Housekeeping

The HVAC unit is responsible for your home’s cooling and heating as the weather changes. However, many factors influence the system’s efficiency, including duct sizing. Using ducts that are too large or too small can render your HVAC system pretty useless, so it’s important to know duct sizing rules of thumb.

Aquaphor and other health aid ointments help heal the skin and reduce pain or irritation. Unfortunately, they can quickly leave oily stains on clothes and household linens, such as sheets and towels. Although oil-based stains are among the hardest to deal with, they can be eliminated. So, how exactly do you get Aquaphor out of your clothing?

Everyone has to clean to maintain a desirable and sanitized home. Daily, weekly, and seasonal cleaning tasks are all essential to keep a home tidy. In addition to regular cleaning, one must remember there are correct and incorrect ways to clean different surfaces in your home. If you clean incorrectly, your home may appear even dirtier than it did before you started.

One of life’s simple pleasures is a delicious bowl of ice cream after a satisfying meal. That ice cream should be easy to scoop and have a nice, creamy consistency. However, if your freezer doesn’t keep ice cream frozen, then your frozen treat becomes a goopy mess.

There’s no substitute for a real Christmas tree. While artificial trees have come a long way, and they certainly have their benefits, there’s nothing quite like a fragrant evergreen displayed in the living room throughout the holidays. Once the festive season is over, getting rid of a dying tree in your home can be a messy headache if you don’t know how to dispose of it properly.

A plumbing trap, or P-trap, is a portion of a plumbing pipe that looks like a loop, “J,” or “C.” P-traps are extremely important as they keep gas sewer odors from escaping plumbing fixtures such as sinks, toilets, and drains. When designing a house, it can be hard to determine how far below the drain a P-trap should be.

Nobody wants to leave work, head back to their apartment, and enter a musty, smelly environment. However, that is the reality for many people who can’t figure out why their apartment smells bad. You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered how to keep your small apartment smelling fresh.

When we think of a circuit breaker that keeps tripping, common wisdom would be that you’re dealing with a home that’s using up too much energy. So, if it’s happening to you, you might unplug some stuff. But, sometimes, the breaker just will keep tripping regardless of how much stuff you unplug. Clearly, it’s not energy consumption anymore. So, what gives?

Although easy to forget, window air conditioners do need to be cleaned. Notably, window AC units become less efficient as they get dirty. In fact, they may even contain mold.

When it comes to comfort, no other mattress beats memory foam mattresses. This is due to the ability to adapt to your body size and shape. However, memory foam mattresses can also get dirty, and if you’re looking to clean them, one question will cross your mind; can a memory foam mattress be steam-cleaned?

Cream cheese is a versatile topping or ingredient. Whether you want to spread it on a bagel or implement it into your latest dish, there are tons of uses for cream cheese. It may become a staple in your refrigerator.

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.

Those dry erase markers are excellent tools for giving presentations at work or school. But they are not so great when they leave spots on your carpet. Even though they erase like magic from a whiteboard, it does not disappear from the carpet that way. There are many solutions to getting dry erase marker out of your carpet.

The UGG brand has expanded significantly over the years. What began as a company renowned for their distinct, comfortable and trendy sheepskin boots has exploded into an internationally recognized clothing, accessories and lifestyle brand.

If you live in a multiple story home, you may have found yourself questioning why your second floor is so much hotter than the first. Unfortunately, a warmer second floor may not be noticeable until the summer months when the heat really starts coming in. And when it happens, you’ll start to feel extremely uncomfortable.

Pex manifolds are a fairly new way of running plumbing in your home. Pex is an acronym for cross-linked polyethylene. Rather than using the typical old rigid piping system, the Pex tubing is a more forgiving and flexible material that has a variety of incentives for using it over copper pipes.

Doorbells can be an afterthought in a home, a method of simply alerting the homeowner to a potential visitor. There are also times when the doorbell can stop working, and an immediate solution may not be evident.

Have you ever walked into your house and noticed there’s a distinct, sugary, and almost overwhelming stink?

By the nature of their design, tarps keep the elements away, but they get grimy in the process. No one wants a mud-encrusted tarp sitting on their garage shelf. But how easy are they to clean? Can you put them in the washing machine?

You cannot legally leave your old furniture on the curb. It’s considered a hazard to put furniture on the street, and you can receive fines in some states and municipalities. There are exceptions to the rule if you call your trash collection service and request a large item pickup.

Fabuloso is that delightful purple cleaning detergent that has been used in countless homes and businesses throughout the country. It’s basically a hallmark of people who love the floral-chemical smell of solvent. Sometimes, Fabuloso alone isn’t enough to get the bathroom clean. So, what happens then? Can you add bleach to improve results?

You may see bugs come out of your drain because they either entered through a pipe or hid within the drain. Some bugs, such as flies, are drawn to sink and shower drains and even reproduce in them. This is mostly common with clogged drains, as they provide plenty of cover for mating and nesting.

Bananas are one of the best and most popular fruits to freeze. This yellow fruit is usually cheap and sold in bunches. Bananas are also a fruit that should not be put in the refrigerator, as this allows bananas to ripen naturally and quickly.

If you jumped in the shower and could not get any hot water, the pilot light on your water heater may have gone out. As soon as your teeth stop chattering, you need to head down to the water heater and take a look. While it is not typically dangerous for the water heater pilot light to go out, you will need to relight it if you want hot water.

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?

The comforter on your bed is essential, and it brings warmth to the bed and ties together the room. This is why when you find a comforter that you love, it can be hard to let it go. But what happens when you find a comforter that is a bit too big for your bed? Should you buy a whole new mattress or try to find a new comforter?

In the age of cellphones and the Internet, we’ve become unaccustomed to the idea of a knock at the door. From the other side, is it weird to just go up and knock on someone’s door anymore? Is it Illegal? Are you trespassing?

Take advantage of longer days to welcome more sunshine into your home. Wash the windows, inside and outside, so grime and dust aren’t blocking the sun’s invigorating rays. Start with the frames so you don’t end up with dirt migrating to your clean windows.

The sight of mold in your dishwasher can make you think twice about using your dishes again. Dishwashers are the perfect place for mold to grow because of the moisture, heat, and darkness. Many people struggle with how to get rid of mold in the dishwasher, however, you can prevent mold growth and get rid of what’s already there by taking a few precautions.

Pets help make a house a home. They provide unconditional love, companionship, and are proven to make people happier. While pets have endless benefits, they can also leave a lot of hair all over your home. This can cause severe allergies for some, and can leave your house looking dirty all the time. If your home is always covered in pet hair, you’ll want to find ways to cut back on how much hair your pet leaves in the house.

Skylights are a great way to add natural light and a feeling of airiness to any room of your house. They can also help with your home’s utilities, decreasing heating and lighting costs. When you decide to install this gorgeous product, you may wonder how long you can expect it to last.

If there’s one thing that has always stood out to me, it’s the popularity of sheepskin rugs. They’re rustic, retro, and oh, so soft! I have a sheepskin rug, but I’ve never really used it for much. Why? Because for the longest time, I had no idea how to clean it. Thankfully, I found out how fairly recently…

Bathroom ventilation is essential to prevent mold growth, mildew, and odors from lingering. However, it is easy said than done to vent a bathroom when you have no outside access. So, how can you vent a bathroom with no outside access?

Cold weather can be a nuisance for any homeowner between expensive heating bills and snow. Freezing temperatures can cause your pipes to freeze,  and that can lead to thousands of dollars worth of damage in some cases. So, how long does it take for pipes to freeze?

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?

Handrails quickly rank as one of the most critical pieces in home remodeling. Decorative values aside, handrails are essential to building a safe environment for everyone living in the house.

Furnaces are integral to the overall comfort of a home. During even the coldest of winter months, we can remain nice and warm thanks to our furnace. But the furnace has a lot of components to it that can break or need replacing, such as the  flame sensor unit, for instance.

Dust mites are microscopic insect-like pests that are related to ticks. They feed off dust, and mostly live off dead skin cells. Since their diet of choice is dead skin, they are most commonly found where you spend the most time, like your bed and couch. 

If you climb into your attics and find your roof turbine vents are not spinning, there may be a moment of panic that sets in. Issues may come up regarding how long this takes to repair, and you may start worrying about the cost. That’s entirely understandable, but with this guide, we will find out how to diagnose any issues and fix them.

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.

All new Toro mowers are auto choke which means typically, to start it, all you need to do is pull and hold the handlebar bail lever, then yank on the pull cord. Despite the fact that Toro builds great machines, but in the event, you pull your Toro Recycler 22 out of the garage and it won’t start, you are going to need to know how to fix it.

The mini fridge is a useful invention, whether you simply don’t have space for an actual refrigerator or need to transport cold products.

Buying appliances is expensive When it comes to large appliances like refrigerators and stoves, you are typically going to be spending more than a thousand dollars. So, you want to make sure you are getting your money’s worth when you do have to get something like that.

Wool is a natural material you should never put in the dryer. The heat and constant agitation inside a dryer can ruin wool products. A dryer can shrink, distort, and clump all wool items.

If you have a septic tank, you know it can be a lot of maintenance. Perhaps you just had your septic tank pumped and it’s full again. There could be a number of reasons why this happens.

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?

For many homeowners, choosing the grade of oil they use in their lawn mower can be tricky. A common oil grade that people use in their lawn mower is SAE30. However, many people wonder whether or not they can swap out the SAE30 in favor of 10W30.

If you have a lot of floor space in your home, then you might have a great way to burn calories without even knowing it. Mopping the floors can burn anywhere from 100 to 300 calories in an hour. Mopping is an activity you do standing up, and uses many of your muscle groups, from your lower body to your core, and especially your upper body.

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?

Whether you already have latex paint on the walls, or you need to paint over latex for another reason, you might be wondering if it is possible to cover them. Typically oil-based paint is a great option to choose for painting, but if you have latex down already, then it is not really a great decision.

Suction cups provide excellent utility. They enable us to hang a variety of items around our home in ways that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

If you want to park in front of your house or have your guests do the same, that’s your prerogative. More than likely, you keep the area in front of your house clear for mail delivery, garbage pick-up, and similar events. But what do you do when your neighbors keep parking in front of your house?

Bi-fold doors have long been a popular option, whether used for a closet, in a doorway, or even as a room divider. However, they are certainly not the only door option nowadays, especially when it comes to closets. If you’re looking for alternatives to bi-fold closet doors, you have lots to choose from.

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?

Marble is a  staple element in the interior design of many homes. As a versatile and elegant material, marble can be used in pillars, backsplashes, flooring, countertops, and more. Unfortunately, marble can become stained with water over time.

Mesh laundry bags are a must-have for washing your most delicate pieces of clothing. However, can you throw the same mesh laundry bag in the dryer afterward?

While it can be relatively simple to strip paint from wood, ceramic, or metal, plastic requires a little more careful attention to ensure that the material stays undamaged. The more conventional stripping methods that involve harsh chemicals will not work, as they can easily melt or damage the plastic. Lucky for you, since plastic is non-porous and smooth, it’s actually exceptionally rare for paint to form a permanent bond to it.

If you have a termite infestation in your home you may be considering fumigation. This is one of the best methods of killing off termite colonies and giving you peace of mind. While it may seem like an involved process, with the proper planning, everything will go smoothly, but how long does termite tenting last?

If you’re in the situation of struggling to be comfortable at your bathroom vanity, you may be wondering if it is possible to raise it. While raising a vanity might sound difficult, it can actually be quite simple. Raising a bathroom vanity can make your vanity more functional and easy to use.

A Jacuzzi is a great way to add a sense of calm and luxury to your home. However, there is nothing luxurious about getting into a Jacuzzi full of chunks of black flakes. So, what is the black stuff coming out of my Jacuzzi jets?