Housekeeping

Cluttered floors make it hard for professional cleaners to vacuum and mop surfaces. This can add to how long it takes, make their jobs harder, and even mess up their schedule. The last thing you should do is leave clothes, shoes, and toys on the ground before cleaners come.

The armadillo is a cunning creature. Though fascinating in body and build, the armadillo can become a backyard pest. If your yard is becoming the new armadillo vacation hub, you may be wondering: what makes my yard so inviting and what can I do to keep them away?

There are over 51,000 residential electrical fires every year. This results in around 500 deaths, over 1,400 injuries, and $1.3 billion in property damage. One question people often ask is, can an outlet catch fire with nothing plugged in?

Boilers play an important role in any home. These units work by heating water and the house with steam. The steam travels through the house in pipes and radiators. Boilers are expensive to install, but have a long lifespan and are energy efficient.

Easter is an important religious holiday for many people. It’s also a day that symbolizes rebirth, and flowers are among the most common decorations used on this day. There are also bunnies and chocolate eggs, but it’s the vibrant and pastel blooms that give Easter its color and joy. It’s no surprise that flowers and plants make perfect gifts at Easter.

If you already have a sprinkler system in place, it is definitely time that you think about hooking up the sprinkler timer into the system itself. The timer has many benefits over the long run that will make it more than worth the time.

Modern homeowners rely on the convenience of electrical outlets to power household appliances. Unfortunately, electrical outlets go bad over time just like every other part of the home. So, how often should electrical outlets be replaced?

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral, one that’s mainly used to soften water. Water that includes calcium, magnesium, and other particles is classified as hard water, and borax is what turns hard water into soft water by way of exchanging sodium ions.

Also known as Berry Bugs, chiggers are tiny pests that resemble something between a wood tick and a bed bug. These bugs don’t pose a threat to humans but can deliver a nasty rash that can disrupt your sleep. If you have chiggers in your home, there are simple things you can do to get rid of them. 

Generally, you should start shoveling your walkways and driveway after there is more than an inch or two of snow on the ground. Shoveling an inch of snow is much easier (and faster) than shoveling five to 10 inches. 

After celebrating the winter holidays, there is a lot of cleaning up to do. There are ornaments and string lights to carefully put away. Decorations must be stored, and the once-pristine garland and Christmas tree need to be brought out to the curb before the pine sheds all its dead needles on your floors. But before you pack away your holiday decor, you first need to find a way to pack and store your holiday leftovers.

Strengthened safety glass is a critical safety material for use in homes, commercial buildings, cars, and more. Tempered glass is about three to four times stronger than traditional “annealed” glass. The panel’s strength is increased by undergoing extreme thermal or chemical processes.

Cleaning paint can be a headache. When acrylic paint dries, it dries hard, into an almost plastic-like form. This can make it hard to restore a brush that has dried or get paint out of something like clothing.

Did you know that the biggest importer of kale was, at one point, Ruby Tuesday’s? It’s true. Kale was once just a garnish for the Ruby Tuesday’s salad bar. Oh, how times have changed. Kale is now a major superfood and people are adding this bitter leaf to just about every dish from soups to wraps. Now that the heat is turned on for kale’s demand, it’s a good time to learn how to make this green last.

Fleas are a nightmare for any homeowner whether you have pets or not. Sometimes, flea activity stays local to a single room or area in the house without spreading. So, can you flea bomb one room and stay in the house?

Generally speaking, the dishwashers that we are most familiar with are installed near a sink as part of the cabinetry. But not all homes are designed to handle those built-in dishwashers that we are all familiar with.

Having a conversation with your insurance company can be uncomfortable. Explaining to them that you have a woodpecker isn’t going to be a great experience. So how do you get rid of a woodpecker on cedar siding?

Vinyl flooring can take any room in your home to the next level, bringing a chic and modern look of real wood floors without the hefty price tag. Vinyl planks come in a variety of different colors and finishes to fit anyone’s aesthetic. However, if your vinyl plank floor is buckling, it can become an eyesore.

Hard water has a habit of leaving behind stains on plenty of surfaces. For those unsure how to deal with it, hard water stains just become a part of life. Those pesky stains show up on top of taps, on mirrors, on silverware, and, often, annoyingly, on glass shower doors. How do you remove it when it’s on your glass shower doors?

If you’re like the average renter in my area, your landlord has a lease that stipulates that you need to have your carpets shampooed at least once a year. And let me tell you, shampooing your carpet is not exactly the easiest thing to plan out. This is doubly true when you realize you can’t actually step on the carpet until it dries. But…how long does that even take?

When your Whirlpool Duet electric dryer appears to stop heating, it is not just inconvenient and frustrating. You might be thinking about costly repair bills as well, but don’t.

If you’ve removed, or recently replaced your dishwasher, you may be looking for a solution to plug the hole in your garbage disposal. There is often a drainage line in place that goes from the dishwasher to the garbage disposal.

Whether you’re doing the dishes, taking a shower, or simply washing your hands, having hot water in your home is essential. If there’s no hot water coming out of your faucet, you could be facing a major dilemma. 

Pancakes are delicious with maple syrup on them but not so much for carpets. The sticky gooey mess in your rug is unsightly and you need to get rid of it as soon as possible before it soaks in all the way. Whether it is real maple syrup or corn syrup, we have some solutions for you.

Home security is super important; after all, it protects you, your family, and your most significant investment – your house. Nowadays, there are multiple options available on the market to help automate your home’s protection. 

Most people who buy trampolines do so because they have children. That doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy trampolines, but you must at least consider your children. Their age, size, experience, and physical ability are all important safety factors. 

A drop ceiling, sometimes referred to as a suspended ceiling, can offer a number of benefits including soundproofing, air circulation, and overall aesthetics. Modern drop ceilings were originally developed as a way to conceal the infrastructure of a building. Installing a dropped ceiling creates a plenum space that hides wiring, pipes, and ductwork, while allowing easy access for inspections or repairs.

Countless homeowners choose Honeywell thermostats because of their convenience, and accuracy. Because you can program a Honeywell thermostat yourself, you can effectively custom tailor your preferences within your home. However, it is within the programming of Honeywell thermostats that many homeowners find themselves confused.

Comforters are a popular bedding choice, adding some extra design flair to your bedroom. However, the plush coziness of many comforters that makes them so appealing often also makes them bulky. If your comforter is too big to fit in your washer, how can you clean it?

Cleaning your toilet can be a big pain, but it’s one of those chores that you must do on a regular basis. Thankfully, bleach can make the job a whole lot easier and a lot less gross. If you’ve had to deal with stubborn stains that won’t seem to fade in the past, you may have found yourself wondering if you could leave bleach sitting in the bowl to do the hard work.

A screened porch can make for a wonderful hangout spot in the summertime. It allows you to get those rays of sun without having to worry about constantly swatting bugs and critters that make their way into your area.

Home Depot is amongst the most reliable outlets for home goods and services. They offer thousands of products, but where they excel is their in-store services. So, does Home Depot rekey locks?

Laminate countertops are a great addition to any kitchen. They’re durable, look great, and are long-lasting. Just like anything else in your home, it can be affected by water damage. 

You might be the breadwinner and adult, but you should always get your child’s input before preparing a school lunch. If they don't like what you make, then there’s a good chance it will go uneaten.

Bath mats are an essential part of every bathroom and come in all different shapes, sizes, and materials. What they’re made of dictates how they should be cared for. Can you put bath mats in the dryer?

If your Keurig shows an error message that says ‘Water Under Pressure’ every time you turn it on, you are brewing trouble. It means that the hollow needles that pierce the K-Cup are badly clogged, and it’s time for you to clean them.

Anyone navigating life with asthma is used to making some compromises. After all, you must always think about how certain activities or products will affect your asthma, even at home. You’re not alone if you’ve ever struggled with how to make your home asthma-friendly.

A fence can really enhance your property, but it can also cause arguments with your neighbors. Chiefly because many fences are supported rails and posts on one side of the fence and a smooth surface on the other. And this generally means only one person gets the side with the smooth surface often known as the good side.

Anyone who has ever done laundry knows the frustration of opening the dryer door to still-wet clothes. Maybe you run it again, or maybe you don’t mind putting them out to air dry for a little while. Either way, unless you plan on doing this forever, that dryer needs to be fixed. So what gives?

Bringing an air conditioner into your home is a cause for celebration. Enduring the heat may become a thing of the past thanks to your new appliance. Don’t go cranking up the air conditioner right away though. Doing so could potentially lead to some issues.

Nothing jolts you awake in the morning like jumping into a cold shower. Along with the frustration of being doused with cold water, you realize that your water heater isn’t working. You may go to troubleshoot and find that the pilot light isn’t on. Then, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get it to stay lit. What does t his mean? Why won’t the pilot light to your Honeywell water heater light?

Wrinkles can turn a chic garment into a frumpy disaster. A wrinkle-free and well-pressed garment, on the other hand, can look like a million bucks even if you only paid a few dollars. This is why irons are so handy and helpful. But in life, there are many times when an iron isn’t available. If you don’t have access to an iron, or simply can’t stand the act of ironing, you probably want to know how you can keep your clothes wrinkle-free without having to pick up an iron.

Air return vents are one of the most important aspects of your home’s HVAC system. They allow air to both enter and leave the HVAC system and maintain proper air pressure within the house. Sometimes, though, they can be incredibly noisy which can be inconvenient and annoying. 

There are a ton of different attic and roof vents to choose from. When you’re looking to improve your home, it’s critical to use high-quality products that get the job done. 

Today, we live in an era that is celebrated for being the age of lifehacks. Want to wash a wall? There are tricks for that. Want to wash a floor? Just go on Google and you’ll find a ton of information on how to do it quickly and effectively. These days, we’re even talking about power washing rugs. Is this actually okay, though?

Anyone who’s lived in a house with kids know that strange kinds of breaks can occur. One of the rarer types of kid-related damage that can occur happens when you hear a loud bang, followed by crackling of glass coming from your kitchen. I’m talking, of course, about having an oven door that’s been broken or cracked. Obviously, you can’t keep cooking with an oven that has cracked glass. So, how much do you have to pay to get it replaced?

This is a common misconception that we want to clear up straight away. Dryvit is actually the brand name for a specific EIFS manufacturer – not a type of siding itself. For clarity, throughout this article, Dryvit and EIFS will be used interchangeably to match the common parlance.

It is okay for a washing machine to shake a little bit during the spin cycle. This happens when clothes move around and slap the sides of the drum. The combination of the impact of the clothes and the washing machine spinning makes it shake.

Being woken up by a smoke alarm in the middle of the night is bad enough but it is even worse when it is a false alarm.

When you have central air and heat, air vents are typically in each room. Some large rooms have two or three. But what about the return air vents? Do you need one of them or more for each room?

Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year for many people, regardless of age. Between the candy, spooky decorations, and fun community vibe, Halloween is a time for people to come together. So, how much candy should you buy for Halloween?

If you bake often, your KitchenAid mixer likely sees a lot of use. Although a KitchenAid mixer is a major investment, with the proper maintenance and cleaning, it can last pretty much forever. Since you can’t simply soak your mixer in your kitchen sink, it requires more specialized care.

Dryer vents are notoriously hard to clean. All that grit and dust just seems to pile up, no matter what you do. There’s no end in sight, is there? For the longest time, it sure seemed that way. However, a recent lifehack started to appear on the internet claiming that you can clean your dryer vents with a leafblower. But, is this really true?

Your dryer’s main job is to heat your clothes enough that they dry. When it stops doing this simple task, that’s a major problem. If your clothes are still damp after a cycle in the dryer, you probably have a faulty heating element. 

Ideally, you should replace your sheets every 2-6 years or sooner as needed. Sheets with a low thread count must be replaced within 2-3 years in many cases. They wear out much faster and easily become thin and stained.

A coffee or teaspoon is a one almost every kitchen has in abundance, and it’s the first spoon most people use each day. Coffee spoons are typically a bit smaller than a teaspoon, but both spoons serve the same purpose. They are designed to fit in a coffee or tea cup and mix milk and sugar into the beverage. 

It’s movie night, and you cannot wait to cozy up with your family and watch a flick together. You hear the microwave running and smell the delicious familiar smell of buttered popcorn, with a few faint background “pops.” All of a sudden, there’s a putrid odor, and your entire family is yelling and running into the backyard.

When you first decide to make a DIY shower installation happen, you’ll see a lot of talk about adhering tile to a shower pan, or finding the right thinset for a particular shower pan brand. You might also start hearing people discuss picking up the right shower base. These terms seem pretty similar, but is there a difference between a shower pan and a shower base?

Ah, fireplaces. Since the chimney was invented, having a fireplace was one of the most important ways people got heat in their homes and cooked their foods. Even today, we use them to cozy up on colder days. Nowadays, most people have gas fireplaces instead of wood. Sometimes, that leads to issues that can make them frustrating–like going out when you want it to stay lit.

There are many moving parts to any air conditioning unit, and when one goes bad, the whole system does too. One often overlooked but important part of an air conditioner is the capacitor, and it provides electrical energy. An AC capacitor is an integral part of your home’s air conditioning, but how much does it cost?