Drains have a tendency to clog at the most inopportune times, like when you’re cooking a holiday feast for a house full of guests or when enjoying a relaxing shower, you find yourself standing in ankle-length water. But before you reach for the Drano, you should reconsider. Drano and other drain opening products are caustic and dangerous to use. These conventional drain cleaners contain the man-made chemical sodium hydroxide, which can damage the piping and finish on …

You may be flushing your money down the toilet and not even know it. Twenty percent of all toilets leak, which secretly raises homeowners’ water and wastewater bills. But other problems – like a toilet that won’t flush completely or runs continuously – aren’t secret at all. Take a whirl at inspecting your toilet. It’s more convenient and less expensive to systematically check the plumbing yourself, before you have to call in the professionals to take care of a …

As a homeowner, you are not legally permitted to perform your own renovation work, with the exception of the electrical, but it is strongly recommended amateurs not do this as disastrous results can occur.