Total Home Guard

No need to limit your spring cleaning to inside the house. Warming weather is a great excuse to clear a season’s worth of debris from your home’s gutters.

No ladder? No problem. We’ll explain how you can maintain your gutters with two feet firmly on the ground.

A small town hardware store may not carry the exact parts you need to repair your home appliance, but you can find virtually all appliance replacement parts online. In this post, we’ll take a look at where you can buy new and used appliance parts on the web.

Gas stoves and ovens undergo a lot of wear and tear from everyday use. Quality appliances are built to last, but frequent exposure to high temperatures means even the most reliable appliances require regular maintenance.

There are some telltale warning signs that suggest when gas appliance repair service or maintenance is required. This article will review what you should watch out for.

Every home in America needs a fire evacuation plan. The National Fire Protection Association studied home fires from 2015 to 2019. The organization found that fire departments responded to a yearly average of 346,800 home structure fires. Those fires caused, on average, more than 2,600 deaths and 11,000 per year. Direct property losses figure in the billions. 

Some straightforward fire safety measures can significantly cut the risk of a home fire, and a simple house evacuation plan will keep you and your family safe if a fire does break out.

Nothing will ruin your peace and tranquility during a long soak in a jacuzzi faster than a grungy tub. A jetted tub requires regular cleaning, just like any other bathroom fixture, but the jets can throw some homeowners for a loop.

A professional jetted tub cleaning crew isn’t required. With a few household items, you can manage a thorough jacuzzi cleaning. We’ll walk you through it.

Moving is frequently cited as one of the most stressful life changes we are bound to experience. The logistics of moving to a new home are overwhelming, and the act of packing up and transporting all your possessions requires a tremendous investment of time, money, and energy. Of course, leaving a place you have called home is emotionally draining as well.

Pooling water in your washing machine’s drum doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re about to be soaked by appliance repair costs. This problem can have more than one cause, but it’s often easy for the average homeowner to diagnose and fix.

In this article, we’ll run through a few washing machine troubleshooting tips to help you determine the reason for your washing machine’s drainage problem after a spin cycle. In the process, we’ll also review how to remove water from washing machine drum basins.

Selling your home is a big undertaking. As if packing and transporting everything you own were not stressful enough, just planning to sell your house can take a significant amount of time, attention, and emotional fortitude. There are legal and financial tasks to manage, nostalgic and sentimental attachments to negotiate, and practical considerations to make your home attractive to potential buyers. The extent of the responsibility could leave you questioning: “Do I know how to prepare my home to sell?”

Cities across America are experiencing hot housing markets, and Las Vegas is no exception. Home prices continue to rise, with a median home value of $420,000 as of March 2022.

In such a dynamic market, the expertise and advice of seasoned real estate professionals is especially valuable. We have identified 12 of the best realtors in Las Vegas. Each of these experienced agents has a track record of providing exceptional service to home sellers and buyers throughout the Las Vegas area.

Once those hot summer days arrive, it can be tempting to crank the air conditioning to feel some relief. It’s not wise to overdo it, though. Turning up the air conditioning doesn’t make your home cool down any faster, and overtaxing your system can make a breakdown much more likely—then you’ll really feel the heat.

Now is a great time to assess the efficiency of your windows in maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature. Drafty windows, thin glass, and insufficient window treatments make it easier for the stifling summer heat to find its way into your home, making your AC work that much harder and increasing your energy bill.

Outdoor grills take a beating. They face constant exposure to the elements, and propane grills can get as hot as 600°F when in use. Proper grill care is essential to stave off corrosion and equipment malfunction.

Gas grill maintenance is, fortunately, pretty straightforward. This article will review how to maintain a grill so you can enjoy family cookouts all summer long.

Many people recognize saltwater pools as superior to traditional chlorinated pools, but homeowners are hesitant to make the switch because they assume it to be an ambitious undertaking. Believe it or not, converting chlorine pool to salt water pool systems is actually quite straightforward.

With summer swiftly approaching, it’s time to check on that AC that has been dormant all winter. A little preseason maintenance can help you avoid the most common air conditioner problems, keeping you comfortably cool until the heat breaks.

A simple checklist can keep you organized. Here are our top ten air conditioner maintenance tips.

The terms and conditions of a home warranty are outlined in a home warranty or home service contract. Policy holders should thoroughly review their contract to understand coverage stipulations, costs, and other important information. Homeowners who are pursuing home warranty coverage for the first time should also be mindful of what a contract or homeowner’s user agreement entails.

In this article, we’ll review the information and conditions you can expect to find in a warranty contract.

Hot summer days can be fun and exciting but also uncomfortable when you don’t have a working 

As energy prices tick up, homeowners across America could use a little relief. We can’t control the price of electricity, unfortunately, but we can control our thermostats. Taking personal care to save electricity at home will mean more money in your pocket.

Some homeowners are afraid that reducing their energy use will lead to a steep drop in comfort, but this doesn’t need to be the case. Employing several simple ways to save electricity can achieve a meaningful effect without significantly affecting your lifestyle. The goal is to improve energy efficiency and minimize waste rather than endure the heat or cold.

Moving into a first home is exciting, thrilling, and… perhaps a little overwhelming. Homeownership is a big responsibility, and there are countless chores to perform to keep everything running smoothly.

A simple home maintenance list can go a long way in keeping you organized. If you’ve recently closed on your first home, this new homeowner maintenance guide will help you complete the essential tasks to perform within a few weeks of moving in.

A power outage doesn’t need to bring your life to a standstill. With a reasonable amount of preparation, you can weather a moderate blackout in relative comfort.

Some helpful things to have for power outage events are obvious enough, but others might surprise you. This article will review the most important supplies to have on hand in the event of a power outage that persists for several days.

Many homeowners have the reasonable expectation that their big-ticket kitchen appliances will hum along for several years without much of a problem. But refrigerators and ovens and dishwashers—even pricy ones—can and do break down. Kitchen appliance repair doesn’t come cheap, either. The average cost to repair a refrigerator is upwards of $300, and some repairs can set you back more than $1,000.

Air quality is an environmental metric that the media is rightly paying more attention to. A recent study found that air pollution is responsible for upwards of 100,000 deaths in the United States every year, as fine particulate matter is a causal factor of respiratory disease, heart attack, and stroke. Polluted air also contributes to dizziness, headaches, chest pain, fatigue, poor sleep, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat.

A home warranty can be a wise investment that saves homeowners money on home maintenance and repair, but consumers need to find the right plan to maximize their savings. Part of determining the best plan is having a thorough understanding of all the costs associated with a given policy.

Water is the foundation of life, but when unmoderated, it can be one of nature’s most destructive forces. This is particularly true for your home, with estimates showing that homeowners will spend an average of $2,500 repairing water damage each year. To avoid this inconvenient and unnecessary cost, consider the following 7 pieces of advice for protecting your home from water damage.

Your refrigerator is the workhorse appliance of your home, but it’s easy to take it for granted. If you’ve ever experienced a refrigerator breakdown—or even a prolonged power outage—you know too well how disruptive it is to our modern lifestyle.

An appliance breakdown doesn’t need to be inevitable. Some basic maintenance can keep your fridge working reliably and efficiently for a decade or more. Let’s review some simple but important refrigerator maintenance tips.

The primary purpose of a sprinkler inspection is to ensure the system works, of course. But a faulty system can lead to problems of a higher order. Broken irrigation lines or sprinkler heads lead to swaths of unsightly dead grass or stunted plants. A malfunctioning system can also cause the ground to become oversaturated with water, inviting a host of troubles: mud, erosion, nutrient depletion, and even tree rot.

Leaks nearer to your home are another troubling possibility. Depending on the placement and severity of the leak, it can cause water stains, mold growth, or wood rot. 

If only household maintenance was limited to sweeping and dusting. Unfortunately, responsible homeownership entails cleaning and maintaining a host of appliances and systems—even those that we scarcely think about from day to day.

Take your home exhaust fans. Most of us mindlessly switch on our bathroom exhaust fan before starting a shower, and we turn on our kitchen fans while cooking before turning our attention back to the food on the stove. If you rarely think about cleaning those fans, you are certainly not alone.

Your washing machine may not be as clean as you think. While most of the oils, dirt, and microparticles from your dirty laundry are flushed down the drain after a rinse cycle, some trace amounts stay behind and accumulate over time. Lint, hair, and dust gather inside your washer too, and these often function as surfaces for bacteria and grime to cling to.

Your home’s water quality is something to consider as well. The high mineral content in hard water causes scaling on your washer’s drum and other internal components. These minerals collect on your freshly washed clothes, and they impair the efficiency of your machine. Some minerals, notably sulfur, can cause a foul odor too.

Climate control isn’t the sole function of an HVAC system. Your home’s ductwork facilitates airflow to mitigate the concentration of gases, pollutants, dust, pollen, and odors. Over time, dust and other airborne particulates settle in your vents and ducts, so cleaning is occasionally necessary.

The past two years have seen a shift in the U.S. housing market. Mortgage rates decreased, expanding the housing market to include more first-time buyers. This spike in buyers has caused housing prices to increase in some regions, however. 

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to this market change as people sought to relocate to single-family homes and less densely populated cities and suburbs, but there has always been a high interest in affordable homeownership in the United States. Whether you’re a seller or prospective buyer, it’s important to keep up to date on housing market trends. 

Most homebuyers don’t know how much behind the scenes work a real estate agent does to sell a new home. There’s more than just showing a home to prospective buyers. This is testament to all the coordination and planning that agents must do in order to pair their clients with the home of their dreams. 

Renovating a home can be both exciting and a headache. Luckily there are plenty of apps for remodeling your home that can make managing the process easier and even fun. From the dream phase all the way to execution, apps to renovate your house can help with nearly everything you need to do in order to successfully renovate and remodel your home. Here’s our selection of the 10 best home renovation apps in no particular order.

One of the biggest responsibilities of owning a home is managing your household expenses and maintaining a budget. Gone are the days of paper bills stacked on a desk. But, managing your household expenses and bills when they are paperless and online can pose a different set of issues. With today’s technology, though, there are ways to manage your home’s finances and budget with money saving apps. Here’s our list of the best apps for budgeting and saving money for homeowners.

Managing a home is not an easy task, but there are ways to make it easier. From switching the clothes from the washer over to the dryer to managing all your household expenses, there are home organization apps that will help you tackle it all. Here’s our selection of the best household organizer apps. Take advantage of all the ways you can organize your household tasks so that you can free up more time for relaxation and fun.

Buying a new home is one of the most exciting and important life events. Navigating all the available real estate and potential neighborhoods to live in can feel like an overwhelming task, though. That’s why we have compiled this list of best real estate apps for homebuyers. We know how crucial it is for potential buyers to have access to property details and the basic information they need to begin their search for a new home.Here’s our selection of the top real estate apps in no particular order. 

Ductless heating and cooling is becoming more popular because it costs less and leaves less of a carbon footprint than central air. This may seem like a win-win for most households, but there are factors to take into consideration when choosing to make this change to your home’s heating and cooling systems. 

Well-maintained plumbing is essential to having a happy home. Nobody wants to deal with the mess and headache that a leaky pipe or a clogged toilet can cause. Never mind the smell. Unexpected breakdowns will occur, but there are ways to prevent the need for frequent, costly repairs to your plumbing if you maintain it. 

Regular plumbing maintenance is easy to do if you know the right signs to look for. Right before winter begins is a crucial time to check and make sure everything is in working order with your home’s major systems, especially its plumbing. Here’s a plumbing maintenance checklist to use before the snow hits and the freezing begins. If you follow these simple steps, your pipes will thank you.

Looking for the best home warranty plan that will give you the most bang for your buck? Home warranty prices vary depending on the provider and the plan. They cost more depending on the amount of coverage you get. This doesn’t mean, though, that a new home warranty cost will break the bank. There are affordable plans out there.

Your roof is an essential part of your home and repairs to it are often costly. To keep a roof over your head, as the saying goes, is not difficult to do if you practice regular residential roof maintenance. This requires that you keep track of your roof’s condition year-round, checking for any damage, and cleaning up after large storms. Here are some roof maintenance tips that will help you promote your roof’s life span and avoid frequent repairs to it.

Wondering what to do about that puddle collecting near your washing machine? Your washer is a complex and frequently used appliance, so there will be issues with it from time to time. Fortunately, there are ways to find the source of the problem and easily fix some issues. There are several different reasons that can lead to your washing machine leaking, and they do not all require a contractor to fix. Here’s our comprehensive list of what causes a washer to leak and some DIY fixes for them.

 Wondering how to protect your new home and your wallet from costly, unexpected repairs that are bound to come your way? A first home buyer warranty can give the protection and savings you’re looking for. This type of home protection is most often referred to as a home warranty. A home warranty is a service contract that covers the cost of repairs and replacements of your home’s systems and appliances when they break down from normal wear and tear.

You may be wondering what is the value of a home warranty for a buyer? Homebuyers, whether new or seasoned, find a home warranty especially helpful because owning a home requires a lot. And, even if a home may be brand new with all new appliances, they still will experience wear and tear.

Appliance warranty coverage is becoming increasingly popular. This kind of coverage, also known as a home warranty, has simplified home repairs. A home warranty is a service contract that covers the cost of repairs and replacement of your home’s systems and appliances when they break down over time from normal wear and tear. Appliance warranty services vary by provider, but in general they allow homeowners to save money and time.

Owning a home is one of the most important and exciting responsibilities a person can take on. It comes with a load of work but even more benefits. Managing all of your home’s individual responsibilities no longer has to be so much of a challenge with all the available apps for homeowners. There is an app for everything nowadays. Whether it’s purchasing a new couch or choosing which native trees to plant in your yard, there’s an app for it. The benefit of apps is that they connect you to important services while helping you to easily manage an assortment of details.

Many of our homes are powered by Maytag appliances. They are a reliable and vetted brand that specializes in everything from washing machines to microwaves to your HVAC system. Because of this, homeowners believe that a Maytag warranty for their home appliances may be a good investment in order to save money. Most Maytag appliances come with a limited warranty upon purchase. For example, you’ll likely have a maytag freezer warranty or a maytag washing machine warranty if these appliances are new purchases in your home.

A septic system warranty can save you money and time when it comes to repairing this costly, yet vital part of your home. Suburban and rural homes without access to public sewer systems will likely have to rely on a septic system for waste management. This means that it’s not only important to maintain this essential system in your home, but to also be prepared for the inevitable breakdowns that can occur to your septic system over time. This article will help you navigate septic system warranty plans.

Plumbing is essential to your home, making its maintenance a top priority. Breakdowns in your plumbing will eventually take hold and can be costly. There are ways to shoulder the cost of repairing and maintaining this vital system in your home. This article will cover the basics of a home warranty, which will offer coverage for your plumbing along with your home’s other appliances and systems. An extended plumbing warranty will only cover your plumbing.

Your water heater is a complex and essential home system. It’s responsible for heating your home’s water, which you may not recognize how vital this is until a breakdown occurs. You can forget about laundry, showers, and cooking until it's repaired. Breakdowns in your water heater can be an inconvenience at best and hazardous at worst. There are obvious warning signs that alert you it's time to repair your water heater, and you don’t want to wait to repair it. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are often the best times to buy new appliances. Everything from clothes washers, dryers, and televisions will see their prices slashed over Thanksgiving weekend.

It’s important to clean your dryer vent duct periodically if you want to maintain your dryer’s healthy life span. Fortunately, with the right tools, this is easy to do! This article will teach you how to clean dryer ducts yourself. Cleaning the duct will save you money on your energy bills and help prevent costly repairs to your dryer. The ducts can get clogged with lint and debris that will cause strain on the dryer.

Looking for ways to save money on home repairs? A home warranty is one of the best ways to get coverage for those costly, unexpected home repairs and USAA even offers a home warranty discount if you are a member. 

A home warranty is a service contract that covers the cost of repairs and replacement of home systems and appliances when they break down over time from normal wear and tear. It can save you money and time, especially when it comes to repairing those big-ticket items, like replacing a furnace, which could cost around $3000 out of pocket.

Kenmore has been a household name for over one hundred years. As of 2021, Kenmore products include a suite of kitchen appliances, grills, washers and dryers, electronics, and equipment for air and water treatment.

For many years, Kenmore appliances were available only through Sears. Since Sears filed for bankruptcy in 2018, many homeowners who had purchased Kenmore appliances have wondered if the brand would continue to honor the warranties on their products.