What to Do When Your Drains Smell Like Rotten Eggs

June 20, 2022

Drains that smell bad can be frustrating to no end. Even when your Fox Valley, WI home is absolutely spotless, an odorous drain can make it feel dirty. Foul-smelling drains are a likely indication of harmful bacteria. Worse still, this means that germs may be proliferating where you wash your face and hair, brush your teeth, get your drinking water, or collect water to prepare your food. Fortunately, there are several ways to freshen drains that have started smelling like rotten eggs. Best of all, most of these drain-freshening techniques don’t require a lot of effort or spending.

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Cost of Bringing a House Up to Electrical Code

June 11, 2022

Electrical codes ensure that a home is safe for the residents. You may find out that your home needs to be brought up to code either through an inspection or while the experts at Black-Haak are evaluating electrical issues. In most cases, new construction and existing homes are required to be up to code before a sale, but this may not always happen. Bringing a home up to electrical code may seem like an overwhelming project, but it is actually quite affordable, especially when you consider what is at stake. Statistics show that electrical issues account for approximately 51,000 fires

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Dealing With Hot and Cold Spots in Your Home

June 6, 2022

If you’re experiencing hot and cold spots in your home, you’re far from alone. This is a common problem that many homeowners deal with, though every situation is a bit different. Whether you’re noticing that certain rooms aren’t receiving as much conditioned air as others, or that one floor is consistently warmer or colder than the rest of the house, your home is letting you know that something isn’t right. Hot and cold spots have several potential causes, and you may not immediately be able to determine the origin of your household issue. However, there are a handful of potential

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13 Tips for Keeping Your Family Safe From Electrical Hazards

May 18, 2022

People are not safe from electrical accidents, even if they have basic knowledge about electricity. Young children are particularly vulnerable to electricity due to their curiosity. Baby-proofing a home against electricity should be a top priority, especially when a family has young children under the age of five. Following these tips will help you keep your family safe from the dangers of electricity that could occur in and around your home. 1. Install an RCD Safety Switch One of the most common causes of electricity-related injuries is electric shocks from poorly maintained or older electrical equipment.

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Will Upgrading My HVAC System Increase My Home’s Equity?

May 8, 2022

Maintaining your home’s equity should obviously be an important concern for every homeowner, and this is true whether or not you’re considering selling the house in the near future. Real estate and housing experts recommend occasionally upgrading your home to protect or increase your home equity. Nonetheless, the fact is that not all upgrades or remodel projects will have that much of an overall impact on the value of your home. With this in mind, let’s look at the potential effects of upgrading your HVAC system and the impact these upgrades will have on your home equity.

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What to Do When Your Garbage Disposal Stops Working

May 6, 2022

A broken garbage disposal can create a frustrating and unpleasant kitchen experience. Garbage disposal problems are common and at some point, every one of us has had to deal with one. If you experience this problem, you should resolve it immediately to avoid more inconveniences as you use your kitchen. Various issues can cause your garbage disposal unit to fail. These problems range from general wear and tear to electrical and mechanical malfunctions. Depending on the issue, you may be able to fix it at home on your own, or you may need to call

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Is a Whole-house Humidifier Right for My Home?

April 19, 2022

Warm air is able to hold more water vapor than cold air, and hence, cold air feels drier. Like many households in the winter, you may have experienced doorknobs that shock, dry skin, respiratory irritation and even headaches. There is a common misconception that heating your home dries it out. Dry air in the home is actually a byproduct of heating your home and not a direct result. The outside air is drier and continuously drawn into the home to heat it, which reduces the relative humidity (RH). A humidifier will prevent this effect, and a whole-house system can help

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Common Old Home Electrical Issues and How to Fix Them

April 11, 2022

Since the late 1800s, we’ve relied on electricity as a necessary feature in our modern-day world. Just as home construction has come a long way over the decades, so has how electricity is installed in homes. If you currently have an older home, it’s likely that you’re going to face some electrical issues that are not present in newer homes with updated wiring and electrical features. Insufficient Power If you think back to 50 years ago, many of the modern-day appliances in your home didn’t exist. People used a lot less power, so homes were designed

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The Primary Differences Between Hard and Soft Water

April 7, 2022

Hard water is extremely common across the United States, but many homeowners don’t even realize that it’s flowing through their households. Hard water is essentially water that has a high concentration of calcium and magnesium in it. If you’re in a hard water area, it means that water moves through deposits of limestone, chalk, and gypsum before it reaches your plumbing system. Those materials contain lots of calcium and magnesium, so the mineral ions get picked up as the water passes through. Although research has shown that hard water may actually be a bit healthier to

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Most Common Reasons Why Circuit Breakers Trip

March 16, 2022

Your home’s circuit breakers serve an extremely important purpose by instantly cutting off the power to circuits in the event of any electrical issues. Without working circuit breakers, any electrical issues could potentially start a fire or even electrocute you when you turn on the lights or plug something into an outlet. While this is obviously great in terms of safety, it can still be frustrating when you have a circuit that is constantly getting tripped. Even if resetting the circuit is as simple as turning the breaker back on, it is still important that you understand what a tripped

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