The best time to prepare your home for winter is BEFORE temperatures drop below zero. So if you haven’t started, here are the steps you need to take.

If you don’t accidentally leave one of your children at home while you’re traveling for the holidays, then your home truly will be unprotected. And don’t expect Kevin McCallister from Home Alone to defend your home against intruders, either.

The home heating system keeps your family nice and warm during the coldest winter months. Depending on the weather conditions, the heater may be running 24/7 — and driving up your monthly electric bill. But before you can start taking steps to maximize your heater’s efficiency, it’s important to learn what affects your heater’s efficiency — whether you have a furnace, heat pump, or broiler.

Every home experiences plumbing issues every now and then. Many of them can be fixed with a few tools, simple repairs, and some research. However, to take care of these repairs, homeowners need to have the right equipment on hand. Here are eight plumbing tools every homeowner should own.

A shower diverter is a valve that diverts the flow of water from the bathtub faucet to the shower head. A shower may have one of the following types of diverters:

If you’re looking for ways to lower your water bill, you don’t need to limit the number of showers you take or cut down the number of times you run the dishwasher per week. Instead, you could install efficient plumbing fixtures that will limit water usage without affecting your comfort and satisfaction.

A whole house water filter, depending on its quality, will remove dangerous contaminants from the water you drink and use to bathe, cook, and clean. But before you begin searching for a whole house water filter, have a professional test your water to find out what kind of contaminants are present in your water and determine the right type of filter for your needs.

Like all home appliances, the furnace shows signs it’s time for repair or even complete replacement. The fall season is an important time to look out for these signs to avoid having to deal with a heating emergency in the dead of winter. 

Home appliances routinely make strange noises and we usually ignore them — that is, until something stops working.

Your toilet is no exception. If you hear gurgling sounds or notice any bubbling, don’t write it off as something you’ll take care of later. Take the time to figure out what might be causing it and try simple methods to fix the problem. If home solutions don’t stop the bubbling, then you’ll need to call in the experts.

With regular use, the home’s plumbing system becomes more and more likely to leak or become corroded for various reasons. One of those reasons may be tree roots growing into the sewer line. To ensure this doesn’t happen, homeowners should take the following steps.