Home Maintenance

There are few things more annoying than a basement wall leak. Water comes in through the wall, runs down and get on the floor, and then leaves you with a mess. There are a few things you can do to...

When I was in high school, one of my favorite teachers almost died because of a spider bite. Although spiders usually avoid humans, they will bite if they feel attacked. Indeed, every year,...

Tried drilling through tile but could not keep the bit in one place? Watched your beautiful tile work be destroyed when the tile cracked? Never put up that extra shelf or rack because you never...

Depending on your perspective, mice are adorable creatures, filthy rodents or snake food. Perspective aside, most agree that having mice infesting the house is unpleasant and unsanitary. The most...

Have a wood-burning stove and the glass doors are black with soot and you can not get them clean? I'll show you how to clean them in a jiffy.

We have a large cement pool with a vinyl liner. Now and then the liner will get a few holes in it. When this happens my husband and I become a team and "dive in" to repair the holes. It...

Photovoltaic panels, also known as solar panels, are a popular option for producing energy or complementing other energy sources. They are often located on the roof of the home where they are...

Painting isn't the funnest project in the world, but cleaning your brushes and rollers can be a pain in the tush. So, we all have those 3 day paint projects. Maybe you are painting the outside of...

Mildew and mold spores are in the air around us all the time. Usually these spores are in such concentrations that they are not harmful to humans. There are several different types of common mildew.

Most homes have garages and each garage has a door. If the springs are not tight or the tension is too loose, the door will not easily open and close. After a certain amount of time, the tension...

We all know that recycling is an important part of waste management: It helps save energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and curbs both air and water pollution. But here are a few eye-opening...

A three-way switch is actually two switches in a room controlling the same thing. Watch as a professional home repairman shows how to fix a three-way switch in this free video.

Insulating your home is one of the more economical ways of increasing your home's energy efficiency and can lower your utility bills. Using recycled clothing for insulation allows you to help the...

When your budget is low, you can always do it yourself. This article will walk you through simple ways to reclaim your space and successfully tackle all those miscellaneous items hidden in the...

If you have an unfinished area in your home, like a basement or garage, that you use for storage or as a workshop, there's a reservoir of untapped space for storage between the studs of the wall....

Tired of that mold and mildew on the side of your house or garage? Even better, are you tired of using a garden hose and scrub brush to clean it? Here's an easy and quick way to get rid of mold...

How to clean your deck or fence chemically free with only a pressure washer

If you want a roaring fire in your gas fireplace, forget about chopping wood. Most gas fireplaces are easy to light by turning on the gas and igniting the fire with a long match. If your fireplace...

There are certain items, such as satellite dishes, that you cannot simply throw away. Like many other electronics, a dish contains various metals and toxins that can pollute a landfill. Sometimes...

Concrete walkways are durable and inviting. Though they are dependable, they are often neglected. When concrete is not sealed, it adsorbs everything in its environment. Leaves, pollen, dirt, and...

The mouse enters the house and the spouse calls you a louse. This shameful series of events has happened to everyone at least once, well almost everyone. Every fall, mice start looking for a dry...

Mice are great at climbing up walls and settling into your attic. The problem is that they can chew through your files or make nests in your antiques. They will also lay their droppings all over,...

Draining your water heater is an important part of home maintenance. Draining the water heater keeps sand, sediment and deposits from building up in your water heater. Allowing sediments and sand...

If your garage door opener works when the interior button is pushed, but fails to work when the button on the remote is pushed, then there are three common problems that arise. First of all, make...

Mixing semi-gloss and flat paint will product paint with a satin sheen. Satin paint provides durability with a little sheen, but it can be difficult trying to match a mixed paint. Consider buying...

When selecting vinyl siding colors, choose natural colors that coordinate with the trim and gutters when the siding is used as an accent, but choose more unique colors for allover siding. Find the...

To install wood fences, locate where each main post will be, dig holes three times the post diameters, secure each post in poured concrete and locate where the gates of the fence will be. Use...

We don't shampoo our carpets nearly enough. It can be expensive to pay a professional company to do it. And there is no need to buy an expensive machine that allows you to do it yourself when...

Anyone who keeps a car or two in a garage knows how important extra storage space can be. Utilizing all available space means using the space above the car as well as any wall or floor space....

Termites can seriously damage a house, bringing down its value dramatically. If any part of your house is made of wood, you are susceptible to termite infestation. You must first determine that...

Vinyl fences are tough to clean, although using the right cleaning products for the type of stain or dirt helps. On top of the regular dirt and grime that vinyl fences tend to collect, green algae...

If you have drafty windows, or if you have no storm-windows, you can still save energy by installing shrink-film inside the windows. And, if installed correctly, the shrink-film is barely even...

The Clorox Company manufactures numerous chemical and food products, but is probably best known for Clorox, its famous liquid bleach. In fact, "Clorox" is often used in speech generically to...

So you're kids threw a ball in the house and hit a light. Or perhapse you hit it with something on accident. Regardless of what happened, a broken lightbulb still in it's socket is a dangerous...

Opening the faucet in your home should not be taken for granted. If not for pressure, the water would not move at all. Pressure is created by a difference of altitudes, or height. Water pressure...

Glue stains can occur on fabrics, wood, carpets and walls. Different types of glue require different removal, so it's good to know what kind of glue stain you're dealing with. Most types of glue...

CLR is a common household cleaner that is designed to clean the heavy duty stains of rust, calcium, and lime. Usually these stains are caused by water build up and the constant drip of minerals in...

Deck stains come in a wide variety of clear, semi-transparent and solid-color stains. All deck stains are designed to protect your wood deck from sun and wet weather. Thus, the kind of stain you...

If you want the protection of the premium brand anti-corrosion solutions without paying a premium price, you can make your own at home with just two common ingredients. The coating that this...

Here is how to tighten worn or loose chains that have lost bar tension over many uses of your chainsaw.

Honestly, you can't Go Green overnight. It should be a progressive project allowing your family to learn their way into new habit and to ease the monetary investment. Fortunately, many changes...

Sharpening wood chisels is important if the tool is to function properly. Once you learn some simple techniques for sharpening wood chisels, your tool will always be ready for you to work with.

There are cheap and easy ways to clean windows, mirrors, eyeglasses, chrome, and any polished surface with Green technique. In fact, there are several ways to Clean Green, so why not? In the end...

Chrome pits easily and relatively quickly if it is exposed to air. Many chrome items come with a clear coating designed to protect them from the oxidizing effects of the oxygen in our air, but...

Learn how to clean your bathroom grout lines yourself and save.

Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. With rising awareness and focus on the state of...

The condensation pump on a central heat and air unit pumps water that it removes from the air. In my case, the main unit is outside the house and the pump is in the basement, pumping water through...

You might not consider yourself "neat," but don't let that stop you from organizing your bedroom. Your bedroom should be your sanctuary. When things get cluttered or out of order, it may prevent...

If you've ever lived in a drafty house where the windows rattled and cold air seeped inside on those cold winter nights, you already know how important it is to find and block those air leaks in...

Moving is a challenge I wouldn't recommend for anybody, but as a necessary part of living, here's a tip from somebody who has moved over 20 times in 10 years: