No matter where you live, your house needs to have solid insulation in order to keep you (and your family) comfortable. A lack of insulation will make cold intolerable, increase your air conditioning bills, and even cause humidity to potentially harm your furniture and items.

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.

Keeping your home cool provides improved comfort but it can also lead to an increase in electric bills each month. That can facilitate the need for homeowners to implement additional measures of cooling a home. Whole house fans are a common way of doing this, but some people worry that a whole house fan causes mold.

Vinyl siding is a great choice for your home’s exterior. It’s durable, colorful, stylish…and it also tends to be a magnet for glue residues. This can be pretty bad if you need to tape something to the side of your house. After all, no one wants to spend their afternoon scrubbing away at tape residue, right? Thankfully, you don’t have to. There are tape options that won’t mark up your vinyl siding.

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.

It happens to the best of us: Summer comes, and the Compressor in your air conditioner gives out. You know you need to replace it, but how do you go about it? What is the cost? Having a better understanding of the price breakdown will help you understand your spending range to get your AC back up and running.

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?

If you’re up-to-date with the latest and greatest hairstyles, you might find yourself using hair glue quite frequently. While it’s a fantastic styling aid, it’s not so amazing when some happens to get into your carpet. Depending on the type of hair glue, it will either dry and flake throughout your carpet or dry and stick your carpet fibers together. Regardless of what it does, you need to get it out.

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.

Who doesn’t love bacon? Great on its own or added to any meal, bacon is one of the most versatile foods out there. But what happens when you have some bacon leftover that needs storing for later usage?

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. 

Cast iron skillets are wonderful for many different types of cooking. Whether you are making cornbread, a steak, or even a simple breakfast. They add flavor and create an effect, unlike any other cooking item.

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.

Of all of the pests homeowners face, bed bugs hit where it really hurts the most. The last thing that any sensible homeowner wants is to feel unsafe in their house. Unfortunately, bed bugs excel at making it difficult to get comfortable or feel safe in your own home.

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.

Shark is one of the hottest vacuum companies on the market right now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their problems. With the Shark Navigator, the most common issue is having a roller brush that just won’t spin. When this happens, your vacuum ends up being unable to handle its regular load. So, what do you do when you’re confronted with a “locked brush?”

Designing your home is fun and exciting! Laying new carpet, purchasing new furniture, painting the walls— we understand, you’re anxious to see how the finished project looks. However, there is one thing that you should know. You must wait to put your furniture on your new carpet.

Have you bought a Kobalt brand tool from Lowes recently and noticed their Hassle-Free Lifetime Guarantee advertised on its packaging? If you haven’t, the guarantee states that “you should never have a problem with your Kobalt tool. However, if you do, return the item to the place of purchase for a free replacement. No questions asked.”

When it comes to home improvement, it’s worth saying that not all improvements are going to be that noticeable. Brickmold, for example, is the addition of a frame around the doorframe. Builders and homeowners love having brickmold doors, but they aren’t always appropriate. Ever wonder what the deal is with this subtle home upgrade, or if it’s even worth it?

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.

Thanks to appliances like the rice cooker, we’re able to make what used to be a frustrating process into an easy one. There are so many different rice cookers on the market; it can be hard to choose which one to buy. While they all work relatively the same, some come with unique and special features. 

Cast iron stove grates are found in many homes and businesses these days. Often, when you’re cooking something—like boiling pasta—water will run over a pot and onto the stove grates, and when this happens repeatedly the grates can become dirty. Also, there are some things—like bacon for example—that will splatter no matter how hard you try to avoid this.

Whether you’re looking to restore a piece of furniture, wooden molding, or another type of woodwork, you’ll likely find yourself needing to strip down the pre-existing layers of paint. As with any other paint job, the initial preparation is the most important step. In fact, the condition of the painting surface heavily determines the quality of the finish once you’ve completed painting.

Kids are attracted to all sorts of objects, but mostly those that are glittery, shiny, bright, and colorful. So, chances are, you may find yourself trying to figure out how to get highlighter stains out of your carpet at some point in your life. However, there’s no need to worry! We are here to help.

Baseboard trim is an important part of home building as well as remodeling. Having a wall without a baseboard would be unprofessional and weird. They often define the entire room. A regal baseboard adds class and skimpy baseboards just make it look cheap.

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.

Thermostats are excellent pieces of equipment used to keep your home at the desired temperature. You can set the temperature, and the thermostat will do the job for you. If you don’t already have it connect to your AC unit, you might wonder how to do that.

In general, sliding glass doors are typically locked from the inside and not the outside. This is because they are not intended to be used as entrance doors, even though many people use them as the primary way to enter their homes. However, the good news is that there is a way around this! So, how do you lock a sliding glass door from the outside?

When I was growing up, I didn’t know much about mobile homes aside from the fact that they were supposedly bad with tornados. But then again, not many homes are good with tornado wind speeds. While mobile homes are not exactly lauded for their wind hardiness, there has to be some point that they are built to withstand wind, right? What’s the limit?

Mobile homes are vulnerable to cold weather. Have you ever wondered why bridges have signs that read “may be icy”? The reason, unlike a road on the ground, is that cold air is traveling above and below the bridge.

Making the switch to solar is one of the biggest decisions in a homeowner’s life. Whether you want to save money on your electricity or get completely off the grid, there are options for you.

Whether you’re changing your shower hardware or replacing a cartridge valve, you need to remove the shower handle. If you don’t see any screws, you might be wondering how you’re supposed to take off the handle.

Oil leaking from your KitchenAid mixer is a lot more common than you think, and no cause for concern. However, over time, your mixer runs the risk of leaking all of its oil out of the appliance, which means that your gears will not be as lubricated.

Not too long ago, I had a moment where my allergies were out of control. Every time I woke up, I’d be sneezing and wheezing up a storm. It only dawned on me after someone mentioned that I haven’t cleaned out my humidifier. It was a Honeywell. After a quick go, I was able to figure out how to clean it and how to make my mold allergies disappear.

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.

Kids these days have some very odd toys that they play with. Flarp is one of the weirdest. Actually, adults seem to like it too. It is just putty-like Silly Putty, but it makes a farting noise when you play with it. But Flarp is not so much fun when it is stuck in your carpet.

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?

More and more homeowners these days are choosing gas fireplaces over traditional wood fireplaces due to their convenience. The truth is both types can make for a great focal point to any room. Unfortunately, gas fireplaces still come with their downfalls. One of the most common issues people deal with is when their gas fireplace won’t start but the pilot light is on.

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.

If you have kids, you have probably had Kool-Aid spills in your carpet more than once. Or adults doing Jell-O shots. Were you able to get the stain all the way out or did you give up and toss an area rug on that spot? Some stains are just really difficult to get rid of. Especially red Kool-Aid. But it is possible if you do it correctly.

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.

Hank Hill might be the world’s most popular propane salesman, and from watching King of the Hill, you’d never guess that propane is such an expensive fuel. But it is. People who are on a budget and regularly use this fuel often seek out ways to trim costs. One of the more popular rumors about propane prices is that you can get a discount if you own your tank. But is this true?

Although some are listed as flushable, it is often a common misconception that baby wipes should not be flushed down the toilet. However, if it has already happened, is there any way to dissolve baby wipes in the septic tank?

Locks serve one specific purpose: to keep people out. We have locks on many of the important things in our lives like our home, cars, and bedroom doors. But from time to time, those locks can become damaged and ineffective.

Mice are small, fuzzy members of the rodent family that can cause just as many issues as the closely related rats and other large rodents. Not to mention, the bubonic plague, or Black Death, that occurred during the Middle Ages was carried by mice. It’s because of them that around half of Europe’s population perished from the plague.

Whether you’re making improvements to an existing home or it’s new construction, building codes can squash your plans. In some cases, building codes force you to alter your design significantly. While in more severe scenarios, you can’t move forward with the work at all.

If you are holding a barbeque and have a small propane bottle, it is essential to understand how long they stay lit. You want to make sure that poor planning won’t ruin a good barbeque. Below, we will find out how long a small propane bottle will last.

Vanity cabinets are seeing a huge leap in popularity, and rightfully so. They are beneficial and provide a focal point for almost every bathroom design imaginable.

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.

Cooking your own meals at home is a great way to learn a new trade, save some money, and find delicious flavors you enjoy. There are a plethora of kitchen hacks on the internet, many of them involving aluminum foil. It’s important to note that using aluminum foil can affect ovens in the long run.

Leaks from your hot water heater can be an expensive problem to fix when the water damages your floor. Besides that, it can also mean that something’s wrong with your water heater. 

You’ve been thinking about this for a while now: Eventually, you would love to have two adorable babies with your partner. But first thing first, you need a house that will allow you to build a happy family. So, you’ve probably wondered how many bedrooms would you need if you have a family of four.

If you have light bulbs installed on a high ceiling, you probably already know how challenging it can be to change out the light bulbs when it comes time for a replacement. Questions often abound. Should you balance on a stack of chairs? Create a tower using multiple ladders? How about using something sticky on the end of a long pole?

It’s perfectly normal for your furnace to be making a little bit of noise while it’s running. Most appliances emit a low buzz or a soft hum while they are in use. However, if your furnace is making a loud humming noise, you might need a maintenance specialist. 

If you are reading this article then you probably have a few questions about how long molasses lasts, or if and when it goes bad. Unfortunately, molasses does not last forever. It also does not last for many years. Instead, the average lifespan of molasses once it is opened is between six and 18 months.

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.

You’ve finished installing your new set of tiles. and applied your grout. Now comes the question. How long should I wait before I can use the room with the newly grouted tile? How long does it take for grout to dry?

Columbia, South Carolina, is a town that bridges its traditional Southern roots with a young and modern urban feel. Known as River City, Cola, or Soda Town, it has no connection to soft drinks other than its nicknames.

Cheesecake is a near-universally loved desert. It can be sweet and unctuous and surprisingly filling as well. Breaking out some cheesecake makes for a great after-dinner treat whether you are hosting or enjoying a quiet night in.

With newer models of washing machines, it can become frustrating running into an error code. Many modern-day washing machines are programmed to display two or three-digit error codes in the case of any issues. These are designed to make identifying the problem easier, but sometimes they can be a double-edged sword.