocking small cracks in the tank.
  One plumber in Davis confirmed this, but Davis has hard water.

  I did it incidentally in 2025