Home Services

Finding droppings in your home can feel like the start of a long battle, whether it’s ant droppings vs. termite droppings. Pest problems can happen to anyone, even the most meticulous of cleaners. Each pest has different droppings, so if you are unsure about what infestation you have, inspecting their droppings can help.

Depending on the location of a home or vacation home, there may not be municipal water lines that run into the property. When this happens, there is usually a well system that is built to provide water to the home.

There are many reasons that people rent trucks from Menards. Sometimes, a truck is just what you need to haul a new purchase back home. At least, if you want to haul it home yourself at your own convenience.

Your home’s HVAC system is one of the most important systems when it comes to your safety, your comfort, as well as your home’s value. That’s why minor issues with your heating system still deserve a lot of attention, even if it’s something that is as simple as a furnace that’s blowing warm air rather than hot air. Speaking of, what does that even mean?

Homeowners need to be knowledgeable and careful if they want to keep their septic tanks in good condition. The things you know could help save your household’s septic tank from unnecessary damage. Among the things worth knowing is the distance separating your septic tank’s lids.

There are times where the renter/landlord relationship can an interesting one. In most cases, tenants sign their lease and rarely have to deal with their landlord. In other cases, a multitude of issues can arise that can complicate the relationship.

If you take a look at most of our plumbing guides, you’ll notice that one of the first instructions we add involves shutting off the water. It’s simple, right? Well, sometimes you might want to think twice. You might want to know if your water heater needs to be shut off too. This is doubly true if you own a tankless system. After all, it’s important to do it all the right way, right?

Bed bugs can turn every moment in your house into a waking nightmare, and that’s no exaggeration. Not only are their bites uncomfortable, but you cannot eradicate them easily, and they reproduce quickly. It’s even worse to deal with bed bugs when you are about to move. So, will bed bugs follow you if you move?

If you’re a fan of Back to the Future like I am, the first capacitor you probably heard of is a Flux Capacitor. Though that item is fictional, there are real capacitors, and most major appliances have at least one they require to run. Your air conditioner unit isn’t much different. So, how can you tell if your unit’s capacitor went bad?

Most tenants are required to put the water bill in their name and pay it on a regular basis. But what if the water bill you received was astronomical, even though you haven’t been using more water than usual? Could it be because of a leak, and are you required to pay, even if it was beyond your control?

Who wants to live in a filthy house with dirty floors? Most people don’t. But who’s responsibility is it to clean the carpets? Better yet, can landlords charge for carpet cleaning in a home that belongs to them? The answer may surprise you.

Moving in with your significant other is a big step. This step is even more monumental when you are married to this person. When you and your spouse move in together there is much to consider. Before you start unpacking and popping open the champagne, however, consider you may need to speak to your landlord first.

Air ducts carry warm and cool air throughout your home when you run your furnace and air conditioner. Over time, air ducts get caked with dust, debris, dirt, and pet hair. This can significantly reduce the airflow throughout your home and strain your furnace. 

Your hot water heater is perhaps one of the most important things inside your home. Keeping warm water flowing, is essential, for living. If your hot water heater’s pressure relief valve keeps opening, we have some tips that will help you fix it.

If you’ve heard much talk about furnaces and their specific components, you’ve likely come across the term “blower.” The blower, or blower motor, is one of the most essential components of your furnace.

Do you have a mice problem? If not addressed quickly, a mice infestation in the home can become a serious nuisance.  Fortunately, you don’t have to rush to a local retailer and buy mice traps that could be harmful to your young children or pets. Instead, there are a number of natural ways to rid your home of these pesky rodents. Aluminum foil is frequently featured online as an anti-rodent “life hack.”

The smell of raw sewage is nasty. Plus, the fumes can be toxic for you and your family to breathe. But who’s responsible for fixing it, and what happens if you ignore the problem? Here’s what you need to know.

No matter who you are or where you live, nobody likes pests. Whether it’s bed bugs, termites, mice, or another pest, they’re a nuisance, and they keep you from living your best life. A hatred of pests applies to both homeowners and renters alike. If you live in a rental property infested with pests, it’s important to know whether it’s your responsibility or your landlord’s to get rid of the pests.

Honeywell thermostats are beloved for their fair price, useful settings, and effective interface. They especially come in handy during winter when you need to adjust the heat and enjoy your furnace. So, what does it mean when your Honeywell thermostat says “Heat On” but there is no heat?

While buying a pump is an easy solution to increasing your water pressure, those pumps can be incredibly expensive. For those on a budget, buying a pump may not be an available option. Because of this, we’ve produced a guide on how you can increase water pressure without a pump.

Your backyard is undoubtedly so much more than a fenced-in area behind your house. For you, it might serve as an extension of your living space, complete with cozy, plush lounge seating. Or perhaps you host dinner parties and BBQs with friends and family or enjoy frequent picnics. But when uninvited guests, like mosquitoes, show up, it can take a big bite out of your fun.

Honeybees, even though they do great things for the environment, may cause a lot of harm in a short amount of time to your home. You could end up paying hundreds of dollars in repairs if bees are not eradicated or relocated immediately. So, who do you reach out to? Will homeowner’s insurance cover the cost to remove the bees?

All homes will require repairs at some point. As the homeowner, it’s your job to address the new issue that has emerged. But what if it’s a bit more complicated than that?

Experienced HVAC technicians and contractors have less to prove than others. That’s not to say that a new company can’t be equally trustworthy. However, it’s a good sign if an HVAC contractor has been around for 5 to 20 years or longer.

We all seem to take clean water for granted. You turn on the tap and freshwater flows. If you live in a rural area and depend on a water well, you may have experienced a temporary lack of water when your well goes dry from overuse. You may wonder how long does it take for a water well to refill?

One of the best ways to maximize the space in your unit is something you do before you move in a single box. Moving is often a hasty process, and it’s something you want to get done quickly. Still, a little bit of planning goes a long way.

Imagine this: You’ve just found a beautiful, leasable apartment. You reach out to the property manager or landlord to see if it’s still available, and you find out that it is. You apply, you wait, and eventually you hear back from the landlord, who pleasantly tells you they’d be delighted to have you as their tenant.

Your air conditioner, whether it is a small window unit or a large central unit, is a complicated piece of equipment. There are many components within it that, should they stop working, can derail the entire unit from working properly.

Depending on where you live, a functioning air conditioner can either be a convenient feature or an absolute necessity. Whatever the case, it’s important to know what to look for when buying one for your home.

The time has come to replace the submersible pump in your residential water well. There are a variety of options to consider. Of the options, there is one that confuses homeowners more than any other?  Which is the better option?  A 2-wire or 3-wire submersible pump.

It is often overwhelming to return an apartment to its original state upon moving out. Making sure everything is back in order and clean is daunting. It may be particularly frustrating then, when you have finished cleaning the house and notice the lawn is dead. This begs the question, “Can a landlord charge me for dead grass?”

Droppings aren’t enough to know if you have an active mouse or rat population in your house. Sometimes, mice and rats pass through, and you may never see them again. However, it doesn’t take long to figure out that you have an active rodent population if you look for several signs, like:

Anytime we move into a new rental property, development, or complex, there are certain things we must figure out. These are the everyday and routine aspects of life. That includes taking out the trash and knowing what day and how trash pickup works. It is the daily routine of checking mail and learning when mail runs and how the mailbox system works. That can include questions such as does the landlord have to provide a mailbox key, or is that the tenant’s responsibility?

Ideally, you should start packing at least 4-6 weeks before a move. Moves sometimes come up unexpectedly, but it’s a great idea to start packing as soon as possible. The biggest reason to pack early is that you have many other responsibilities to consider when moving.

No hub couplings and flexible couplings may look a lot alike. However, the surface similarities mask the real differences between these two types of plumbing couplings. Flexible couplings and no hub couplings are different, with different applications and meeting different standards.

Whether you’re getting older or helping aging parents consider their next steps, selling a home could be on the horizon. Sometimes, where you live doesn’t fit as well with your lifestyle as it once did, so it makes sense to move. Before posting a for sale sign, consider the reasons that signal it’s time for seniors to sell their homes.

No one wants to have to look for cockroach droppings, but this simple task can go a long way towards preventing infestation and disease. Locating roach feces will help you find out where the cockroaches are congregating, where they’re getting their food and water from, and, thus, give you the upper hand at getting rid of them for good.

Connecting to the main sewage line from your house is a convenient and modern way to handle wastewater. Not only is it convenient, but it requires very little maintenance to keep a secure connection from your house to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. To secure a strong connection, a common plumbing component called a sewer tap is used.

Let’s face it: your future apartment won’t likely have as much space as your current house. There may not be enough space for all the clutter in your house, and most of the clutter isn’t even necessary. Decluttering not only lightens your load, but also streamlines your life.

Hidden cameras are ultimately among the biggest privacy violations that you can experience. Spy cameras have become so small that you can find them in everything from smoke detectors to light bulbs. That said, the average person still struggles with how to tell if a light bulb is secretly a camera.

Teflon tape, commonly referred to as plumber’s tape, is implemented when connecting metal plumbing pipes in order to reduce the risk of leaks. In general, Teflon tape is recommended to be used on most threaded connections that do not have a rubber gasket.

In the winter months, your heating system is one of your home’s main energy users. Since your home’s heating system has such a huge impact on you and your family’s comfort, it’s important that you consider all of your options. While you may already be familiar with forced air or hydronic heating systems, hydro-air heating is a less common choice. However, they are slowly gaining popularity largely because of their flexibility and reliability.

Imagine drifting off to sleep at night and hearing scurrying and scratching sounds. It’s undoubtedly unsettling, to say the least, when you know you have critters living within your walls. Understandably, you want to know how to get rid of rats in the walls and ceilings once and for all.

Getting all of your ducks in a row as a homeowner involves lots of inspections, particularly if you are seeking a conventional loan. Conventional loans sometimes have different stipulations than government-issued loans, leaving renovators and homeowners confused about what inspections are required.

Water is one of those vital necessities that we all take for granted…until our access to it is cut off. With austerity measures in place throughout many parts of the country, it’s clear that water usage is starting to become a hot button issue. Landlords often pay for water, so are they allowed to tell you that you need to use less?

Moving is stressful enough, so it can be intimidating if you face the challenge of packing up a cluttered house. It can be hard to figure out where to start, leading you not to start at all. But if you know how to pack a messy house to move, you’ll find that it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

It typically takes between 2 and 10 hours to move, but it depends on the size of your home. Ideally, you should allocate a full day for moving, as it can take longer than expected. Of course, moving goes much faster when you hire professional movers.

Furnace problems can be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and expensive to deal with. Whether it is your thermostat or your furnace, it is never pleasant to sit in a cool home when something isn’t working properly. So, what does it mean when your thermostat clicks but there’s no heat?

Many people love to do projects on their own before they contact a professional. Like projects dealing with electricity, if there is doubt, do not do it yourself. Call a professional if you have to change the furnace gas valve if you are unsure of something.

When people think about mobile homes, they don’t ever really assume they’ll see them traveling or that they’ll be mobile. To a point, it’s easy to see why. It usually costs a lot of money to move a mobile home to another lot—especially since mobile home lots will ask you to pay for their right to move there.

In Florida, the state known for its marshy lands and wonderful beaches, bugs are prominent. There’s likely not a home in Florida that hasn’t dealt with an insect invasion. But there are some tiny black bugs in Florida homes no one talks about very much.

One of the best ways to lower your heating costs this winter is to use your wood fireplace on cold days. A fireplace is not just great for setting the mood, but it can also effectively heat your home.

Your air conditioning system is one of the most appliances in your home. Having central air is much more convenient than using a window-mounted unit, too. Instead of keeping a single room cool, it keeps the entirety of your home cool and comfortable.

Cleaning your gutters regularly of twigs, leaves and other seasonal debris is a stinky, miserable, and messy task that almost nobody looks forward to doing. Thankfully, you can reduce this headache by installing gutter guards. Implementing gutter guards into your rain gutter system is a great way to avoid having to clean your gutters on a regular basis.

Wasps are lean, mean, and ready to sting you and ruin your time in the garden. They wreak havoc on countless homeowners during the spring and summer. The average homeowner would do anything to keep wasps away. Understandably, many people struggle with how to get rid of wasps.

When it comes to buying or selling a home, whether in Georgia or anywhere, there are quite a few things that you need to do. You need to acquire an estimate on any potential necessary work, and typically, you need an appraisal. But in addition to these things, is a termite letter required in Georgia?

Nobody should have to live with a rodent infestation. But who’s responsibility is it to get rid of mice? And if it’s up to your landlord, can you withhold rent until the problem is fixed? Here’s what you need to know.

Arachnophobia refers to the irrational fear of arachnids, particularly spiders. There are roughly 100 million people in the United States that suffer from arachnophobia, and it effects 3.5 to 6.1 percent of the global population. Even if you are just mildly afraid of spiders, you’re not alone. So, if you recently spotted a spider and you’re wondering “how long will a spider stay in my room,” we’re here to help.

It isn’t necessarily wrong to not tip movers if you have a good reason for it. However, you should only withhold a tip if the movers made exceptionally bad mistakes, such as: