If your water heater is on the fritz and you're not sure what to do, then Troubleshooting a Tank Type Water Heater is what you want to read. From problems such as not enough hot water to a leaking water heater, it's covered.

Hot water virtually on-demand is a luxury we've come to take for granted. But like anything else, it takes energy to run. So in the tutorial Water Heater Tips for Saving Energy and Operating Costs I'll explain how to easily save water, energy and money in your monthly utility bills.

And when it's time to replace that old water heater with a nice new, energy efficient unit, you'll just love it. And it's really not that hard to do. In the tutorial Replacing a Water Heater I'll walk you through the process, step-by-step. Doesn't matter if it's a gas or electric water heater. I'll show you how.

Geez...Water Heater on the Fritz? originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 13:14:58.

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This blog is going to describe a simple, cheap maintenance task that could save you from a house fire.

Do you know what do you probably have in your home or apartment that is annually responsible for around 15,000 fires, 20 deaths, over 300 injuries and more than $80 million in property damage?!

Answer: Your clothes dryer. And if you have an electric clothes dryer, did you know the chance of fire is 250% greater than if you have a gas dryer?

Yep, I found those stats from a 1999 report developed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shocking also. Well the good news is that the fires were not due to anything inherently dangerous about the dryer as an appliance, but more so the lack of proper maintenance by the user. As it turns out the fire originated most frequently from two places: the dryer venting and the lint trap.

It bothers me when I find out after the fact that I was supposed to do maintenance on something that I did not know I was supposed to do. Don't think you are alone in being surprised in what I'm going to tell you. There is probably an unbelievable amount of dangerous lint lining the walls of your dryer ducting and inside your dryer right now that you need to clean out. It does not matter that you regularly clean out the lint filter in your dryer, "lint happens." Loads of clothes taking longer and longer to dry is a classic sign of lint build-up.

In this detailed and photo intensive tutorial called Dryer Vent Cleaning, I will show you what is probably lurking in your dryer venting and how to get rid of the lint which causes the fire risk in your home. You're my reader and I want you safe, so please read this tutorial and spend a few hours and $15 to make your home safe.

Avoid a Fire Hazard: Clean Your Dryer Exhaust Duct originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 21:21:01.

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The ways of MacGyver have long been known to be some of the most coveted repair knowledge in the world of Home Repair. Now I'll share with you the proven technique used by MacGyver himself in clearing a clogged sink drain.

Yes, there is duct tape involved. What MacGyver repair would not use duct tape? Duct tape, the unsung hero of home repair, has been much maligned but is a trusted friend and loved by true, hammer totin' weekend warriors.

So how does Duct Tape lend a hand in clearing a sink clog? Well read the tutorial How to Unclog a Sink and find out!

Itching for Spring? Here are some great projects to consider...

Nothing Says Spring like a Garage Sale
For those of you looking to get rid of all that extra stuff stored in your attic, why not organize a spring garage sale? Not only does it feel great to lighten your household load, but it can bring in a little extra cash.

Should You Build Your Own Fence?
In springtime, many homeowners' thoughts turn toward backyard renovations such as fence-building. If you can't stand the idea of spending these glorious days digging post holes, consider calling a fence company to ease your pain.

MacGyver Approved Sink Clog Repair originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 10:03:08.

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Imagine. You left you home for your 1 week vacation 4 hours ago and just realized you left the thermostat set too high. Or, your vacation home's furnace pilot light failed and the temperature in the home is near freezing. Your pipes will burst by morning and you'll never know about the flood in your home until it's too late.

These scenarios and many more were very real problems for homeowners until the advent of this latest thermostatic wonder, the IP thermostat. IP stands for Internet Protocol, a computer's numeric address on the Internet. With an IP thermostat you can access and control your thermostat from any computer with an Internet connection or in some cases such as with the IP Thermostat made by Proliphix™, you can even control your furnace thermostat from your iPhone or iPod Touch!

The IP thermostat can email you when the temperature in your home drops to a preset low or high setting, alerting you to a "freezing" potential early enough for you to take remedial action. Forgot to adjust you heating or cooling setting when you left? No problem, just jump on the internet or your iPhone and make your adjustments remotely.

So take a read of the tutorial product overview of the Proliphix NT10e and consider this little marvel for increased energy savings and user control.

Control Your Home's Thermostat from the Internet or your iPhone! originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 13:34:51.

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Garbage disposals are the kitchen's workhorse but they love to quit just after a big dinner you've hosted for family or friends.

But repairing them can be surprisingly easy and you can do it. I'll show you how make the repairs you need quickly and possibly save $150 or more in a plumbing service call. In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the most common garbage disposal repairs and also tell you how to avoid clogs and slow draining situations.

And get familiar with how the garbage disposal is constructed with Anatomy of a Garbage Disposal for a graphic overview of the disposal's components. And if it's your sink that's causing trouble, see Unclogging a Sink.

Fix Your Garbage Disposal and Save $150 originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 11:00:45.

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Sometimes there is a room or two that you just can't get warm. The problem can be caused by several reasons, from an easy fix to a more difficult solution.

In the tutorial Cold Rooms and How to Warm Them I'll list what you can look for as possible reasons for the cold room and how to possibly solve the problem. The problem can range from a closed heating register to an improperly located thermostat to lack of insulation. There are lots of reasons and possible solutions. In the tutorial we will look at easy, moderate and more difficult causes and solutions.

Cold Rooms and How to Warm Them originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 12:51:08.

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The options for paint in your home have never been more varied.

You don't have to use paints with formaldehyde like years past. With low VOC paints and ceramic paints with anti-microbial agents, you have a wonderful variety of durable, beautiful and safe, healthy paints from which to choose. You'll also learn about certification by the Green Seal organization that objectively establishes criteria for healthy paints, helping to provide a third party review of paint company claims.

It's all described in the tutorial Low VOC Interior Paint and Other Healthy Alternative Paints. In the tutorial I help you understand the jargon and cut through the paint marketing hype.

"Green" Paint - Hype or Healthy? originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 18:07:23.

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Did you know where you live affects your tankless water heater size? Or that pre-1992 shower heads will increase the heater size? Or that you will probably need multiple tankless electric units or have to use a gas or propane tankless unit for larger high water flow installations?

Well that's why we're here. To give you these answers! So read through this comprehensive tutorial on tankless water heaters and gain a better understanding of these new appliances.

Also, make sure to check out this excellent site reference from ToolBase.org for additional tankless water heater information.

Mysteries of Tankless Water Heaters originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 19:28:11.

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One of the last frontiers of creature comforts we continue to pursue is that of on-demand hot water at the sink or shower.

Often people use a point of use tankless water heater under the sink for one location or invest thousand of dollars in a whole house tankless water heater but these options are out of reach for economic or practical reasons for most people. I mean, there's a recession on!

But there is a way to get almost immediate hot water from that little old water heater you have chugging away in the basement.

How? By using a device called a demand delivery hot water recirculation pump.

Here's the best part. For between $180 to $500 depending on how fancy a unit you want to buy (some have motion sensors built in, simple ones use just a timer), you can attach this unit to your water heating system and have hot water up to 80% faster (that means within seconds in the summer) than you get today from your standard water heating system.

And besides the comfort of hot water faster, you don't waste our precious resource of water! Did you know that the average household wastes between 11,000 to 16,000 gallons of water a year by letting the water run down the drain until it gets hot enough to use? That is a shocking and disturbing statistic.

Well, read How to Get "Instant" Hot Water with a Standard Water Heater and see how easy it is to enjoy hot water faster, while saving money and a precious resource! The solution isn't perfect but it is a great value for the money, especially in retrofit situations in existing homes.

Get Almost "Instant" Hot Water Using Your Current Water Heater originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at 17:45:51.

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When your heating systems is not working properly, do you know how to troubleshoot a thermostat? Also, did you know a tiny adjustment arm on some types of thermostats called a heat anticipator can make your furnace cycle on or off frequently? It can even cause your furnace to not hold a proper temperature setting.

When you troubleshoot your gas furnace you should also make sure you know how to check your thermostat's operation too, since some thermostat "furnace problems" are actually due to an improperly working or adjusted thermostat and have symptoms similar to a furnace problem.

Furnace Problem or Thermostat Problem? originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at 15:41:19.

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