Did you know that you can use the same antifreeze that you use in your car to help prevent your home plumbing from freezing? To find out how and why, as well as other great tips for how to maintain your home plumbing, read the following article right away.

You always want to solder correctly, the biggest mistake most people make when soldering is failing to get the interior of the fitting and the exterior of the pipe clean and shiny. Polish these surfaces with a fine emery clot until bright. When soldering, never heat the pipe, but instead heat the fitting. Doing so allows the solder to be drawn into the fitting by capillary action.

If your pipes bang when you turn on the water, and all the pipes are anchored correctly, you should add some straps or cushion the pipes with a rubber blanket. There may be times when you will need to do both. Make sure that if you have copper pipes, you are not using galvanized straps.

To prevent the pipes from freezing, it is advisable to seal off air vents, cracks and access doors. In order to keep the heat in and the cold out, you can try using insulation or caulk. In the event a leak occurs, make it a point to remind everyone where the master circuit breaker is so it can be shut off immediately.

You should drain all of the water out of the tank of your hot water heater at least once every three to six months. Draining all of the water out of the tank helps to prevent sediment build-up at the bottom of the tank. This sediment can cause the tank to bang or to heat less efficiently.

In order to keep your garbage disposal in optimal working condition, run it on a regular basis. Just a simple 60 seconds per day under cold water can keep it running clean and smooth. If not run regularly, your disposal can be susceptible to corrosion that will eventually make it inoperable.

There are simple ways to check your toilet for leaks that can ultimately lead to great cost savings in the long run. The easiest way to do this is to pour a small amount of food dye into the holding tank of your toilet overnight. In the morning, if you have any color in the basin then you know you have a leak that needs some attention.

Do you have a frozen drainpipe? You can use a garden hose to thaw it out. First of all, remove the trap from the drainpipe and insert the hose until it will not go any further. While lifting up the other end of the hose, pour hot water down it. Keep pouring hot water down the hose until the drainpipe thaws. To save time with cleanup, keep a bucket underneath to catch the water that overflows.

In conclusion, you want to be sure that all of the advice you have heard about plumbing is correct. Take the time to go back over this article and decide what applies to you and what you need to learn even more about. The learning process never stops and it will benefit you greatly.…

Do you want to change the look of your home? Perhaps it’s time to implement some changes and updates here and there. Here you will find tips to get you started in interior design, and create a home you will love to live in.

One of the easiest steps in interior design involves painting a room. Paint gives a room a fresh look, and it can completely change the feeling in the space. Paint allows you to put a dash of your individual style in the space, and it is an inexpensive way to begin redesigning your home.

A great way to liven up an otherwise boring or complicated space is to create a point of focus in the room. This focal point will become the highlight of the space, and everything else that’s in the room will work to support the focal point. Focal points to think about working around include fireplaces, windows, artworks and stately pieces of furniture.

Figure out what you want the focal point of the room to be. This is going to be one thing that the room is going to center around. It can be a window, a desk, a piece of artwork – whatever you’d like it to be. Once you know what your focal point is, you can arrange the room so that it compliments that focal point.

When you are decorating your children’s room, try to look at things from their perspective. Decor in their room should be practical and age-appropriate. If you have young children, get down and look at things at their eye level. This will help you decide how to make the most of the space in their room.

Arrange your furniture smartly. Walk around your rooms and take different paths: are you able to easily go from one room to the other? Furniture should not be in your way, and yet some items should be made central if you wish to create a theme or a color pattern based on a piece of furniture.

When redecorating a small kitchen, keep your color pallet pale. A pale color pallet will brighten the space and make it appear larger. It is also best to focus on one or two colors to keep the space from appearing busy. Light blue, sea green, white and ivory are all wonderful choice for a small kitchen space.

If you have floors that are made of tile, stone or concrete, the use of stylish area rugs will make your room seem cozier and warmer to your feet. To minimize wear in high-traffic areas, you should regularly rotate and reposition each rug. Your rug can get a fresh look and last longer if you move them once in awhile.

Always get a second opinion! Have you ever bought a rug or throw pillows that you thought looked amazing, only to decide later on they were a bit tacky? Showing photos of items you like to your friends or family members can help you avoid making purchases you regret. Everyone has their own tastes, but other perspective can help you notice things you might have missed.

Now you should be able to start your interior design projects, keeping within your needs, personality and budget. Use your creativity and don’t be afraid to use interior design to show new and different aspects of yourself and your home.…

The economy is starting to pick up more and more, so a lot more people are becoming interested in designing the interior of their homes. If you want to help your home look good, and help the economy get back on its feat then invest time and money into fixing the interior of your home.

In a family room, try to arrange your furniture into centers. Have a center devoted to watching television, a center devoted to reading and a center devoted to conversation with family and friends. This is a great way to break up your furniture, give the room visual appeal and make the space user friendly too.

One key tip with regards to interior design is to make sure your room has a focal point. Whether it is a fireplace, piece of furniture or whatever you desire, it is important to have one point in which the entire room revolves around so that whatever item you choose is the highlight of the room.

When you are redesigning a child’s bedroom or playroom, make it fun! This will help them to feel comfortable instead of designing the room the way you would like. Everything should be easy to reach and easy to store. Think like a child yourself, and remove any design ideas that could be hazardous to a child’s health.

Make sure that there is ample lighting in every room of your house. This may require you to do some planning as to where you should situate your lights or chandeliers. If you have a big room, you will need to strategically position the lights to filter throughout the whole area.

As you plan your interior design project be sure to consider the colors that you plan to use before buying anything. It is important that a color has the ability to set a mood. Bright colors will raise spirits, while neutral tones can encourage relaxation. Keep this in mind as you plan your color schemes to prevent having a room meant for relaxation that actually gets you excited.

One excellent way to change the interior design of your home is to introduce patterns. A lot of people shy away from patterns, because they think, patterns are overwhelming. The truth is that stripes, swirls and other patterns can add drama to the appearance of a room. Start with small pieces and notice the immediate difference.

Have you ever heard the old saying about taking off one piece of jewelry before you leave your home? The same rule applies to interior design. Once you finish decorating a room, give it a good look and spend some time editing down your design. Even if you love every pillow, plant, or picture in your home, you don’t want a room to look cluttered.

With all that you learned you can help your home look beautiful. Go ahead and see if you have a natural feel for what it’s like to design the interior of a home. Remember you do not have to do it all at once, you can work little by little as the year goes on and make a significant change to your home as time progresses.…

Home improvement is a popular concept now, especially with a poor economy. Most people can only afford to make updates in their home if they do some or all of the work themselves. When the home owner has some experience in the basics, a do-it-yourself project can be a wise choice. This article will help guide you to make your home improvement project a success.

When improving your house, there are some projects that you can do yourself and others that you cannot. If you feel like you can complete a simple task like repainting the kitchen, then by all means do it, in order to save yourself some extra money. Just be sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into before you start a project. You don’t want to try and remodel your bathroom and find out half way through that you’re not sure if you can complete the task without hitting a pipeline.

While painting, remember to protect the floors. Taking this precaution will save you from wet paint staining carpets or floors. A cheaper way to get this done is to layer old newspapers. A paint cloth works well too, as you simply need to create a barrier to prevent the paint from hitting the floor.

Use two-liter bottles that are empty to store things in your kitchen. They are transparent, and a good way to store things like flour, baking soda and sugar. You can keep them in a freezer, refrigerator, or on a shelf. When you require the contents, just remove its cap and pour.

Remodel your closet by using closet organizer kits. These kits are designed to maximize usable space in your closet. A basic kit usually comes with a closet rod and enough components to give you multiple shelves that you can adjust. Additional components can be purchased to customize your closet even more. This is a great way to add storage space in your home without a major remodel.

Wallpaper borders are no longer as popular as they once were. However, you can add nice designs to your wall without them. Buy some stencils at your local craft store in a theme that matches your home decor and paint them in a line on your wall where normally the wallpaper border would go. This creates a nice visual effect for your eyes to follow in the room.

Have a large bulletin board in your kitchen or living room, where you can write reminders for yourself of things you need to do or bills you need to pay. Emergency phone numbers, contacts, brochures, postcards and notes to yourself, look better arranged on a bulletin board and won’t clutter your refrigerator or other appliances.

There are times when a home owner will take on a project which is beyond their ability. In this case do-it-yourself home improvement can end up costing more than a contractor would have charged in the first place. As this article helped you see it is always wise to do some research and get professional advice before taking on a home improvement project.…