Before you start cleaning or staining your wood deck, you will want to perform a water test. A water test is the easiest way to ensure that the wood can absorb sealer or finish. Sprinkle some water on the deck and if it soaks in immediately, the deck can be sealed. If the water beads up or stands on the deck, your deck may not need sealing yet.
The exterior of your home is the first impression that you are portraying to the world, whether the world be prospective buyers or friends and family stopping by for a visit. Do you want that first impression to have your guests snickering at what your house looks like or would you want them to be drooling over how good your home already looks? There are a ton of exterior paint colors that people are falling in love with that may just be what you’re looking for to give your home an edge up on the curb appeal.
If you have never experienced a remodel before, it’s safe to say that you will encounter a lot of dust in your home. While the results are exciting to think about, the tear down can become hazardous with loads of particles invading your space, making it hard to breath. Not only that, but whatever insect waste, paint remnants, or any other elements lingering in your walls, will be invading your air. There is a way to keep the level of dust to a minimum. It is even a best practice to ask your contractor how they intend to keep the dust from becoming a nuisance. In the same breath (pun intended), it is always good to know what to do for yourself.
At some point in time, the garbage disposal will have to be replaced. The next purchase should be durable and long lasting for the life of your kitchen. The next update to the garbage disposal should last beyond the next kitchen update.. With such a wide range of garbage disposals to consider, the fear of making the wrong choice is heavy.
When looking for the right toilet seat for your bathroom, there are definitely more things to consider than the aesthetics. Contrary to belief, size matters. Functionality, among other things, are also important. The tips below are beneficial to choosing the right toilet for your bathroom space.
It is never too late or too early to save money and reduce your carbon footprint. The first place to start is with your home and you will be surprised at what you can do to reduce those monthly bills. Here is a short list on the things you can start with to achieve your goals. Once you start seeing your monthly bills go down it will inspire you to look for more, deeper, and bigger ways to reduce those bills.
Change your filters. One of the things we don’t really think about is the filters in our central units. When you turn on your air conditioner, fan or heater you are filtering the air in your house through this filter in your central unit. When you don’t routinely change this filter you are causing your system to work harder, use more electric and pump all the “stuff” you don’t want back into the home. You can purchase filters that are reusable that can be removed washed and replaced. These filters cost a little more but will save you in the end since you will not have to continue purchasing more filters. These filters should be removed cleaned monthly.
Turn off and unplug. Did you know that some things you use daily like a computer, tv or monitor will still draw power even when it is shut off? This little drip of electric going to these items will add up over time. Turning them off is good but turning off the power strip or unplugging them is better. But turning off the units or even unplugging will extend the life of the unit and cutting off the trickle of electricity will help your bills in the long run.
Go tankless. Most homes have a 50 gallon hot water tank; one of the biggest ways to save energy is to switch that tank with a tankless water heater. A standard water heater will have a surge of electricity after every bath, load of laundry and sink of dishes you wash. Every time there is a drain in the tank it takes energy to heat the water to be ready to use. Periodically throughout the day it will also kick in to consistently heat the water to maintain the temperature needed to be ready for you to use. Another great alternative to a tankless water heater is a solar water heater. This consists of a 50 gallon tank connected to a solar panel that heats and maintains the temperature even at night! Also think about replacing that shower head with a shower head or shower systems that saves water.
Insulation is the name of the game. You can never have too much insulation but you can have too little. Let’s look at the biggest bandit of heating and cooling…windows and doors. Check your windows and doors to make sure the seals are tight with no leaking or cracking. Re-caulk, change the weather stripping and door sweeps as needed. If you have blown insulation, how old is it? Did you know that cellulose insulation has a typical lifespan of around 20 to 30 years? How old is your home? How old is your blown insulation? Is it still up to code? To get the best results your attic insulation should he at the least R13 but the best is R19. If you have single pane windows replace them with double pane to get the best results.
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If you have a white kitchen sink you have noticed scratches, it can hold stains and it is just hard to get completely clean. If you have a double sink (which are amazing!) it is natural to have one side for the dirty dishes and one for the clean. The dirty side is always the one that looks aged and worn. You might have tried several different cleaning materials only to be disappointed in the results. This products either don’t clean well enough or are costly.
Well there is good news! You don’t have to spend a fortune to keep your beautiful white sink clean and gorgeous. All you need is lemon juice, baking soda and a scrub brush.
Unless you wash the dishes as the accumulate your dishes may sit in your sink for an hour or more before you can get to them. As they sit in your sink the runoff from them will also sit on the bottom of your sink leaving rings and stains. No worries, once you have washed your dishes spread a generous amount of baking soda on the bottom of the sink. Add the lemon juice onto the baking soda and with your scrub brush work the mixture around the sink and rinse with hot water.
If you have an older sink you might have to do this a few times to get the best results. You can also purchase products that might also help with scratches such as Bar Keepers Friend. This is a soft scrub that claims to help remove or minimize scratches as well as clean your sink.
Once you have that sink clean and shiny here are some tips to keep it that way:
If you are having a mold issue we talked about how to clean it up in Part 1, now let’s look at ways to prevent it from happening again.
As everyone knows the hardest thing to remove is mold and mildew from a home. No matter how often you clean it is always there, staring you in the eyes mocking you and your cleaning skills. But we have some tips that will help you to combat this. Continue reading →
Have you ever looked at a mosaic tile piece and thought “I could do that?” Well yes you can! It is easier than you think and costs next to nothing to make because if you have a tile floor you have the tile you need. If you do not have the tile you can get a box of inexpensive tile at the store. Continue reading →