Annual CIA Meeting

The 2010 Annual Meeting of the Covington Woods Community Association, Inc., will be held on Monday, August 2, 2010, at 8:00 P.M., at the Covington Woods Meeting room, located at 13743 Woodchester (Building next to the swimming pool). There are two (2) positions available for a three-year term. If you are interested in running for either of these positions, please contact MASC Austin Properties, Inc., at (713) 776-1771 or you may e-mail Terri Salter at:

tsalter@mascapi.com. We urge all property owners to attend this meeting. Your participation and input are welcome. This is our community and its continued success depends on all of us.

Front Lawn Maintenance

Front lawn maintenance has improved this summer for the most part. We have observed that the front lawns are being mowed more often during the monthly site inspections.

We are noticing that lawn maintenance detail is lagging behind greatly with little or no attention paid to trimming, edging and weeding. You will note that homes using private landscape companies do not have that issue and owners who take pride in completing the front yard maintenance address the full lawn maintenance as well. The maintenance they have in common is that they first do the weeding and edging of all lawn areas coming into contact with plant beds, trees, sidewalks, driveway and curbs before they mow the lawn. By using this method, the weeds in plant beds and tree rings can be tossed onto the lawn along with all the grass runners that may be growing over the sidewalks, driveway and curbs, so when you mow lastly, they all get mulched together leaving a beautiful lawn.

Whether you use a mulching mower that drops the mulch back into the grass or the bag mower where you dispose of the grass clippings, you wind up with a professional lawn meeting the maintenance standard in the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.

As a reminder, all grass clippings on sidewalks, driveway and along curbs in front of your residence are a safety hazard and need to be cleaned up and removed following mowing. Also, monitor the grass and weeds growing in the expansion joints (cracks) in the sidewalks, driveway, including the driveway apron where it meets the street, and any other areas immediately in front of the residence as those are your maintenance responsibility. If it is green, remove it.

We appreciate the hard work involved in maintaining your home. If you need input or resources, please contact our property manager or please attend the monthly board meetings so we can assist you. The board meetings are held on the third Monday of each month, at 7:00 p.m., in the Community Center adjacent to the pool.

...submitted by Joanne Williams

MOLD AND MILDEW ON SIDING, BRICK, ROOFS AND DRIVEWAYS

When it comes to exterior home maintenance, a common issue is mold and mildew. These natural contaminants will grow on just about anything with the right amount of shade and moisture like the north facing side of your home or roof. Mildew and mold, will appear on vinyl siding, shingle roofs, wood, concrete, and many other surfaces. But it can be cleaned with proper mold and mildew cleaning methods.

Proper methods for cleaning mold and mildew combined with the proper mold cleaners will not only remove mold and mildew but kills them as well. When mold and mildew cleaning consists of using only water pressure, it's only temporary and will grow back quickly.

The goal is to properly remove the mold and mildew on the exterior of your home and to kill the stains down deep so they don't grow back anytime soon. Cleaning mold and mildew from your home's surfaces will ensure their beauty, longevity, and value. Regular maintenance and properly removing mold and mildew are great ways of protecting your largest investment.

One of the most promising new mold and mildew treatment products on the market today is called Spray & Forget found at www.sprayandforget.com and it can be used on siding, composite decking, wood, pavers, stucco, driveways and sidewalks, brick stone and many more surfaces. It will extend the life of your roof through routine maintenance, it works within 1-3 days on green mildew stains and within 1-8 weeks on black mold stains.

You can paint, stain or seal a surface after using Spray & Forget on them. If you are in a hurry, simply pressure wash the surface after applying the Spray & /Forget to get it clean. There will be a small residual of Spray & Forget left behind that will continue to remove and prevent any stains caused by biological growth that cannot be seen by the naked eye. The manufacturer guarantees that roof stains will not reappear for at lest two years and that stains on all other surfaces will remain clean for at lest 12 months unlike just pressure washing.

Another excellent mildew killer is JOMAX Mildewcide that kills on contact. It is a detergent cleaning system that removes dirt and stains without scrubbing, is economical and reported does not damage painted surfaces and can be used near plants and shrubs. It is your option to power wash surfaces or not, however, just power washing will take the same amount of effort with less results. JOMAX can be used for routine cleaning or for pre-painted mildew control. JOMAX kills mildew on exterior non-porous surfaces such as aluminum and vinyl siding and stucco, on painted wood, doors and trim, on painted brick, concrete or cement block, on stained or painted decks and fences and does not harm patio furniture. For more information contact www.zinsser.com.

Please research other similar products on the market and choose the one that works best for your situation. Always check for information concerning pets and plant material as they typically do not affect either one. The Steeplechase Community Improvement Association and Planned Community Management does not endorse any cleaning product as we do not manufacture products. This is for informational purposes only and we expect each owner to do their homework on what avenue to take to remove the dirt, mold and mildew off the exterior surface of their home and to maintain their home accordingly.

...submitted by Joanne Williams

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