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This weekend temperatures plunged far below zero in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont as residents hunkered down and tried to stay warm. Mount Washington set a record for coldest wind chill ever recorded at minus 108 degrees!  As a landlord, my phone was non-stop yesterday.  Unfortunately, these record low temps resulted in some frozen pipes at my apartments buildings.     The best way to deal with freezing pipes is to prevent them in the first place.  But if the unthinkable does happen, you’ll have to act fast to minimize the damage and cost of repairs. Why Freezing Pipes Burst Not all freezing pipes burst. But when one does, it’s because water expands when it freezes, adding considerable pressure on unyielding plumbing pipes. That pressure can cause a tiny leak at a joint or crack on a length of pipe, unleashing the full flow of water inside your home. How to Identify Freezing Pipes A water line coated in frost (or bulging like a well-...

If you’re a homeowner in a snowy climate, chances are good that you dread shoveling snow in the winter.  B arring a move to a snow-free state or barricading your family inside all winter, there’s no way to avoid the endless task of shoveling snow.  There are, however, ways to make the process much easier. Here are four simple hacks to make the morning after a snowfall much less stressful. #1 Spray Your Shovel with Cooking Oil Snow sticking to your shovel makes an already arduous task even more obnoxious. Avoid it with this hack: Lightly coat your shovel with nonstick cooking oil to make the snow slide right off. No more time wasted removing snow from your snow remover. (You can substitute a spray lubricant like WD-40, but the downside is it’s toxic.) #2 Lay Out a Tarp Before the Snow If you like shortcuts, this technique has your name on it!  The day before an expected snowfall, lay a tarp on your walkway. When the snow finishes falling, just pull out the tarp, and voilà:...

Homeowners spend more money on kitchen remodeling than on any other home improvement project, and with good reason. Kitchens are the hub of home life and a source of pride. You can recover a significant portion of kitchen remodeling costs through the value the project brings to your home. A complete kitchen renovation typically recovers about 75% of the initial project cost at the home’s resale.   To help ensure you get a good return on your kitchen remodel, follow these six tips: Plan, Plan, Plan Planning your kitchen remodel should take more time than the actual construction. If you plan well, you can minimize the amount of time you’re inconvenienced by construction mayhem. Plus, you’re more likely to stay on budget. How much time should you spend planning? The National Kitchen and Bath Association recommends at least six months. That way, you won’t be tempted to change your mind during construction and create change orders, which will inflate constructio...

Stand in your kitchen and take a deep breath. Smell that? From last night’s fish to your son’s nasty lacrosse pads that he left on the table.  If you can’t detect any of your home’s rankest odors... you’ve got nose blindness. You actually adapt to the smells around you.  On a sensory level, your processing mechanism becomes less sensitive to the continuous stimuli. On a cognitive level, you can become habituated to the smells and basically learn to ignore them.  Here are some of the most common nose blindness culprits and how to ban them from your home. #1 Pet Funk There’s one easy way to tell if your home smells like pets: Do you have them? Then, yeah, unless you’re an obsessive cleaner and groomer, your abode has at least some Fido funk.  It could be pee, but more likely it’s just hair, gunky ears, and weeks-old slobber.  The first step to cleaning up pet smells is — sorry, pets — cleaning the pets themselves. Bathe and groom them regularly.  Then, v...

Many air-purifying house plants put out their own sweet smell while removing the nasty ones that make your nose curl. Keep in mind, while NASA confirms these plants do tackle toxins, they aren’t a cure-all for our homes here on earth. They’ll remove some toxins, but since our homes aren’t airtight (unlike NASA’s space abodes), they can’t remove everything because the air is constantly changing. But don’t let that put you off. These air-purifying plants can make a difference in your home with their sweet scents. Here are a few to get you started: Air-purifying plants and their scents: Jasmine has a sweet aroma that can calm you Lavender is great at making you sleepy Rosemary can help you focus and work smarter Sharry Baby Orchid smells like chocolate. Delicious! Mother-in-Law Tongue turns carbon monoxide into oxygen Devil’s Ivy, also known as pothos, can cleanse the air of toxic fumes like glue and paint Mums tackle one of the toughest toxins: cigarette smoke Peace Lily can reduce t...

When painting the exterior of your home, you want to get the most from your investment. Done right, an exterior paint job can last 10 years; stain needs to be reapplied more often, anywhere from two to 10 years, depending on the type of stain. One key to how long an exterior finish lasts is how well the surface is prepared. But equally important is the choice of the paint or stain itself. Using high-quality materials, matching them to your house and climate, and conducting regular maintenance will extend the time between recoatings. Expect to pay $35 to $45 per gallon for conventional premium paint or stain. "Green," or zero-VOC, products run $45 to $55 per gallon. A gallon covers 350 to 400 square feet, so figure on about 8 gallons to cover an average two-story, 30-by-40-foot house. Most paint jobs require a primer and two topcoats. Acrylic Latex Paints Acrylic latex is the favored choice, both of pros and do-it-yourselfers. These water-based paints come in an endless range ...

Tackling these five simple tasks now gives you a head start on spring. That leaves you plenty of worry-free time to enjoy the warmer weather. #1 Tell Insects to Bug Off Early spring warmth awakens insects, so start to protect your home now. Seal openings in eaves, decks, and other structures to keep out carpenter bees. Nix mosquitoes by eliminating standing water or treating it with larvicide. Call a pro to destroy wasp and yellow jacket nests, unless you’re experienced enough to engage in a bee battle. #2 Prep Tools for Lawn Care Ladies and gentlemen, start your mowers.  April’s the month to get this vital piece of equipment ready to roll.  An unmaintained machine can cost money, slow you down, and leave your lawn vulnerable to disease. So, before you pull the starter rope:  Replace spark plugs and the air filter. Change the oil and sharpen blades. Fill the tank with fresh gasoline. While you’ve got your gloves on, clean, sharpen, and repair your garden tools. When your ...