Home Maintenance
A Seasonal Home Care Plan You Can Keep
A simple monthly and seasonal home-care plan for leaks, filters, alarms, drainage, and service records—with clear limits for unsafe work.
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Get help with the problem in front of you
Start with what you see, hear, or smell. Our guides explain the safe checks you can make, the signs that mean stop, and what to tell a qualified pro.
No exact guide yet. Try a shorter word such as “water,” “heat,” “roof,” or “pest.” Looking for prices? See our costs and quote-planning guides.
Good places to start
Three short guides that can make the next home problem easier.
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.
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.
Home Emergencies
Protect people, stop damage, and know who to call.
Home Emergencies
Roof Leak: Safe Steps for the First Half Hour
Keep people away from wet ceilings and electricity. Save a short leak record, arrange safe temporary work, and avoid a rushed full-roof contract.
Home Emergencies
Water Heater Leaking? Stay Safe and Call for Help
A safe water heater leak plan: avoid gas, electrical, heat, and pressure hazards; get the right shutdown steps; and give the plumber useful facts.
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.
Home Emergencies
Sewer Backup: Stop Water Use, Stay Out, and Call
Sewage coming up a drain? Stop water use, stay out, and call for help. Make a photo and call record from a dry spot without delaying the response.
Heating & Cooling
Clear checks for airflow, filters, AC, and heat.
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.
Heating & Cooling
HVAC Filters: Check Size, Arrow, and Fit
Use the right HVAC filter size, airflow arrow, and system rating. Follow the owner's manual and keep a simple change record.
Heating & Cooling
No Heat? Check These 6 Things Before You Call
Safe checks for a furnace or heat pump that is not heating, plus the gas, carbon-monoxide, electrical, and cold-weather signs that mean leave or call now.
Plumbing & Water
Find leaks, shut off water, and prevent more damage.
Plumbing & Water
Polybutylene Pipe: How to Spot the Gray Plastic and Plan a Re-Pipe
Polybutylene (PB) water pipe went into many homes from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. Where to look, how to tell it from PVC and PEX, why some of it failed, why insurers ask about it, and how to plan a re-pipe quote.
Plumbing & Water
Hidden Leak? Try a Two-Hour Water-Meter Check
Use two water-meter readings with no water use between them. Learn what a change means, what it does not prove, and what to send the utility or plumber.
Appliances
Handle warning signs before food, floors, or safety suffer.
Appliances
Refrigerator Warming? Use the Food Safety Time Limits
Use 40°F, the four-hour outage limit, and the food-specific two-hour chart to decide what to keep. Protect food before checking the appliance.
Appliances
Dryer Taking Too Long? Check the Safe Basics
Stop for heat, odor, smoke, or gas. Check the lint filter and visible vent path safely, then ask for service if drying stays slow.
Appliances
Repair or Replace an Appliance? Use Age, Failure, Parts, and Risk
A four-fact worksheet for a broken appliance: check for a recall, then weigh age, the failure, parts, and safety risk against a written repair estimate.
Appliances
Washer Leaking? What to Do in the First 10 Minutes
Stop a washing-machine leak safely, protect the floor, trace the highest wet point, and collect the facts a repair technician or plumber will need.
Electrical & Fire Safety
Know the safe checks—and the signs that mean stop.
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
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
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.
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.
Electrical & Fire Safety
Warm, Buzzing, or Scorched Outlet? Stop Using It
What a warm, buzzing, loose, or discolored outlet can mean, what not to touch, and the facts to give a qualified electrician.
Pests
Identify signs and clean up without spreading the problem.
Pests
Rodent Droppings: Wet Cleanup, Not a Broom
For a small rodent cleanup, ventilate for 30 minutes, wet droppings, follow the five-minute or label contact time, and wash gloves and hands.
Pests
How Mice Get Inside: A Room-by-Room Gap Check
Use the CDC's pencil-width rule to find mouse entry gaps around pipes, cabinets, doors, vents, foundations, attics, and garages.
Pests
Roaches or Ants Indoors? Start With an IPM Plan
A plain integrated pest-management plan for indoor ants and roaches: identify, monitor, remove food and water, block paths, then choose targeted control.
Moisture & Mold
Trace water, dry the area, and protect your home.
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.
Moisture & Mold
Test a Sump Pump Without Creating a Flood
Start with your sump pump's manual. Check safe access, learn when to stop adding water, and record what happens without opening sealed covers.
Moisture & Mold
Ceiling Water Stain: Is the Leak Active or Old?
Use change, timing, touch-free clues, and photos to tell whether a ceiling stain may still be active—without puncturing or opening the ceiling.
Moisture & Mold
Musty Smell but No Visible Mold? Trace the Moisture
A safe room-by-room check for a musty odor when you cannot see mold, including leaks, humidity, hidden spaces, HVAC limits, and the call-a-pro line.
Moisture & Mold
Small Mold Cleanup or Professional Help?
Use EPA's size guide and exception list to decide whether a small mold cleanup may be reasonable or the job needs an experienced professional.
Roofing
Leaks, materials, quotes, repairs, and contractor checks.
Roofing
Metal vs. Shingle Roof: Which Is Right for Your Home?
Compare metal and asphalt roof bids by system, upkeep, warranty, and total scope without assuming a fixed payback.
Roofing
Flat Roof Systems Explained: TPO, EPDM, Modified Bitumen, and SPF
Compare four low-slope roof systems by seams, drainage, repair access, and written scope. No single material fits every roof.
Roofing
Storm Chaser Roofers: What to Check Before You Sign
Check a post-storm roof offer, protect claim records, and know where to seek help if you already signed a contract.
Roofing
How to Vet a Metal Roofing Contractor
Check a metal roofer's license, past jobs, panel system, and written scope before you sign.
Roofing
Tile Roof Maintenance: Safe Checks and When to Call a Roofer
Check tile roof changes from the ground, arrange safe care, and ask about leaks, drainage, and layers below the tile.
Roofing
Slate Roof Repair: Why a Slate Specialist Matters
Ask a slate roofer for evidence, matching repair materials, and a roof-specific plan before choosing repair or replacement.
Roofing
How to Compare Roofing Quotes Line by Line
Put roof bids into the same scope, mark unknown costs, check payment rules, and compare the actual warranty before choosing.
Roofing
How to Choose a Tile Roofing Contractor
Check a tile roofer's work history, roof-system plan, safe access, and written scope. Keep trade membership separate from licensing.
Roofing
Metal Roof Care: What to Check From the Ground
A safe metal roof care plan: identify the system, track leaks from the ground, and ask a roofer for model-specific repairs.
Roofing
Roofing Contractor Red Flags: 7 Checks Before You Sign
Seven roof sales issues worth checking: pressure, unclear names, vague scope, payment terms, claim-rights forms, and unsupported promises.
Storm Protection
Prepare openings, records, and insurance questions.
Storm Protection
Florida Wind Inspection Checklist: The 2026 Form
Prepare for Florida's April 2026 wind inspection form. Gather proof, check openings and inspector credentials, and ask your insurer about credits.
Storm Protection
My Safe Florida Home Grants: Wait for Approval Before Work
My Safe Florida Home grant rules, income limits, the free inspection, and why work must wait for grant approval.
Storm Protection
Hurricane Screens or Shutters: Which Fits Your Home?
Compare storm screens and shutters by the exact approval, daily use, power-loss plan, exit route, and written installation scope.
Hiring Contractors
Check licenses, contracts, bids, and promises.
Hiring Contractors
What the Home Inspection Didn't Catch: 4 Problems Found After Closing
A Florida buyer reported sprinkler, sewer, and skylight problems and a suspect pool-deck drain after closing. See what a standard inspection can miss.
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.
Hiring Contractors
What to Check Before You Sign a Home Repair Contract
Check the work, materials, price, payment stages, changes, lien releases, and warranty terms before signing a home repair contract.
Home Maintenance
Simple routines that catch small problems earlier.
Home Maintenance
A Seasonal Home Care Plan You Can Keep
A simple monthly and seasonal home-care plan for leaks, filters, alarms, drainage, and service records—with clear limits for unsafe work.
Insurance
Document damage and understand the claims process.
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.
Insurance
Roof Insurance Claims: Safe Steps After a Storm
Stay safe after roof damage, save claim records, read the payment terms, and avoid promises a contractor cannot make.
Warranties
See what may cover a repair—and what probably does not.
Warranties
Home Warranties vs. Insurance: What Covers What?
Tell home insurance, service plans, product warranties, and labor warranties apart. Check the cause, limits, and claim steps before assuming coverage.
Project Money
Compare ways to pay without hiding the tradeoffs.
Project Money
Home Repair Loans: Compare the Full Cost
Compare cash, home equity, contractor offers, and other ways to pay. Check the full cost, liens, tax bills, and claim gaps before signing.
Outdoor Living
Plan screens and shade structures before signing.
Outdoor Living
Motorized Retractable Lanai Screens: A Buyer's Guide
Choose screen mesh, tracks, power, and controls for your patio. Check wind limits and compare a clear scope before buying.
Outdoor Living
Louvered Pergola Buying Guide: What to Check Before You Sign
Plan the size, posts, drainage, power, and permit checks for a louvered pergola. Compare site-specific bids without a false fixed price.
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A seasonal checklist for your roof, gutters, HVAC and more, plus practical homeowner tips. Adjust the schedule for your climate and equipment.
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