What I Learned About My House After One Month Of ECQ

Homeowners and dwellers reveal interesting details about their living spaces

- Johannes L. Chua And Angela A. Casco

Ah summer! The time to explore new destinations, discover new adventures, and taste new cuisines. But summer of 2020 will probably go down as one of the most memorable as people finally got to discover a “new” destination—their houses. If, before, it was just a place to sleep and relax in, the house is now where everything is done, from rest to work, entertainment, adventure, dining, and even “travel.”

A high-school friend, Nathaniel Te, who always posts about trips to Paris, New York, and Sydney in the summer got to learn something new about his house when he tried to “discover” how to clean his room’s air conditioner unit.

“It is so hard to clean an air-con!” he said in an online post. “You have to know the parts so you can assemble it back again. I thought it was as easy as cleaning a microwave oven.”

This is also the same with Vince Pornelos, a motoring writer. “You learn a lot of lessons when you clean a split-type air-conditioning unit. It teaches you perseverance, precision, hard work, and patience. And it is incredibly satisfying. Most important, it teaches you that the P1,200 cleaning fee charged by aircon professionals is truly worth it.”

With more time comes the opportunity to know your house, especially for those who have recently bought or moved to it. You get to know more of its “intimate” spaces—the dim corners, the hidden shelves, the cracks on the walls, the uneven angles of the flooring, etc. There may be some disappointments, but there are also pleasant surprises.