Home Emergencies
Find Your Main Water Shutoff Before a Leak
Find and label your home's water valve before a leak. Make a safe shutoff plan, know when not to touch a valve, and save the right phone numbers.
Know what to check before your next home repair
Clear steps for common home problems: what you can safely check, when to stop, and what to ask a pro. Every guide names its sources and shows when it was updated.
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Good places to start
Electrical & Fire Safety
Smoke and CO Alarms: Check Placement, Test, and Age
Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms by room, age, power source, and test result. Make an exit plan before an alarm sounds.
Hiring Contractors
How to Check a Contractor's License Before You Hire
Check the license, business name, work type, and insurance before hiring. Includes official Florida, California, and Texas starting points.
Sources you can check
Guides link to the government agencies, codes, and manufacturers behind each safety step. We date every update.
A clear stop line
Each guide separates what a homeowner can safely check from work that needs a licensed pro.
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Recently updated
Heating & Cooling
AC Not Cooling? Safe Checks Before the Service Call
Check the thermostat, filter, and visible symptoms without opening the AC. Stop for ice, water, electrical hazards, or unsafe indoor heat.
Electrical & Fire Safety
Aluminum Wiring: How to Spot It Safely and Which Repairs CPSC Recognizes
Homes wired from 1965 to the mid-1970s may have aluminum branch wiring. How to read the cable jacket without touching it, the warning signs, the three permanent repairs CPSC recognizes, and the paperwork some insurers ask for.
Electrical & Fire Safety
Breaker Keeps Tripping? Stop and Get the Cause Checked
A repeated breaker trip needs a cause check, not repeated resets. Keep clear of hazards, record the pattern, and leave panel work to an electrician.
Electrical & Fire Safety
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco Panel? Check the Label and the Record
How to tell if your breaker panel is a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco without taking it apart, what CPSC found and did not find, why some insurers flag them, and what to do next.
Insurance
Florida 4-Point Inspection: What It Covers, Who Needs It, How to Prepare
A Florida 4-point inspection checks the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC for an insurer. Who needs one, what the form asks, the red flags that can block a policy, how to prepare, and how it differs from a home inspection and a wind mitigation inspection.
Moisture & Mold
Gutters and Downspouts: Check Where the Water Lands
A ground-level check of gutters, downspouts, and soil slope, with weather limits and photos that help you discuss the next repair.
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