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Depending on where you live, flash flooding might be an issue you see from time to time and some day you could face a situation where driving through high water is unavoidable. Even six inches of water can reach the bottom of passenger vehicles and if that happens it can set off a chain reaction of devastating damage to your engine. Water close to one foot deep can float cars and two feet of water can sweep away most vehicles, not to mention road visibility disappears when there’s flooding, which can lead vehicles off the road....

With an estimated 10.1 million wood burning stoves in American homes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released new guidelines to regulate this large and stable industry. All new wood burning stoves must release no more than 4.5 grams of smoke per hour to minimize greenhouse gas effects during winter. This number is expected to drop by 50 percent within the next year or so. Modern stove designs are full of innovations that help them meet this stringent new environmental standard....

via Wood Welded You’ve moved into a home that has butcher block countertops. Lucky you! But, if you’re apprehensive, here’s what you need to know about these beautiful, natural work surfaces. Butcher block checks off a whole lot of boxes on the list of nice-to-have features in a countertop. Durable? Yes! It’s a true work surface for food preparation. Eco-conscious? Many are certified green. Affordable? Costs more than laminate but typically much less than solid surface and natural stone....

Anne Kitzman/Shutterstock You’ve decided you’re done with the snow shovel and are ready to invest in a snow blower. Electric snow blowers are a good option since they are eco-friendly, easy to operate and quieter than gas-powered models. Here are some things to know before investing in an electric snow blower. Before you read on, check out these 15 things you need to know about buying a snow blower. Snow Depth Electric snow blowers are a good option when you need to clear snow no more than a foot deep....

via amazon.com North Carolina-based tool manufacturer WORX recently introduced two new electric pressure washers to its line of green outdoor power equipment. Both new washers provide 13 amps of power and are available in 1500 and 1600 PSI models. The larger 1600 PSI model comes with a rolling cart, while the smaller 1500 PSI unit is designed for spaces with limited storage. The products represent WORX’s first foray into power washing equipment....

As a professional painting contractor, I’ve learned (usually the hard way) how to prevent warranty issues, how to satisfy customers, how to produce projects profitably, and how to make our professional client -designers, remodelers, look good. What follows is by no means a comprehensive list of dos and don’ts, but hopefully it is a helpful list that will make your interior painting projects more profitable and successful. Protect Everything Carry a line item in each proposal that lays out the cost of installing protection, plastic on furniture, waterproof drop cloths or Kraft paper on floors, Zipwall dust barriers, air scrubbers, and more....

Mice, rats and other rodents are generally not welcome in the family home unless they are kept as a pet. They can damage your home’s wiring, infest your pantry and even carry disease. Naturally, the best way to deal with rodents is to keep them from getting inside — but you’re here because they’re already in your house. Here are five ways to get rid of the rodents in your house....

The Family Handyman We’ve used this great tip in our shop for years because you can cut plywood as accurately with a circular saw as you can with a table saw— and no helper necessary! To make it: ■ Cut a 5-in. wide strip from one factory side of an 8-ft. x 1/2-in. sheet of plywood. ■ Cut a 12-in. strip and screw the 5-in. strip on top of it with 3/4-in....

Courtesy of Carhartt Although it might not seem like it, the holidays are right around the corner. And while it’s not quite time for the holiday shopping season to kick off, Carhartt is helping people prepare for the most wonderful time of the year by rewarding purchases made on their website this weekend. From now through October 12th, anyone who spends at least $125 on the Carhartt website will be rewarded $25 in “Carhartt Bucks”....

Microfiber cleaning cloths are universally useful. Grab a microfiber cleaning cloth to dust your car’s interior, scrub spills on the stove, polish glass and more. They’re great as cleaning rags, bath towels, microfiber towels and even mops. “Microfiber rags are mostly made of synthetic polyester, and, unlike cotton rags or paper towels, they leave no lint behind,” says Vera Peterson, president of Molly Maid, a Neighborly company. “They are usually knitted and very soft, which makes them generally safe for use even on painted surfaces....

No matter how well-built, our homes can’t always stand up to the destructive power of water. Water carves riverbeds through rock and washes entire communities away in floods. It can also bring another unrelenting force into our homes: mold. Molds exist everywhere, often beneficially, in the environment. But unchecked, mold growth in our homes destroys building materials and can cause health problems like asthma, particularly in the immunocompromised. “Mold can grow in as little as 24 to 48 hours given a food and moisture source,” says Michael Rubino, author of The Mold Medic, an Expert’s Guide on Mold Removal and founder of HomeCleanse and Change the Air Foundation....

Popular home improvement retail giant Lowe’s Inc. has announced plans to hire more than 50,000 retail associates across its U.S. stores this spring, the company said in a press release. The announcement comes as home improvement companies prepare for the busiest season of the year: Spring. The release said Lowe’s is looking to fill seasonal and full-time roles. Lowe’s also announced an additional $80 million in discretionary bonuses to its hourly employees....

Lawn mowers are an essential outdoor appliance and a requirement for beautiful landscaping. Anyone who’s used an ineffective lawn mower knows that quality often hinges on price—but now is the best time to score lawn mower sales at hardware stores like Lowe’s and Tractor Supply and big-box stores like Walmart. The Best Lawn Mower Sales Best Push Lawn Mower via merchant Fiskars Reel Push Lawn Mower Even the best self-propelled lawn mowers cost money to charge and run....

One of my favorite photos from a 2006 trip to Japan shows my friend Sue modeling a pair of green Croc-like toilet slippers. Each shoe features daisies and two stick figures, one in a black tuxedo and one in a pink dress, along with “TOILET” in big black letters. While these were the most colorful pair of toilet slippers we encountered on our two-week trip, they weren’t the only ones. In Japan, most people take off their shoes inside a house or an inn....

Creating an outdoor sanctuary near the front porch or back patio ranks among the more rewarding landscape projects to tackle. Gardens and decorative shrubs add visual appeal, and trees significantly reduce future energy bills as they grow and cool the home and yard with shade. When choosing plants, keep costs and maintenance down by skipping the exotics and buying what thrives locally without expensive and time-consuming watering, fertilizing and maintenance. Here are nine ways you can help the environment by creating a sustainable landscape....

Boric acid is a mineral found widely in nature, from seawater to soil. But when we talk about it as a pesticide, we’re referring to a chemical compound that has been mined and refined from boron-rich deposits near volcanic areas and arid lake beds. Though used as an herbicide, the mineral form occurs naturally in many plants and almost all fruit. Humans use boric acid in applications from manufacturing fiberglass to preserving wood....

No matter if you’re working on new construction or remodeling, you will rarely find two walls that are at an absolute 90-degree angle. So getting two 45-degree miters to meet perfectly tight in a corner can be frustrating, especially if the molding you’re trying to miter has an intricate profile. The secret for tight-fitting trim on inside corners is coping the joint. Carpenters have been using this foolproof technique for years....

Black & Decker (now Black+Decker) invented the first portable electric drill in 1917, and the first electric screwdriver in 1923. The first models were clunky and required both hands to operate. Now thanks to cordless technology, contemporary models from a variety of manufacturers are compact, lightweight tools that DIYers wouldn’t want to be without. Because their functions overlap, anyone who does a lot of home repair and owns a cordless drill isn’t likely to need an electric screwdriver....

HVAC is a constantly evolving industry. Imagine explaining ten years ago to a group of lifetime technicians the significant roles that DeVAP systems, IoT-enhanced thermostats, solar and geothermal HVAC systems, and sustainable heating and cooling designs would play. They likely would’ve been blown away. In order to remain current with the ever-changing landscape of HVAC needs, professionals must stay abreast of innovative products, changes in customer attitudes, service upgrades, manufacturers’ offerings, global demands, and companion news items....

We can’t tell you which interior window trim is best for your home, but we can give you enough information to make the choice yourself. Here’s what you need to know about interior window trim, including what it does, why you need it and which options you might want to consider. What is Interior Window Trim? Let’s start with the basics: Interior window trim is a piece of wood or composite that covers the seam where a window meets a wall....