Housekeeping

There are many different components to your fridge. When one of them goes bad, there is a chance that your fridge may not work efficiently and could stop working altogether. Identifying the various components can be difficult, particularly if you don’t know what to look for.

If you are having trouble opening your garage door or getting it to close properly, the problem could be linked to a faulty garage door cable. Cables are often installed incorrectly, a problem that leads to the garage door cables either being too short, too long, or out of balance. If your garage door issues are caused by cables in need of adjustment, here is how to fix the problem.

Intex pools can be great during the summer months. After all, who doesn’t enjoy spending time with the family in the backyard, enjoying the sun, and having fun? If you are thinking of purchasing an Intex pool or have already gotten one, there is one question: what to put under your Intex pool.

A brick wall is usually known for its structural integrity. If you’ve noticed one of your brick walls has shifted, this can be a cause for concern. It is vital to fix the brick wall as soon as possible. Except, how exactly do you do that?

Cats are similar to dogs in that they can wreak havoc on your house when they become dirty. The last thing you want to do is find mashed, dirty litter in your carpet because you haven’t groomed your cat in a while. That’s why we put together an easy-to-follow guide highlighting the most essential cat grooming tips that affect your house.

Ortho Home Defense is great for keeping bugs and killing off any nasty critters that may be taking up residence in your home. But like just about any other bug killer on the market, there will no doubt be questions about its safety of use around kids and pets.

The simple answer is that you should clean everything when you move out, but it’s more complicated than that. We’ve put together a cleaning checklist for moving out that isn’t meant to be done in any specific order. Instead, you can use this checklist as a guideline to clean up and get your deposit back at your pace, depending on your move-out schedule.

Wood-burning stoves can save you hundreds of dollars every winter. We all know that running the heat can make quite the dent in our wallets. One of the last stages of installation when it comes to a wood stove is putting in the chimney. 

It is perfectly safe to reuse your bath towel more than once without washing it in most cases, and it can even save on your electric bill. But as a rule, you should only reuse it two or three times. After three days, most experts agree that you should swap it out for a fresh one. This will reduce the risk of bacteria growth or the dreaded smelly towel.

Create a schedule for tidying up and review it with your family members. Post it where everyone can see it.

Keurig’s have become a common household appliance. They are a great way to make a cup of coffee or other hot beverage with minimal time and effort involved. And like any other household appliance, it needs to be cleaned thoroughly from time to time.

When you’re redoing your kitchen, you may be presented with some minor problems when it comes to figuring out the layout. Once in a while, you end up with a gap that’s just difficult to work with. For many of us with a “row-style” kitchen, this gap area is between the stove and the refrigerator. So, what can you put there to make things easier for people who are cooking in your kitchen?

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.

Reusable water bottles have become more common as more people are steering clear of disposable plastic bottles. The reusable water bottles stand out as the more eco-friendly option. In the long run, you can also save more money by turning to reusable containers such as the Hydro Flask.

When living in dryer climates, a humidifier can really come in handy. Dry air is much different than living in humidity and can have noticeable impacts on your skin in particular. Dry skin, breathing problems, and cracked lips are just a few of the things that overly dry air can cause.

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. 

When moving into a new home, one of the first things most people do is change the locks. You want to feel secure in your new home and changing the locks helps with that. This is the time when a lot of people make a common mistake.

Human beings have been drinking tea for thousands of years, which means the tea kettle is one of the oldest water-boiling devices. With a tea kettle, you can boil water without having to expose the water to a flame.

Keeping up with household chores gets a bit harder when you have a cat. Luckily, the pros outweigh the cons in the eyes of many cat owners. We assembled an easy home maintenance checklist for cat owners to make things easier.

If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional flatware and cooking utensils, bamboo is an excellent choice. Not only is it more affordable than silver flatware, it is also durable, lightweight, and incredibly eco-friendly. In fact, the environmentally-friendly nature of bamboo is the main reason why bamboo kitchen utensils have become so popular in recent years.

Around 90 percent of homes within the United States are wired electrically using ROMEX, the trade name for non-metallic (NM), sheathed cable. This type of wiring system is simple to run and very convenient. However, it’s essential that you do not have any exposed ROMEX in your home and the wiring should be completely covered.

One fruit that most people know not to put directly in the refrigerator is a banana, and its relative, the plantain. Bananas are usually picked from banana trees weeks before they are ripe. They often feature a bit of green, which is a telltale sign they need time outside the fridge to ripen.

When it comes to keeping your home warm, oil remains one of the most reliable options on the market. It doesn’t short out during lightning storms, it is easy to operate, and it also is guaranteed to keep you toasty. However, when you first get a home with an oil tank, there can be a little bit of a learning curve. This is especially true if you aren’t sure what size heating oil tank you have.

Doing any type of home improvement project is going to be a pricey matter, and if you have to hire a contractor, then things get even pricier. Of course, hiring any contractor comes with a risk. What if work is bad? Or worse, what if they don’t do the work? One of the most common issues people have is dealing with a contractor that charges far higher than what their initial estimate shows. So, what can you do?

A washer and dryer combo is an essential in any homes. Stacking a washer and dryer takes up less space than having them side by side, and it is quite common.

If your neighbor just moved in, there’s a good chance they haven’t settled in and made their house feel lively yet. In that case, you can help inject their house with personality if you give them a houseplant or two. That said, the last thing your neighbor wants is a houseplant that’s demanding and hard to take care of.

If there is one thing that seems to dry out my hands, it’s washing dishes in piping hot water. And sometimes, I forget my gloves. That’s why, on occasion, I get the urge to turn down the temperature so that I can avoid slathering my hands in super thick lotion. I still often wonder if it’s really safe, or if it’s effective.

Having an automatic garage door does not mean much if the opener will not work. For some reason, the Sears Craftsman garage door opener remotes just stop working after a while. This means you have to buy a new remote. Or does it?

Gatorade has a long-standing tradition of being every athlete’s favorite sports drink. It comes in all sorts of fun colors (erm, flavors) that make them seemingly taste better. It’s a wonderful thing until you actually have it end up on your floor…or worse, your carpeting. So, how do you get those neon colors out of your carpet, anyway?

If you survey 100 professional loggers and arborists on whether they prefer a Stihl or Husqvarna chainsaw, you are likely to get a clear-cut, 50/50 split.

Selling a house is a stressful process, so it helps to do everything you can do to ensure it goes smoothly. It’s no secret that pets are messy and can even be destructive, and that’s a concern for many homeowners when they sell their houses. Does having a pet decrease house value?

Recently, I was watching Fuller House and marveled at how many Tanner-Fuller family members fit into what appeared to be a three-bedroom home in San Francisco. It got me thinking. I’ve heard of dozens of my friends living together in communes or as roommates, but I was not entirely sure how legal some of those living arrangements are. I mean, how many people can normally live in a place before it’s too much?

A portable generator can come in handy in countless ways. However, connecting a portable generator to your house without a transfer switch can present its challenges. A transfer switch can divide an electrical load between sources and is often used for backup generators in the event of power outages.

Mold can be one of the most troubling things that you will find in your home. The spores travel everywhere, and mold can actually be quite dangerous if left unchecked. You can find spores from mold all over your house; however, mold spores really love to flourish in warm, moist areas, like your bathroom.

The hole in the middle of your basement floor serves an important purpose: to prevent flooding and water damage. Whether you have a washing machine, a sink, or a water heater in the basement, this drain plays a crucial role in making sure your basement doesn’t flood if something goes wrong. Furthermore, it prevents flooding from inclement weather since basements are situated underground.

Do you always wonder why your friend’s house smells so good? After all, they have pets, kids, dirty laundry, and other odor challenges, just like you. But you don’t crinkle your nose when you’re at your friend’s house. There are a few reasons why your friend’s house smells great, and you can use them to make your home smell better, too.

One day you wake up and discover that when you flush your toilet, the kitchen sink starts gurgling. Or maybe the kitchen sink gurgles when the water goes down. Your kitchen sink gets more use than any other faucet in your house, so this is typically where you end up noticing the issue. But the problem may have started somewhere else.

There are few meals more impressive than the vast and varied spread of a well-prepared Thanksgiving dinner. The menu almost always includes a delicious and juicy turkey that takes center stage, but the poultry is just a small fraction of the meal.

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.

You cannot establish rules with your roommates until you have a conversation. This is everyone’s chance to voice their opinions, concerns, and expectations. Make a mental list of talking points before the conversation to make sure you cover everything.

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.

Water pressure regulators are an essential part of our plumbing systems. These devices help to bring the pressure of the water to a safe level. Most pressure reducing valves have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years.

When you live in an apartment, it’s difficult to prepare for services like pest control. Unlike homeowners, you likely won’t have the convenience of talking with pest control beforehand. You may have to rely on secondhand information from your landlord.

Curtains can be one of those “set it and forget it” home décor items. To be honest, I’m not sure that I’ve ever washed a curtain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t! You have to consider the material, of course, as well as a few other things.

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?

There are many different standards when it comes to how tall a bathroom vanity should be. Modern designs seem to prefer higher vanities while retro homes go the opposite way. At the end of the day, it comes down to what height makes you the most comfortable.

The cold and dark weather winter brings make it much harder to get all the fresh fruits and vegetables you love. Many local farmers' markets close their doors in the winter, and grocery stores offer fewer exotic and locally sourced options. While finding healthy and fresh food at your local market is challenging when it’s cold, you can still find several varieties of healthy winter produce.

The clean light on a Mr Coffee machine turns on to let you know that your device needs some TLC. But a light that simply does not go off can turn the whole coffee-making experience into a nightmare. The good news is there’s an easy fix, and you can turn off the blinking clean light on Mr Coffee.

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but which type of apple are they talking about? With more than 7,500 apple varieties on the planet, it’s no surprise that one apple can look and taste vastly different from another. Some apples are great for baking, while others are better suited for packing in a lunch and eting out of hand. The key is knowing the various types of apples you’re likely to find in the market and how to use them effectively.

You know the holidays are fast approaching when you start seeing ham displayed in more stores. If you have the time, preparing homemade ham is well worth the effort. Ham is a terrific holiday treat, especially since any leftovers still remain tasty days later.

Many of us instantly recognize the beautiful blue and white coloration and patterns on a piece of Corningware cookware. Not only are these dishes practical and easy to use, but they are beautiful too. Whether you have recently purchased your own Corningware or inherited some vintage Corningware from your family, you may be curious about the best way to clean your Corningware pieces after use.

Termites are the worst pest that you can come across in your home, and treatment is a must. It can be overwhelming when you see termites, or even worse, the damage they caused. Builder-owners that stumble across termites must call an exterminator and pay for treatment.

Guacamole is a party favorite that has become a staple in some diets. It makes use of fresh vegetables to create the perfect snacking dip. You can break it out for a quick snack or make it the centerpiece of any get-together. But how long does guacamole last?

A solar cover is a great addition to your heated or non-heated pool. If your pool has a heater, you will have to retain all the heat you can. If it is heated, saving heat with a solar cover is a great way to save money.

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.

One of the most common reasons why berries get moldy so quickly is because you are buying them late in their maturation process. If berries are already very ripe and juicy, they only have a few days before they start to break down.

Home is where the heart is, but it can be detrimental to your health if you don’t pay attention to your surroundings. Indoor air quality affects everything from your mental health to your lungs, skin, and eyes. Many homeowners understand this but ask the question: Why is my home air quality bad?

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. 

If you have some old rice in your home, you may wonder if it has gone bad. There is no simple yes or no answer to this broad question, as different types of rice have different expiration dates. White rice is the most popular type of rice and can last many years if properly stored.

Every once in awhile, sink drain flanges become stuck. This is not the most convenient thing in the world to deal with but is manageable. The important thing to remember is that it’s not very difficult if the correct steps are followed.