Home Services

The sight of ants in your yard or home can understandably be discomforting. Not only are ant hills ugly, but they can indicate that you have an upcoming ant problem on your hands. Many homeowners have asked themselves the question: why are there so many ant hills in my yard?

Honeywell thermostats are beloved for their fair price, useful settings, and effective interface. They especially come in handy during winter when you need to adjust the heat and enjoy your furnace. So, what does it mean when your Honeywell thermostat says “Heat On” but there is no heat?

In finding the best water heater company, both Rheem and AO Smith are easy contenders for the top. Both of them have a couple of hundred years of experience under their belts. They have also produced an impressive line of products. But when comparing the two, which of these water heater companies is the best?

Many homeowners use a whole-house humidifier to improve the air quality in their houses. They can help eliminate impurities in the air such as viruses and bacteria that would make you sick. Understandably, some homeowners are confused about when to turn on the whole-house humidifier.

Whether it be abrasive chemicals or a bag of charcoal, movers won’t pick up many items. That’s why it’s important to speak openly with a moving company before you hire them. Many moving companies operate similarly, and professional movers won’t move some items, such as:

No matter who you are or where you live, nobody likes pests. Whether it’s bed bugs, termites, mice, or another pest, they’re a nuisance, and they keep you from living your best life. A hatred of pests applies to both homeowners and renters alike. If you live in a rental property infested with pests, it’s important to know whether it’s your responsibility or your landlord’s to get rid of the pests.

If you have houseplants, it’s a common worry that your home may be infested with spider mites. These small creatures are often seen swarming around indoor plants, in the soil and across the leaves. Though, they can wreak havoc on both your houseplants and even plants in your garden. What begins as small yellow spots on leaves can transform to complete decimation of a plant if you have a large population of spider mites.

Dealing with even one tick can be a big pain. Removing the tick can be frustrating enough, but once that part is over, you may be wondering how best to kill it and get rid of it. One of the most obvious options that may pop in your head is flushing it down the toilet. But can you?

It is quite exciting when you and your partner decide to take your relationship to the next level and move in with each other. When two people in a relationship decide to move in together there are many logistics to cover. The most important thing to consider, perhaps, is where you two will live.

A fabulous exterior can hide some interior issues, and this is one of the main reasons why home inspectors are in business these days. A home inspection is used to verify that a house is in good working order and not needing significant repairs.

Your shed is an important part of your backyard. It’s typically where we keep the gear that we need to maintain our yards. Given that, most homeowners tend to go in and out of their sheds quite a bit.

When homeowners have a furnace that works well, they’re not going to complain. Furnaces that are well-maintained can easily last 20 years or more. However, after a certain point, even the most reliable furnace will need to be replaced or repaired. If you’re like many homeowners, you probably are wondering when it makes more sense to replace rather than repair.

Roach infestations are disgusting. They’re also challenging to fight and dangerous to encounter. So, what happens when your neighbor’s roach problem makes its way into your house? Can you do something about it, or do you have to live that way forever? Here’s some good news.

If you are trying to connect a 1 ¼-inch tailpiece to a 1 ½- inch drain, you are most likely doing so because you need a longer tailpiece. The standard tailpieces that come with the drains sold at most hardware and big-box stores tend to be shorter than you may need. That being said, making the switch is not a difficult thing to do.

It is growing harder to find places to smoke as it becomes less socially acceptable. It is common for landlords to prohibit smoking in a rental unit. In fact, many new apartment buildings are completely smoke-free. 

Mice are some of the most invasive and annoying pests that homeowners have to deal with. They invade houses all across the country and begin to eat food that’s left out and repopulate. If you’re not careful, you can quickly get overrun by a mouse infestation. But why are mice drawn to houses in particular?

The heat exchanger in your furnace is a group of tubes and coils. These tubes and coils heat the air that then shoots out into your home or workplace. There are many reasons why your furnace heat exchanger can go bad, and if this happens you need to act quickly.

If you own a house and have spent any amount of time in your yard, you’ve probably noticed some strange pipes sticking out of the ground. You’ve probably also asked yourself what in world is it for? It’s likely an obstacle and an eyesore that you’d rather do without and want to know if you can get rid of it.

It isn’t necessarily wrong to not tip movers if you have a good reason for it. However, you should only withhold a tip if the movers made exceptionally bad mistakes, such as:

If you’ve heard much talk about furnaces and their specific components, you’ve likely come across the term “blower.” The blower, or blower motor, is one of the most essential components of your furnace.

According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association, 92% of home structure fires involve clothes dryers. For people trying to install a dryer vent in a tight space, this statistic can be incredibly concerning. This guide will help you avoid many potential fire hazards.

The continued boom of home security options has made it easier and easier to keep a home safe, and the owner informed. Smart technology allows you to see who is ringing your doorbell with a video on your cell phone.

How long a landlord has to fix a mold problem depends on a variety of factors. When dealing with mold, many variables affect how it is dealt with. The time allowed for a landlord to fix mold issues is largely dependent on where the property is located and how severe the mold problem is.

When you’re a landlord, you make an effort to try to find tenants that will be respectful towards your property and pay on time. However, things don’t work out, even when you do your best to vet potential renters. Renters and landlords both have rights that need to be protected. That’s why Illinois has strict guidelines on how to evict a tenant in Illinois legally.

Air conditioners are incredibly complex machines, which is why most people will immediately throw their hands up in the air and give up when they suddenly stop working. However, it’s not a smart thing to do. In many cases, your AC unit probably has a fairly fixable cause. If it’s a blown fuse, you can fix it in minutes. But, how can you tell if it’s actually a blown fuse?

For those of us that live in colder climates, the furnace is arguably the most important feature of a home. When the temperatures drop into the single digits and below, staying comfortable and warm is of the utmost importance.

Selling a house can be an emotional rollercoaster, especially if you’re emotionally attached to it. Things get even trickier when you realize that selling a house takes a lot of time, money, and energy. Luckily, the decision is much easier if you are aware of the several signs that you should wait to sell your house.

Hidden cameras are ultimately among the biggest privacy violations that you can experience. Spy cameras have become so small that you can find them in everything from smoke detectors to light bulbs. That said, the average person still struggles with how to tell if a light bulb is secretly a camera.

With so many components in your furnace, it only makes sense that one may stop working from time to time. More often than not, a dirty or clogged filter will be the cause of a furnace that isn’t working properly.

Roaches can be pesky little creatures that invite themselves over and then never leave. They will come out at night to steal your food and don’t give back anything in return except extra germs. Most homes have a cabinet that is full of cleaning supplies and various insecticides. So, if we have a bed bug spray on hand, will this spray also kill roaches?

Your HVAC system is a complicated piece of equipment. When it is functioning properly, delivering warm or cold air throughout your home, you likely won’t even recognize it. But when issues creep up, it is hard to notice anything but.

Nothing is scarier than the sound of your security alarm going off at home. Your first instinct is to panic, call the police, and even investigate. It’s a relief when you realize it was a false alarm, but even that can be confusing. So you may ask, "why does my home security alarm keep going off?"

Furnaces are designed not only to warm your house and make it comfortable, but also to be as safe as possible. One of the safety functions every furnace has is a flame rollout switch, which will trip and stop the furnace when something is wrong. You must reset the flame rollout switch to make the furnace work again, but some homeowners wonder if they can bypass it.

Hiring professional movers is an expensive prospect, but it doesn’t have to be. A little preparation and research can make all the difference in how much you spend while moving. Here are some simple tips to save money when you hire movers:

Problems with water heaters can be stressful because they are an essential part of modern living. Water heaters are dense and durable, but they are still prone to failure which can prove expensive. So, can a water heater freeze?

Heat pumps and mini splits are both considered central HVAC units because they are able to bring heat from inside to outside in order to control indoor temperatures. However, they are not the same. Paying attention to their differences is important in selecting the type you need for your home.

Anytime we move into a new rental property, development, or complex, there are certain things we must figure out. These are the everyday and routine aspects of life. That includes taking out the trash and knowing what day and how trash pickup works. It is the daily routine of checking mail and learning when mail runs and how the mailbox system works. That can include questions such as does the landlord have to provide a mailbox key, or is that the tenant’s responsibility?

Your home’s water pressure is not something you typically notice until it’s off. It’s only when you get into the shower and see that you’re barely getting water that you realize there’s a problem. In some cases, the issue may also be excessively high water pressure.

Heat pumps are amazingly efficient for heating your home under most normal conditions. However, when conditions aren’t right, your heat pump depends on its emergency heating capability to keep the temperature in your house comfortable and stable. If you own a heat pump, there are some facts about emergency heating you should know.

Making connections can be easy when it comes to social media, but it is getting more and more complicated in the real world of building. There are so many connections needed when you are building or repairing something around the house and some of them have to do with copper tubing, which can be a pain to work with sometimes.

While all renters hope their rental agreements go off without a hitch, such is not how things pan out in all cases. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes a landlord can end up crossing important boundaries with their tenants. And when a boundary is crossed, a tenant must know how to hold their landlord accountable for the violation.

If everyone had the opportunity, they would likely do what they could to live in their dream house. However, building your dream home can be stressful, expensive, and exciting. There are many pros and cons to building a house, and you must weigh them before making a decison.

Practically every bathtub strainer was originally screwed into place. If you’ve used an antique tub, you’ll notice there weren’t any threads. This is because they plugged with a rubber stopper.

Many people love to do projects on their own before they contact a professional. Like projects dealing with electricity, if there is doubt, do not do it yourself. Call a professional if you have to change the furnace gas valve if you are unsure of something.

As you’re used to your furnace doing its job without any issues, it can come as a shock to see water pooling around its base and realizing that something is wrong. It’s essential to take immediate action as, left uncorrected, even a small leak can result in extensive and costly damage.

When people get their first home, they almost always notice that the water heater has a singular location: the basement. I mean, that’s great and all, but if you’re like me, you don’t always want to have a big clunky thing inside your home. Many people have wondered if it’s possible to safely install a water heater outside. To find out, we did a little bit of research.

Are you getting ready to move? Or maybe you’ve finally made the decision to declutter the house. Now, you need boxes…lots of boxes. But you really don’t want to spend your hard-earned money, so where can you get boxes for free?

Buying or selling a home is stressful, and that’s why most people don’t do it alone. That’s where a real estate agent comes in, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to do a great job. You’re not alone if you’re unsure of what to consider when finding a real estate agent.

Your hot water heater is perhaps one of the most important things inside your home. Keeping warm water flowing, is essential, for living. If your hot water heater’s pressure relief valve keeps opening, we have some tips that will help you fix it.

With all of our devices, power lines are essential in our electricity-driven world. This is apparent every time there’s a power outage, and we can’t use our microwave, cell phones, and TVs. But you may not have considered what it’s like to live near, or even under, power lines.

A safe is designed to keep your most valuable items safe and secure. Many of them weigh over 500 pounds, whereas, gun safes can weigh 2000 pounds or more. In fact, the whole idea behind why most safes are considerably heavy is so that it’s virtually impossible for unauthorized persons to move it out of a house or business.

Termites are a nightmare for any homeowner as they can quickly destroy a house. These invasive bugs multiply quickly and mature queens can lay up to 1,000 eggs per day. Even the wind can transport termites to your house. So, should I be worried about my neighbor’s termites?

Having animals in the attic is not only frightening to deal with, but it is an invasion of your home’s privacy. Sure, it may only be a furry critter, but animals stuck in your attic create noise disturbances as well as a sanitary risk. Most homeowners’ first instinct when they hear an animal in the attic is to reach for the phone and call a service to get it removed.

Homeowners are always looking for ways to add value to their properties. With nearly  140 million housing units in the U.S., the home industry is booming, including construction and electrical services.

The thought of someone breaking into your home and stealing your belongings is violating and unnerving. Most homeowners would do anything in their power to deter theft and get some peace of mind.

Ideally, you should start packing at least 4-6 weeks before a move. Moves sometimes come up unexpectedly, but it’s a great idea to start packing as soon as possible. The biggest reason to pack early is that you have many other responsibilities to consider when moving.

There’s nothing that a quick, polite conversation can’t resolve when it comes to problems with neighbors. Well, that’s not always the case, but it should come in handy if your neighbor’s kids keep going into your yard. Find an appropriate time to approach your neighbors without being confrontational.

Setting a schedule on your Honeywell thermostat is indeed an effective way to avoid the extra hassle of setting its temperature every time. You can have your thermostat automatically switch modes at intervals without having to do any extra work. However, there are times when you might want to reset the schedule setting or even get rid of it.