Egress window wells are special dug outs outside a window designed to allow quick exit from a building during an emergency. Although egress windows is a relatively new building code requirement; it offers numerous benefits to the occupants especially during serious emergencies such as fires, intrusions or floods.
However to ensure that home owners fully benefit from this design most building codes requires one to construct these windows and even the accompanying wells in a specific method. Moreover once constructed one should also ensure that these structures are maintained in an appropriate manner to ensure that they continue serving their important purposes especially during emergencies. To achieve this, the following is a list of various tips that can go a long way in keeping them in top shape at all times.
[ad]
Hygiene
Cleanliness is definitely the most important features that one should always ensure. Egress window wells tend to accumulate in debris, dirt and even overgrow with weeds and grass making them extremely untidy and unsightly. To avoid this one should ensure that the well is tightly covered at all times to keep it sparkling clean.
A flood test
During the rainy seasons most poorly unconstructed wells may tend to accumulate water which may seep into the house causing a terrible mess. To avoid this one should use an appropriate flood test as recommended by a professional to ensure that no water floods in the well as this can cause a potential breeding ground for some dangerous insects and pest. Further to ensure that there is no flooding one can also use an appropriate method to remove weeds and debris that might be blocking the drainage.
Oil the hardware
These structures usually come with inbuilt hardware such as railings and other support structures that should be well maintained at all times. To maintain the great looks and structural integrity of these support structures one should ensure that they are regularly cleaned and oiled.
Clean air
An egress window well can tend to get stuffy thus transferring this to the main house. To avoid such a scenario one should regularly clean out the air in these structures using appropriate devices such as a humidifier for best results. Indeed the ambience inside these structures especially when covered tends to largely overflow into the main house and one should thus ensure that it is as fresh and clean as possible.