Housekeeping

Do you let your pets sleep or spend time on your bed? If so, then your bedding is likely full of loose hair and oil that your pets excrete through their skin. There is nothing wrong with that, that is, unless you wait too long to wash your bedding. 

If you have a recipe that calls for potatoes, and the only potatoes you have are growing buds, these will probably be safe to use. In most cases, it is safe to eat potatoes that are growing new roots on their exterior, but there are steps you need to take to ensure eating them is safe and delicious.

Getting dents in your carpet may seem unavoidable if you have heavy furniture. However, your carpet isn’t doomed to have dents forever, especially if you take preventative steps. Luckily, we have several easy tips for how to protect your carpet from heavy furniture.

Over time, showers can become a haven for hard water spots and soap scum. If you have a glass shower, the shower door in particular can become a tough spot that seemingly collects with nasty, gross scum.

Wondering why you should devote extra time to designing your home office? For one thing, you’ll get more done and be less stressed when you do it. Your work environment shapes how you feel and approach things, so if it’s chaotic, you’ll likely feel the same way.

Is there anything worse than going through the trouble of washing your towels, but they stink like a sweaty locker room? (Okay, there are probably lots worse things, but after you spend time doing laundry, nothing else comes to mind at that moment.) You should have fresh, clean linens, so why do your towels smell after washing?

One of the most unfortunate parts about cooking is the cleanup process after the fact. When it comes to cleaning your blender, for convenience sake, you may be wondering: “Are blenders dishwasher safe?” Of course, every brand of blender is different, which means that each manufacturer has specific guidelines when it comes to washing.

If you are on the hunt for a new TV, you have probably noticed prices can change pretty significantly in the course of a month or two. Television prices seem to be in a constant state of flux. As you embark on your search, you will likely want to get the highest quality TV within your budget at the deepest discount available. But when it comes to getting the lowest price on a TV, what is the best month to buy?

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. 

Pinesol has been around since the late 1920s and has made its way into every household in America at one time or another. People use it as an all-purpose cleaner to clean their showers, toilets, floors, and countertops. But, are you able to use this on your carpet? That’s the real question.

There simply is no substitute for 100% pure maple syrup. Many companies and brilliant minds have tried to replicate the nuanced sweetness that originates from maple tree sap, but you just can’t recreate nature. This is why pure maple syrup is commonly found in so many refrigerators. But if you only eat pancakes once in a great while, like around the holidays, you might wonder if your old opened bottle of sweet sappy syrup is still edible. After all, how long can maple syrup last in a fridge before it spoils?

Scratches on your luxury vinyl floors are an unfortunate downside of having them. Kids and pets have a tendency to drag in small bits of dirt and gravel on the bottoms of their feet, scratching up the floor. With just a few steps though, these can be repaired.

Plumbing venting is extremely important as it removes sewage from your home. The sewer gases are directed out of the house by plumbing vents which improves the air quality inside. However, many builder-owners and homeowners wonder if plumbing vents absolutely need to go through the roof.

Your furnace is an important part of your central heating system. It keeps your house warm in the winter, but what happens when your furnace starts to age? 

While there are standard hanger dimensions, there is no universal size standard. For children’s clothing and narrow closets, you should buy narrower hangers. For large jackets, you may require hangers that can handle more weight and are wider than a typical hanger.

If you are a someone who works with wood or just loves a good DIY, you know that in order for wood to last, it needs to be specially treated. All types of wood must be finished with a special layer of coating for added protection from light, moisture and other elements.

Wood floors can offer a lot as a counterpoint to carpeting. For one, hardwood floors can seriously decrease the amount of dust and other allergens in your home. Not only that but having hardwood floors can even add to the value of your home.

Hardwood floors are becoming increasingly popular due to their beauty. They match with any wall color and help to spread the natural light coming in through the windows. Some people are even replacing their carpets with wood floors. If this is something that interests you, how much will it cost?

People commonly use backfeeding in areas with sudden power outages due to problems at utility power grid plants or natural calamities, like hurricanes. However, although it might appear to be a good solution in some situations, is backfeeding a generator illegal?

Heating a house is something that requires either a central heating unit or individual heaters for each room. Federal laws require that every habitable space has access to heat.

When it comes to your home’s heating situation, there are very few things as annoying (or potentially dangerous) as a gas furnace with a bad flame sensor. Your furnace’s flame sensor is the tool that is in charge of shutting off the gas when a flame isn’t detected while your furnace is supposed to be firing. Without a functioning sensor, you run the risk of having a gas leak that leads to an explosion.

It doesn’t matter if you are working on a home improvement project or in the middle of a plumbing emergency. When the shut-off valve isn’t working the way that it is supposed to work, it can be a real pain to the rear end. So what do you do if the water won’t shut off with the under sink shut off valve? What causes this?

When you book through Airbnb, you need to realize the host, not the company, dictates the cancellation policy. This means some reservations are nonrefundable from the moment you book, while others you can cancel up until the night before.

Is there anything better than getting a stack of pancakes for breakfast? Those sweet and fluffy treats often covered in butter and syrup are regarded as breakfast favorites all over the world.

Ah, new joys of parenthood. Lots of bottle filling, lots of new stains to get rid of, and tons of new things you never knew about keeping a good house. One of the first new stains you’ll run into as a parent is the awkward spill that happens if you drop diaper cream on a carpet. So, how do you get this stuff out of your pre-baby carpet?

Green cleaning products are all the rage. But how safe (and effective) are these so-called green products? Some still feature harmful chemicals or are far less effective than their traditional counterparts.

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.

It’s hard to get comfortable at home when your house smells musty. This is even harder when you struggle to track down the cause of the problem. So, what should you do when you can’t get rid of the musty smell in your house?

A ceiling fan can be an excellent addition to any home for both aesthetics, comfortability, and saving energy. In the wintertime, you can have the benefit of enjoying warm air being pushed down into your living areas. Whereas, in the summer, the fan will draw the excess warm air up and away.

Let’s be real, not many people would rank cleaning the house as one of their favorite pastimes. But when you have kids, it can be even more challenging to keep things tidy, especially in the summer. When the kids are out of school, clutter seems to multiply faster than rabbits, so what can you do to keep the house clean?

Tune in to any weather report during the fall or winter and you’re likely hearing something about wind chill. If you live in a part of the country famous for having icy conditions, you’re probably very familiar with that term already.

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.

Muriatic acid is one of those chemicals that sounds scary but can easily be a DIY fan’s best friend. This acid is regularly used to etch glass, prep masonry for paint, restore surface appearances in basements, and fight mildew. However, it’s a pretty strong chemical that can easily cause burns and damage if left as a spill. That’s why knowing how to neutralize it is so important.

September marks the end of summer and the return of cozy fall weather. For many households, it’s back-to-school season, and the holidays are not top-of-mind. While it’s true there are several months between the start of fall and the first major holiday, it doesn’t mean you can’t begin preparing for the busy holiday season in September. Shopping early can save you a lot of money on your holiday feasts.

Louvered Doors can seem tricky to paint, with all the slats and spaces. You might worry about paint dripping, what the back will look like, or how many coats to use.

When purchasing a home, one of the most important things to have inspected is the electrical system. The electrical system is a fairly delicate part of the house. Because of this, you want to know what kind of wiring you’re dealing with, especially if you buy a house with aluminum wiring.

Most snow is tracked into the home from your shoes. Therefore, the best way to prevent it from reaching far into your home is to stop it where it enters. Most homes have doormats outside. In the winter, it’s wise to have mats on the inside of your home as well.

A propane heater is a valuable and versatile investment that can heat your house or warm your mobile home or camper. Also, it can operate in a power outage, making it a boon during emergencies or natural disasters. But, you need to make sure you have enough propane, so how much propane does a 30,000 BTU heater use?

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?

Sometimes conditions change and you don’t’ need as much light as the original situation required. You may be interested in saving money by reducing the number of lights on when you flip the switch.  In either case, removing unneeded lightbulbs from a fluorescent fixture may sound like a great solution.

It's bad enough to find mold in your bathroom, bedroom, or closet. However, nobody wants to find it in their fridge, as that somehow feels like a bigger violation than finding it anywhere else. You’re not alone if you’re at a loss for what to do when you find mold in your fridge.

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.

Weighted blankets have become a refreshing alternative, to treating anxiety and stress. Getting a good night’s sleep is important for anyone. A weighted blanket can help get you to sleep faster, and improve the quality of your sleep.

If you live along the coast, or in a region prone to severe weather, then you are likely aware of the danger of hurricanes and tropical storms. They can completely demolish homes and entire communities in their path. In some cases, you might even be ordered to evacuate your home when a hurricane is expected to hit. In other circumstances, it is your responsibility to hope for the best but plan for the worst. As you begin preparing your home and gathering emergency essentials, you might wonder exactly what you should buy at the grocery store to properly prepare your pantry for a hurricane.

There’s nothing like a cozy evening spent by the fire. It’s why so many of us prioritize purchasing homes with fireplaces in them.

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. 

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.

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 took me by surprise, it was the sheer variety of fuels that are used to heat up a regular home and provide power to it. Two of the more common fuels that you can use are home heating oil and kerosene. Both are used to bring up heat in a home, so some people might feel the need to pool the two together. But, is this really a good idea?

Older adults, pregnant women, and those with mobility issues may find washing clothes a chore. The simple task of taking clothes out of the machine after a cycle and putting in a new batch of laundry can put quite a lot of strain on the back. In that case, a laundry platform is a perfect fit for the situation.

Coconut oil has become one of the most popular “superfood” buzzwords of the last decade, and rightfully so. It can be used for almost anything from massage oil to a delicious additive to your food. Unsurprisingly, it’s also found itself on many unsuspecting carpets across the country in unprecedented quantities. So, how do you get this oil out of your carpet?

In the unfortunate event of a fire, you will find yourself with a lot to clean up. Fire causes smoke, and smoke turns to soot. You might find soot stains around for other reasons, too. If you smoke cigarettes or burn candles or incense, you could leave behind soot stains.

One of the most popular alternatives to coffee is matcha. Matcha is a green powder that comes from drying and grinding high-quality green tea leaves. It is a Japanese beverage that has grown wildly popular throughout the world in the last decade.

People tend to get sick more often in the winter than in the summer. The coldest months of the year coincide with flu season and a sharp spike in colds and other contagious viruses. When you go out in the world, you must keep your distance from others and wash your hands frequently to avoid getting sick, however, it’s equally essential to keep your home clean and sanitized so it is germ-free.

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.

Think about how you feel when your house is a mess or cluttered. Now, think about how you feel when things are tidy, clean, and fresh. Which one do you prefer? Most likely, you enjoy how you feel when your house is somewhat in order (it doesn't have to be perfect).

Electric kettles are wildly popular in countries where tea is embedded in the culture. You can find them in nearly every kitchen and hotel room in these parts of the world. In North America, however, this kitchen appliance is not nearly as commonplace. Some people think the only reason to buy an electric kettle is if you drink tea every day, but there are many reasons every kitchen should have one.

Filtered water is not only healthier for you, pulling out dangerous contaminants from tap water, but it is a convenient and easy way always to have water at your fingertips. Brita is a popular brand that makes several water filtration devices to help bring you safe and delicious tap water. While having filtered water is a modern convenience, it does require a little upkeep to ensure that your Brita water filter is regularly changed to allow the filter to work to its intended ability.

Are you having issues with starting up your riding mower? When you go to start it, does it crank over but not completely startup? Thankfully, riding mowers aren’t very complicated pieces of equipment, and the owner can quickly resolve most issues. This will help save you money and time on bringing it into a shop. However, if this happens to you, what do you do?

Switching from baseboard heat to a forced-air system is a big decision. Many people choose to stay with their baseboard heaters not only because of the cost of changing systems, but the perks it provides. Before you decide to convert heating systems, make sure you research which is best for your family.