Tag Archives: Home

Great Advice For Successful Plumbing In Your Home (2)

April 10, 2025   Matt

Great Advice For Successful Plumbing In Your Home

Did you know that you can use the same antifreeze that you use in your car to help prevent your home plumbing from freezing? To find out how and why, as well as other great tips for how to maintain your home plumbing, read the following article right away.

You always want to solder correctly, the biggest mistake most people make when soldering is failing to get the interior of the fitting and the exterior of the pipe clean and shiny. Polish these surfaces with a fine emery clot until bright. When soldering, never heat the pipe, but instead heat the fitting. Doing so allows the solder to be drawn into the fitting by capillary action.

When installing a new water heater you need to keep your budget in mind for the upcoming purchase. Low entry gas water heaters usually start around 0 and they usually hold 40 to 50 gallons. Higher line heaters start around 0 and they usually have extra features like 12 year warranties.

You can check your toilet for leaks by adding a few drops of food coloring, Kool Aid or some coffee grounds to the water in the toilet’s tank (not the water in the bowl). Check the water in the bowl after a half hour or so. If any of the coloring agent is visible in the water in the bowl, the tank is leaking, and you will have to have it repaired.

If your water bill seems unusually high and you haven’t changed your water usage, the problem is most likely in the service line. The cost to hire a professional to find and repair the service line most often is far greater than installing a new line and then having the old one shut off permanently.

If you are starting a plumbing project due to have discolored water, especially black, be sure to have your water tested first instead. There could be a mineral build up in your pipes or the source of the problem could be further down the line than you can reach. Most importantly you want to be sure your water is safe for drinking.

A great way to save a few dollars is to add insulation to your hot water heater. Much of the energy required to heat the water in your home is the expense from keeping the water in the tank hot for when it is needed. Adding an extra layer of insulation can help reduce this cost.

Make sure you shut off your main system before leaving your house for a few weeks. The water will stay in the pipes, but this should prevent any further damages in case a leak starts while you are away. Check that your shut-off valve is working properly before you leave.

In conclusion, you want to be sure that all of the advice you have heard about plumbing is correct. Take the time to go back over this article and decide what applies to you and what you need to learn even more about. The learning process never stops and it will benefit you greatly.

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Warm Mist Home Humidifier Review

April 08, 2025   Matt

Warm Mist Home Humidifier Review

A home humidifier review is the best place to look for information before purchasing an appliance for your home. You have the choice between a whole house humidifier or a portable unit for use in the bedroom. Unless you live in a very dry climate, a single room humidifier should be sufficient.
A review of humidifiers is the best source of information before you start shopping for a unit for your home. Most reviews are separated by type of humidifier. The most common are cool mist or warm mist types. There are benefits to each type. Read about both before you shop.

Once you have decided on the type you want, read reviews of specific models. Reviews have a variety of sources from professional reviews, to consumer reviews. There are even some slick advertisers that are able to disguise their advertising to look like a review.

Consumer sources are great for information about how a particular unit has worked for others. However, they generally don’t give a comparison to other products. A professional review should be unbiased and often will give comparisons between different models. Read from a variety of sources to give you a good picture of a particular model.

Cool Mist Home Humidifier

A cool mist humidifier uses cold water and vibration in creating the mist. Because these machines use only cold water, they are a great choice for the nursery or a younger child’s bedroom. There is no risk of scalding with hot water, like there is with warm mist humidifiers or a steam vaporizer.

Because the water is not heated, these machines have a greater risk of releasing bacteria and mold spores into the air. The stagnant water inside the machine is a perfect breeding ground for microorganisms. Proper cleaning and disinfecting the machine can help prevent this problem. Empty the water after every use. Clean out the machine and use a disinfectant cleaner regularly. Make sure to dry the tank completely. Add fresh water before each use.

A warm mist humidifier uses hot water to create steam in the room. Because the water is heated, there is less risk of bacteria and mold spores in the air. Proper cleaning and maintenance of the machine will eliminate the risk altogether. This includes cleaning and disinfecting the machine regularly and changing filters as needed.

Warm mist machines are great for treating colds and congestion that are so common in the winter. Many allow you to add liquid medications to the water to help relieve symptoms. Because they use hot water, they are often not the best choice for use in a child’s bedroom. There is always the risk of burns if your child pulls the unit down. This is particularly dangerous with infants or young children.

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Life is a Stage – So is Your Home!

March 29, 2025   Matt

Life is a Stage – So is Your Home!

What is a home staging?
Home staging prepares a home for sale, and for the dozens of enquiring eyes that will be scouring the property looking for flaws. It creates an image of the perfectly decorated home, in move-in condition. This should be the next step after decluttering, cleaning and repairing your home. The changes may be as small as rearranging furniture to give the illusion of more space, or repainting with more neutral and soothing colors. Home stagers will offer great ideas for perking up a room with accessories and creating a new stylish look for your home

Why stage your home?

In this day and age, having to deal with a sluggish market, staging is a must. It can give you the edge that may result in a faster sale or a higher sales price.

First impressions can make or break the sale of the house, and a home that is properly staged helps to maximize your chances of a positive first impression.

Your home will have an advantage over other unstaged homes.

A staged home shows well in web site marketing and video tours, and since the majority of homes are chosen over the internet, this is a vital form of advertising.

Tips for staging your home.

As you go from room to room, there should be a flow to your home. Avoid overly bright or bold colored walls. This may mean repainting some or all of your rooms with more calming, neutral tones. Some people cannot understand that that bright purple wall can be removed with a coat of paint, and these distractions may result in no sales.

Clean the carpets

Furniture: The most common trick used by stagers is to rearrange furniture to create a more stylish look. During my house sale, my stager suggested I move my dining room table into the living room, creating a living/dining room. This freed up space for my crammed kitchen table and voila, I had a brand new and improved living space.

Rearranging may also mean reducing the amount of furniture so that a room looks more open. This includes emptying out closets, even if it means putting some things in storage. Consider renting a few pieces of stylish furniture or pieces of art.

Tidy up your bookcases so that they look pleasing to the eye. This may mean packing away many of your books and keeping out the ones that display well.

Brighten the house up by cleaning windows, and go with higher wattage light bulbs (just until the home sells). Make sure that the lights are left on before an open house, so the prospective buyers are walk into well-lit rooms and hallways.

Creative use of fabrics as accent pieces for additional texture and color are very common.

Remove family pictures, hockey trophies, any traces of everyday family life. You don’t want the buyer feeling that they are in someone else’s space; they need to imagine their family living in this house.

Use plug in room fresheners, especially to mask pet and smoking odors. If you can’t get rid of a smell, overpower it by providing a distraction such as baking chocolate chip cookies and leaving the tray in the oven.

Sweep out the furnace room and clean the cobwebs off the furnace. If the furnace looks cleaner, it appears newer.

Make a list of general repairs, and if you can’t complete them, hire a handyman to polish them off.

Add fresh or silk flowers to many of the rooms.

Kitchen:

Display bowls of colorful fruit.

Apply oil to cabinets to revive their finish.

Modernize your cabinet handles.

Clear everything off the counters, finding homes for small appliances – you’ll love the look.

Remove fridge magnets and small area rugs.

Have a table set for use, complete with place mats, place setting and napkins.

Bathroom:

Have a set of thick and luxurious towels reserved only for open houses.

Fill baskets with scented soaps and lotions.

Use a scented plug in air freshener.

Remove the collection of shampoo bottles from the tub, or toothbrushes lying on the counter.

Bedroom:

Clear off your night tables, maybe leaving out an interest looking book.

Outdoors:

Place containers of flowers on the patios, decks and entranceways.

Set the table with colorful picnic plates

Power wash the outside of the house, patios and walkways.

Freshen up the paint on all porches and doors

Weed the gardens and apply mulch; it makes them look like new.

In order to make your home staging a positive experience make sure you use either a realtor who is skilled at home staging, or a professional home stager. The latter is a trained designer and they understand how to create a mood or illusion for the buyer.

It can be difficult listening to strangers telling you how your home needs to look. You really need to be open minded and trust their expertise. Many people are surprised at how hard it is to separate from their homes; just keep telling yourself, “It’s not my home anymore”. You’ll probably enjoy many of the changes you’ve made and may reflect these in your new house as well. There is just something about living in a stylish, clean, clutter-free environment.

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Improve The Worth Of Your Home With These Handy Tips

March 18, 2025   Matt

Improve The Worth Of Your Home With These Handy Tips

If you need to do some work on your home but aren’t sure where to begin, this article is for you! Read on to find out what simple, easy steps you can take to embark on a home improvement project for your home! Transform your home easily, keep reading!

When making home improvements, plan for the worst. If you’re working in a basement or bathroom, plan and budget for mold removal. If you’re pulling down the walls in an old house plan to find knob and tube wiring.

Planning landscaping to reduce water usage is not just for homeowners in drought-stricken areas. Between changing weather patterns, rising populations and falling water tables, water for home irrigation is only going to grow more expensive. By selecting plant species that require less water than the usual landscaping standards, a wise homeowner can save a lot of money.

When it comes to home improvement, the lowest bidder for your project will not always translate to be the one who does the best work. Many times, a quote that is too good to be true is just that, due to poor work quality or hidden costs. Be sure to check with any agencies that provide feedback about contractors before hiring them.

Improve the outside of your home by landscaping with plants native to your geographical region. Native plants are proven to do well in your climate, so the long-term results are predictable. You can plan your landscape with confidence that the look you want to achieve will be the look you get. If you choose non-native plants instead, there is a risk that the plants may not thrive in your climate.

When planning a major home renovation project, hire a professional architect or designer to create your plans. Unless you or a family member has professional design training, any plans you create are likely to be all form and no function. Professional designers will be able to create meaningful plans to construct from that also meet all local building restrictions.

If you are installing new flooring, try to find one that has a heating option. This is especially beneficial for colder climates, as heating in the floor will keep your feet warm. There are many kinds of flooring that offer radiant heat options including certain hardwoods, ceramic tiles, linoleum, and bamboo.

Smoke detectors are required for safety in your home. Many homes only put them in certain areas. You can increase the safety in your home, by installing additional detectors in places like bathrooms, kitchens and basements. These areas can sometimes be overlooked, though prone to fires as much or more than the rest of the house.

You should always purchase the materials you need for home improvement projects in the largest possible lots. Building materials have some of the deepest volume discounts you will ever see. By planning ahead you can figure out how much material you are likely to need and buy it all at once. This will cost you much less than making multiple purchases.

Home improvement is an important part of owning a home, and now that you have the tools you need to succeed, you can get started! We hope you enjoyed this article on simple tips and tricks to make improvements, and that it will help you turn your home into something you love.

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Valuable Plumbing Information For Any Home Owner

March 16, 2025   Matt

Valuable Plumbing Information For Any Home Owner

Plumbing issues are never that easy to deal with, but you will find it is easier to navigate the problem when you have solid advice. Whether you need help diagnosing or putting the project together yourself, these steps will guide you through each process that you will encounter as you take on your home’s plumbing.

If your lawn has areas where the grass grows very quickly compared to the rest, seems constantly wet or has a noxious odor you may have a sewer line leak. A leak or crack in sewage pipes can be repaired if caught early and save thousands of dollars in failed septic inspection expenses.

Get rid of odors in your waste-disposal unit. In many cases’ odors in your waste-disposal unit may not be a sign of a clog, but simply small food particles that have started to rot. Place a combination of lemon peel and ice cubes in the unit, and run it for about a minute. Follow this with a good amount of cold water. If this doesn’t help, try a degrease or specialized waste disposal cleaner.

To clear mineral deposits from your showerhead, try a soak in white vinegar. Simply add a cup or two of vinegar to a plastic bag and tape it around the showerhead, ensuring that it is submerged. Leave the bag on for an hour, and the vinegar will dissolve the mineral build-up, allowing water to gush through like it was when it was new.

Make sure everyone in your home knows where the main water shut off valve is and that they know how to work it. That way, if there is a water problem, anyone in your household can turn off the water, thereby reducing the chances that your home will incur major water damage.

If you have issues with the plumbing making a hammering sound when you turn it off, check your water pressure. Any time your water pressure is above 80 PSI, you will hear extra water noise. This can be easily solved by the installation of a pressure-reducing valve, which can be done by most homeowners.

During the winter, preventing frozen pipes when you live in a small dwelling can be something good to know. Frozen pipes will not only stop your flow of water but can crack and damage pipes. By running a little water out of every faucet during the coldest parts of the day, you can avoid this.

Insulate all of the pipes in your home that run along an exterior wall to prevent them from freezing. This step is not going to cost you a lot of money, but it is going to save you quite a bit of damage by preventing pipe freezes. It is easy and cheap to do and should be done as soon as possible.

It is important that you quickly address any plumbing issues before they get out of hand. If you use the steps laid out here for you, you can fix a problem by yourself or contact a professional and enjoy feelings of accomplishment and ease.

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Landscaping Designs for Your Home

March 13, 2025   Matt

Landscaping Designs for Your Home

Landscape designs serve as good reference to those who want to make something of their land. There are pictures and articles written about these in magazines while some are posted on the web.

When you are looking at these landscape designs, keep in mind of what can and cannot work for your home or office. This will help you make a shortlist of what lighting, plants and trees you will be using. You may also want to use some metal, rocks and wood since this adds depth to the garden.

After some time, you will surely find a design that you think looks best. If you feel like incorporating everything here, see to it that the size of the work done here is similar to your land size. Otherwise, you will have to make some adjustments just to get most of it in.

You can also discover some more landscape designs by acquiring software that can help you design from scratch. All you have to do is input some information and the program will do the rest.

So it can work on your computer, you have to first check if the system fits the requirements. You can easily check this by looking at the packaging which will let you know immediately if this is compatible with your hardware at home.

It may eat up a lot of memory so be prepared by getting an upgrade for your hard drive or creating space on your current one.

Creating your landscape design using a computer is best if you are able to inject pictures into the program and if it can show a three dimensional perspective of the land you are working on. Not all programs can do this and you need to take a tutorial first to understand the system.

When working on the landscape design using either a pen and paper or the computer, take into account where the sun is and the type of soil you are dealing because these are things you cannot change and you have to adapt to them.

After putting all these things into consideration, you should now be able to transfer this from paper to the actual thing. Since you cannot do this alone, you will probably have to get help by talking to a contractor.

Given that you are not an expert when it comes to landscaping, the contractor should be able to fill in the other blanks. This includes providing proper garden drainage and in some cases, installing a system that will prevent muddy areas in your garden.

If there are steep slopes that make it difficult to retain the topsoil, they will also need to build a retainer wall so the garden is always leveled.

This is something of course that they should be able to input in the plan you have made. They will then be able to tell you how much the entire project will cost. If after doing a background check this company appears to be legit and they happen to be better than the others who have submitted their proposals, it is time to sign the document so work may begin.

No landscaping design appeared out of thin air. It requires planning on your part and then execution with the assistance of a reputable contractor. As a customer, do your share so the professionals will be able to take it from there.

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