To make everything run smoothly in your kitchen you have to understand what each part of an appliance does. Yet, have you ever found yourself wondering what the heck the little valve next to your kitchen does? It’s been there for years but until now you’ve never even looked twice at it. 

While you may guess that the valve has something to do with your kitchen sink, mainly because it's right next to it, you'd be incorrect. The valve is actually for the dishwasher and is commonly known as the dishwasher air gap. An air gap's purpose is to prevent drain water from the kitchen sink backing up into the dishwasher, contaminating your cleanly washed dishes. 

They may not wear a black cape and startle you with sharp fangs, but these vampires also strike at night and instead of draining blood, they will slowly but surely drain money from your wallet. It's not that keeping electrical appliances plugged in isn't practicing electrical safety, but that you could be saving energy by unplugging these energy vampires – those appliances that you leave plugged in overnight and beyond, even when you don't need them or after they've become fully charged.

Do you ever pass by places throughout your home and think, “hmm what can I place there?” but nothing ever seems to come to mind? Those spots would be the awkward spaces in your home.

They are the spaces that you know you want to fill, but you have zero idea what you could fill them with. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of all the commonly known awkward spaces and ideas on how to turn them into places you love!

Power outages happen from time to time, and as we’ve seen recently in Northern California they seem to be happening a lot more during fire season to reduce the risk of wildfires. Whatever the cause, and whatever the time of year, it’s good to know what to do when the power goes out.

Congratulations, you’ve bought yourself a fixer upper! Now it’s time to become your own version of Chip and Joanna Gaines, but how? While watching their show “Fixer Upper” can give you some good ideas, they don’t really give you a step by step on how to accomplish it all.

But that’s okay! As Experts in our field, we’ve come up with just a few of the things you’ll need to do after signing on the dotted line and before you jump in with both feet.

It’s frustrating. You’re working in the kitchen and something made from glass ends up breaking, sending shards all over the kitchen. It’s inconvenient to say the least, but one of the least convenient places is when the glass goes into the garbage disposal. No one wants to reach down into a garbage disposal ever if we’re honest, but the thought of reaching into one with glass is even worse. So, what can you do? How do you do it safely? Here are some tips to help you if glass has broken and gone into your disposal:

A living room fireplace is place that people gather around to spend time with one another. Yet, if you don't particularly love your current fireplace then you don't want it to be the focal point of the room and are more than likely doing your best to act like it doesn't exist. 

Ignoring your fireplace and mantel may work for awhile, but in the long run it's a better idea to make it over into something you love.  To help you create a focal point that you're proud of, we've gathered some fun and helpful ideas and projects you can use to finally upgrade your fireplace to match what you've always dreamed of. 

What do you think of when you hear the words “home remodeling”? For some, the image of a house in disarray for months on end with tools laying out and materials stacked in the front yard comes to mind. For others there is the worry of sticker shock, and a fear that costs will run over budget and they won’t be able to trust their general contractor to get the job done right.

Remodeling doesn’t have to be an all at once, huge thing that puts a strain on your living environment and budget. You can consider making small changes around your house that can make a huge difference. And the good news…you don’t have to do the work yourself! So read on and learn about some small home remodeling jobs that you can hire out.

Decorating a home can bring out the interior designer in anyone, but don’t let thoughts of choosing furniture fabrics distract you from the importance of actually lighting your home. Choosing which type of lighting fixture is just as important as deciding what color to paint your walls. There are also just as many options for you to choose from.

It’s a common problem. You turn on the shower, step in and notice that the tub faucet is leaking water while the shower head is also running water. This can be an annoying problem because it takes away from the water pressure in the showerhead, which is essential to a good shower. Your shower may also take longer due to the low pressure, wasting water in the process as it pours out the tub faucet.