Best products from r/homeowners

I can help with a couple things

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ok for mold the best and good for you .. the cheapest thing is bleach

Bleach is what fema uses when they clean up houses in flood zones its also the product recommended for hospitals to kill bacteria and viruses.

So go to DollarTree and get a full gallon of Bleach.. they also sell 3/4 gallons so make sure you get a full larger gallon size and then to kill mold you have to keep the area wet with bleach for about 30 minutes.. if it is black mold often it will change color to a yellowish brown and you know its dead.

Next thing for Mice the most effective thing is just regular Snap traps with a little peanut butter on the trap.. the old type that are spring loaded.. My local discount store had a pack of 4 of them for $2 so that is pretty good but you can shop for them. When you first use them they are very hair trigger and go off easy and are hard to set but once you get the trick its not bad.. put the peanut butter on the trap before you set the spring..

because snap traps aren't the only effective thing then you want to use mice bait that will kill them

if you are on amazon or near a walmart, lowes or HomeDepot you can get Tomcat Bait Stations.. they come in a 4 pack and have a green bait inside . The mouse can get in to eat the bait but if you have a cat or dog they can't get in to eat it. The mouse will eat it and then it dies in about a day. Not great but screw the mice.

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-Killer-Disposable-Station-Indoor/dp/B012VK649C

As for things that are dirty like walls the easiest thing is to get a bucket and then put some liquid clothes washing soap in it and use a towel or sponge to clean it.

Dollar store again has pretty big size clothes washing soap for $1 and you only need about a 1/4 cup or if it has a plastic cup top just put one per bucket of water. You can use it to wash your walls and it will leave a nice smell.

when I am cleaning a wall or a door or something big like a refrigerator or cabinet I will use a spray bottle with watered down soap and just spray and spray it on the wall starting at the top and you will see dirt run down the wall pretty good especially if its a smoking house.. just keep going and eventually it comes clean.

For the bathroom you can get a tube of Tub and Tile Caulk .. it is pretty good caulk and it will let you fix small cracks in tiles ... it is stronger than regular caulk and it comes in white or like a light brown almond https://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-Kwik-Seal-5-5-oz-White-Kitchen-and-Bath-Adhesive-Caulk-18873/100040837

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For leaks around doors and windows you can use regular caulk. you might be able to get a tube of caulk and a caulk gun at the dollar store. you can fill the cracks around the doors and windows

And for windows that are leaky that you can't caulk just use regular masking tape on the area where the windows meet or on the sides .. it works really good and its cheap and it won't hurt anything normally.. just take your time and tape it nice.

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I think thats enough to get you started but cleaning and stuff is enough for now and then you work on other things as you learn.

good luck I wish you and your mom well

Assuming you had an inspection done you really don't have any tests to do as they all should already have been done. (Toxins in paint and such)

Locate your main water valve, main gas valve and meter, and breaker panel. Just so you know where they are. Open breaker panel, identify which breaker controls what. Hopefully they are marked.

Get a pair of bolt cutters. I've used mine many times for random jobs around the house. Speaking of tools, a basic $100 toolset comes in handy all the time and you'll never regret investing in a quality battery powered drill.

Change the code to the garage door opener.

Change locks on doors.

Take a lot of "before" pics. It's fun to look back and see how much your home has changed.

Look into rebates that are offered by your local utility companies ( electricity and gas). They'll usually give you free LED light bulbs, or great deals on random things like that. And where I live they'll even come out and do different audits for free to make sure things are running smoothly in your home.

Look into Sonic Internet in your area. I've heard good things about them lately.

Home improvement can quickly become overwhelming. Expect to get overwhelmed. Then expect to get inspired again.

Back to tools, get a quality stud finder. Not a hyped up beeping led one. Just a solid magnet one. Like this one. http://www.amazon.com/CH-Hanson-03040-Magnetic-Finder/dp/B000IKK0OI/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1451979365&sr=1-1&keywords=stud+finder

Before you attempt to fix something, always just check out a video or two on YouTube. They will point out things like why you should not over tighten the bolts on your toilet. (I learned that one the hard way). Since then I always try to watch a video before fixing something. They will usually point out safety things and other "gotchas" that you should be aware of.

Can't think of much else right now. Good luck and congrats!

A lot of the "ooh" and "aah" factor of a home is in the kitchen and bathrooms. That's also where you get the most money back at resale.

So if you're deciding where to spend money, that's where to spend it.

You've probably been advised to run ethernet network wiring. I'd also plan to hide wireless access points like these in the attic or other hidden areas. You will be amazed how much you enjoy stable, fast wifi access throughout the house for your various devices. Wired ethernet is better, but most devices these days have wifi built in and don't need gigabit transfer speeds. Just use it.

Where will your broadband modem go? Now's the time to plan for distribution of TV/network/etc. and designate an "IT closet."

Decide now where you might want wall-mounted TVs and plan for it with power and other connections. A nice recessed outlet with cable management can make that whole process much simpler.

In the garage, at the least, wire for 20A outlets. You never know if a future tool or device will need a lot of power, and it's not fun to retrofit. Is there a possibility that you'll ever have an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid? If so, wire one 240v/90A circuit for each potential EV. That'll max out a new Tesla, even if it has the high-amperage charger upgrade.

I adore having a separate beverage/wine fridge and separate under-counter ice maker. They're expensive, but they make hosting a party much easier. Another must-have is a built-in warming drawer. It's super convenient and I can't believe how often we use ours to keep something warm while the rest of dinner is finishing up or because someone was late getting home and didn't get to eat with the family.

Not mentioned here; but IMO any camera will put people on notice that there is a camera present. I think my neighbors think I'm a bit on the paranoid side; yet there have been no problems in my neighborhood for some time, and others nearby have had break ins, car burglaries; etc. I also have a back alley; and this keeps people away from the cars and garbage in the rear alley (last Christmas we had a car break in).

I don't however, recommend Ring Cameras; (doorbell is fine; but put another 4-5MP camera out there). Why? Better granularity /clarity in terms of visibility; esp at night. I recommend Reolink for their great night vision.

Imgur (B&W), but color is possible. IR in USE

Argus2: battery powered Color night vision: Imgur

I started with the excellent Reolink Argus 2's because of the exceptional night vision; have moved up to their 5MP dome camera for my rear driveway. I would recommend the Reolink PoE or Wifi (I am using 5ghz wifi with no problems) system. In the front, for appearances sake, I am using the ring doorbell2 with a solar powered (solar array is in a flower pot near the front door) Argus2 higher up. In the back, a Reolink 422W (vandal resistant dome) under the garage door frame. I'm very pleased.

I don't need an NVR; I'm using SD cards and my phone app and Windows client on my PC to run it.

Here is one such buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Surveillance-Supported-Security-Recording-RLK8-410B4/dp/B01AHXEHSU/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1543322543&sr=1-5&keywords=Reolink

I rewired the phone jacks in my house (built 2003). They were all going to a central point in the garage and the builders used Cat 5e, so were easily converted from phone (2 pins) to data (8 pins).

I don't think cat5 was around in the 90's, but not totally sure. If the wiring isn't already there, then yeah it will be a project to wire it, but not impossible if you're comfortable fishing wire and crawling through attics.

Powerline adapters also work great in many homes, depending on the quality of your electrical work and are plug and play. I used to use these as WiFi extenders (before switching to Unifis), and beside rebooting them once a month or so they worked fantastic.

Example of powerline adapter: https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Powerline-Pass-Through-TL-PA9020P-KIT/dp/B01H74VKZU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=powerline+network+adapter&qid=1571690335&s=electronics&sr=1-3

Edit: WiFi has come a long way in the past few years. Invest in a high quality WiFi setup and you may not care about having wired connections anymore.

Do it yourself. It is MUCH cheaper.

I recommend this one if you want to replace the entire knob. (kwikset) It has the benefit of being able to re-key your locks in about 10 seconds, without disassembling the knob, if you decide to change your locks again in the future. Super easy. $20 per knob.

Alternatively, you could get something like this (re-keying kit). It's only $10, and you can re-key several locks. It's definitely a bit delicate though. Make sure to follow the instructions very precisely, or you'll end up with pins shooting everywhere from the springs.

Whichever method you choose, you should be done in about an hour. Do you like the idea of having a job that makes/saves $130 per hour?

The only things you really need to worry about are paper and other solids. Don't use the garbage disposal as a trash can. Don't use wet wipes and if you do throw them in the trash, not down the toilet. Don't flush tampons or sanitary pads or cigarette butts. Hair is not an issue, at least no more of an issue than with regular sewer, you don't need to take any extra precautions.

To make sure your toilet paper is "septic safe" there is a very easy test. Take a wad of 10 sheets or so and stuff it in a jar, fill it with water, close the lid and shake it vigorously for a few seconds. If it disintegrates into what looks like chunky milk, you're good. If the paper is still mostly intact, pick another brand.

Your septic tank is probably 1,500 gallons or more so bleach and other cleaning products are very, very diluted unless you're just using gallons of the stuff every day.

Get your tank pumped every 2-3 years, maybe more often if you're abusing it with lots of paper and other solids. This is super important and will make the difference between a septic system that lasts 50 years and one that lasts 10. Also, never hurts to flush a box of Rid-X down the toilet every couple months to replenish the bacteria.

To solve your problem with hair clogging the drain, I highly recommend Thrift drain cleaner. I use about 1/2 a bottle to unclog a drain. Remove the screen or plunger, shake as much as you can down the drain, then pour about a quart of boiling hot water on top of it. Hot tap water isn't good enough, it has to be boiling. It will gurgle and chug and the drain will be clear. Rinse it out with hot water from the tap and you'll be good to go.

Design the house for wheelchair accessibility, and if you don't have expertise in that area, be sure to talk with someone who is dependent on a wheelchair and has lived that way a long time, because there are many little considerations that are not obvious to the rest of us.

Why? Well, of course there's the obvious case of someone in a wheelchair, or someone who's temporarily mobility impaired due to an injury. But you'd be surprised at how much more comfortable an accessible design is for non-wheelchair people as well -- things don't feel crowded, and the space just "flows". It also makes it very easy to move furniture or boxes or even just laundry baskets around. And on top of that, if this is a forever home then not having to deal with stairs/steps on a daily basis will help when you're elderly (not saying you can't have these anywhere, just that you should be able to live on the main level and accomplish all the day-to-day stuff such as cooking, laundry, sleeping, bathing without dealing with steps). And if it's not your forever home, remember that as the Baby Boomers age there's going to be a high demand for housing that has single-level living features and works well for the elderly.

If interested, start with a book like the following -- and it covers much more than wheelchair accessibility (e.g. impaired vision, etc):

The Accessible Home: Designing for All Ages and Abilities
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1600854915/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_.KEjDbZAWT3ZQ

OK, that out of the way, on to my own personal observations from the houses I've lived in...

Locate stairways at the edge of the house instead of at the core. When future you wants to remodel and has this practically immovable object cutting into the possible floorplan options, you'll say "Geez, I wish I listened to Cyrano back in the day."

Double-sink for the master bath -- definitely. I always thought these were stupid, until I got married and now the wife and I contend for the bathroom sink at bedtime every day.

A mudroom is almost mandatory (the lack of which is one of our two major disappointments with our current place). Make sure the mudroom has access to a bathroom without having to track through the house, for those times you come in from some sort of dirty work outside and need to take care of business or get washed up. Double-points if that bathroom has a shower in it as well.

Kitchen pantry. A bunch of other people said it, but I'll just give my +1 on this.

Avoid having your main kitchen sink on an island. Our friends hate theirs because the island always ends up piled with dishes and just being an ugly mess that you can't easily ignore, while simultaneously being the spot that everyone wants to gather around and visit.

I agree wholeheartedly with what others have said about isolating bedrooms from the noise of the rest of the house, and with making sure that bedrooms are designed so that you can have actual sensible bed/furniture layouts in them.

Design multiple levels so they can be thermally isolated from each other (e.g. doors at the bottom or top of stairs). It sucks big time once you realize that cold air sinks and warm air rises, so your house is never comfortable everywhere. But this problem also has a lot to do with HVAC design -- so research and plan HVAC carefully rather than letting the HVAC company just run stuff wherever looks good to them.

Plan for change. Avoid load bearing walls as much as possible, so you can modify things in the future if you want. Get a larger electrical service than you need now, in case 90% of people are using electric cars in the future and need to charge them overnight in their garage. That sort of stuff.

Consider reading Sarah Susanka's book series on "The Not So Big House", and take the principles she lays out into your design. She focuses a bit too much on Scandinavian influences for my taste, but her concept of "shelter around activity" if applied to any style of house will have a huge impact on how cozy and comfortable your home feels.

Get low voltage old work brackets like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Carlon-1-Gang-Non-Metallic-Low-Voltage-Old-Work-Bracket-SC100RR/100160916

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Trace a rectangle on the wall and cut out with a drywall saw. Pretty easy to keep within the trim on the bracket, but the wall plate will cover more as well. From there, it's up to you. You could get a normal wall blank and drill a hole in it to run a wire through. You could get something like these that allow an assortment of wires to come through:

https://www.amazon.com/Wi4You-WI1007WH-2-Bristle-Voltage-Through/dp/B07F3TFMZ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541523692&sr=8-2&keywords=decora+insert+low+voltage+wires

Or you could do it proper and get an ethernet wall plate like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Port-Ethernet-Wall-Plate-ESYLink/dp/B072J2RS43/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1541523753&sr=8-4&keywords=ethernet+wall+plate

Or decora style like this:

https://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-Decorative-Gang-Port-Plate/dp/B00ODFR6CS/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1541523792&sr=8-20&keywords=ethernet+wall+plate+decora

For just a single outlet they're a bit overpriced. But if you have multiple you can get something called a keystone plate and it allows you to put any assortment of low voltage connections in.

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If it’s super short, yeah you could do it like that... shove the vac tube into the dryer tube. But if it’s longer then that, you’ll need something like this:

Deflecto Dryer Duct Cleaning Kit, Lint Remover, Extends Up To 12 Feet, Synthetic Brush Head, Use With or Without a Power Drill https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IB4BMDQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Q3SyCbBE3N5DX

Turn your dryer on with the heat off, attach to power drill, and feed that in from the outside of the house.

Don’t clean flexible tube this way, only the “hard” sheet metal tube. You’ll be surprised at how much comes out.

This is also a common service provided by handymen.

1. While you shouldn't replace your windows mid-winter, you can put plastic over them. This is very common in the midwest.
   
   Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Window-Insulator-5-Window/dp/B00002NCJI
   
   This can make a huge difference if you do a good job and blowdry it nice and tight.
   
   
2. At night, use an electric blanket. Much more efficient than heating all the air in the room.
   
   
3. Don't cheap out on your heat so much that a pipe bursts! That's more expensive to clean up than any heating bill.

This is the one I bought

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01AHXEHSU/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_-GxEDbX5ACKFC

I got it a couple years ago and I'm pretty sure there is a newer model of it, but I'm still pretty happy with what I have.

Thanks for the diagram, that's interesting.

This studfinder uses super strong magnets to detect the screws/nails, and actually sticks to them through the drywall. It's this thing. Seems to work great.. and that's the only spot it picks up any metal.

Check out the Linteater (Gardus RLE202 LintEater 10-Piece Rotary Dryer Vent Cleaning System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014CN8Y8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_A9OJBbB2KXJDC)

Yes, it is made for cleaning dryer vents but it comes with a cutter attachment (shown in one the pictures) and can be used to clean out things like gutters. Might work for your case depending on how far you need it to extend.

I have this one, and I like it. I mow about 1/4 acre, and it just about perfectly drains the two batteries I have (but it holds both batteries simultaneously, so no need to stop to grab a fresh one). It's quiet, doesn't smell bad like a traditional mower, and I don't have to mix gas. Also, I've known several people whose house fires originated with their gas-powered lawnmower. I have a 16" chainsaw that I love, and it uses the same batteries.

We had an epic clog in the bathroom sink once. The prior owners liked to cram hair down there or something. We ended up having to shut off the water to the bathroom, removed the piping, and manually scraping out all the goop and hair in the pipes. Then put it all back together and water test it. Took about 90 minutes and it has worked well ever since.

If you have to go that route get a pair of disposable gloves, one of those plastic drain snakes (about $2-$4 at HD), and a hook and pick set (saw one at autozone for $1.79). Don't forget some plumber's tape(just got some for $0.52 at walmart).

You can use either a big channel-lock pliers or an actual plumber's wrench (usually more expensive) to take apart the pipes, if you need to buy some measure your pipe sizes ahead of time. You will either need 2 of them, one to counterbalance your wrenching, or some other way to hold the other end in-place while you unscrew stuff.

Good luck!

As an aside: the amazon stuff I linked is waay over priced, but it lets you know what I am talking about, and I'm too lazy to find the best prices for stuff in your area.

> If you can do without wifi and the smart home features

FYI the wifi one's aren't much more than a "dumb" thermostat. They can be had on sale for $80 if you keep an eye out. I picked up this model on sale at Lowe's a couple years ago for around that. In fact, it's only $88 on Amazon right now.

Agree the "smart" thermostats are overkill for how much they're going to save though.

I bought this one. It comes with two batteries and one kicks on immediately when the other dies, so you get a solid hour or so of active time.

Most of what you're paying for is the batteries, to be honest, but it's much easier than dealing with a cord. Plus, if you end up buying other Greenworks gadgets like a weed whacker, snow blower, leaf blower, etc. then you can buy the battery-less versions and use the batteries that came with the mower.

I second checking the dryer vent for lint build up. Its super easy to clean your dryer vent with a shop vac and one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Gardus-RLE202-LintEater-10-Piece-Cleaning/dp/B0014CN8Y8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520883654&sr=8-4&keywords=Dryer+vent+cleaner

I purchased these and have been very pleased. I like the ability to place the panel separately from the lights and concealing the cord was easy enough. They also held up after an extremely harsh winter.

Update: when I first saw your comment, I ordered terro as per the suggestion. The first 2-3 days the ants swarmed toward it (I found one of their entrances by a floor heat vent where hot air comes out), then eventually they stopped coming. I thought they all died but after about a week another swarm came and now at present it's looking like they're appearing less. It's been a month since I initially posted/bought this I'm hoping they're getting closer to completely dying.

The box says to replace very 3 months though. I don't think the boxes attract other colonies as well as the smell (pheromones) that comes from the ants when they find food does so shouldn't the boxes be left incase more ants come?

I have this and it have had no problems

https://www.amazon.com/Greenworks-20-Inch-Force-Cordless-25302/dp/B00GX9WNP2

but I have way less grass. Like 2500 sq ft. How long would it take with a normal lawn mower? It takes me like 30-40 and the batteries easily last. 1/4 acre sounds kind of big for electric.

I actually just did this at my house we bought last week! I bought schlage rekey set and even got the override on a smart key. https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Line-Products-2402-Schlage-Tumbler/dp/B008RIDQD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469820045&sr=8-1&keywords=schlage+rekey

Hope this helps. Took me a few hours to do 5 locks and the smart lock but I also didn't know what I was doing. Really worth it.

All you need is something like this https://www.amazon.com/Gardus-RLE202-LintEater-10-Piece-Cleaning/dp/B0014CN8Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504584607&sr=8-1&keywords=linteater

I have one for 14' of vent, works great.

No.

Your best bet is to learn a little about HVAC systems. Overall, the concept is simple. A fan blows air across cooled coils and is then circulated through your house.

Problems arise for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Freon leaks. This can usually be detected by frozen-over coils or a complete loss of AC. A tech should make a visit, refill it, add dye, and then let it run for a few days. They will make another call and look around to see where the dye is coming out and determine if it can be repaired. Usually it can be soldered up unless it's in some weird spot. With that said, AC systems are sealed systems just like the AC in your car. They do not need to be "topped up" or are otherwise "a little low on freon". Any tech who tells you that is either scamming you or allowing the system to leak so they can make repeat visits at your expense.
  
  
• Leaks in the ductwork or kinks/blockages. If you have access to the ducts, examine connections and use foil-backed duct tape to seal. If you have damaged flex duct, replace with new insulated flex duct. In one house I lived in, a duct had become disconnected and fell onto the ground in the crawl space. I got in there, put it back together, and suddenly everything was much nicer. I noticed this because I put my hand over each register and one had zero airflow. In another house, the main duct that came off the air handler was bent and crushed. I had another house where the return was crushed when it slid down behind a pipe as the fastener had come loose. AIRFLOW IS IMPORTANT.
  
  
• Dampers that are closed. Dampers are simply flaps/valves that are placed inline inside metal ducts. You can find them by looking for a little arm which should correspond to the angle of the damper. Up/down across the duct means it is closed. Left/right indicates air can flow past the damper. In my old house, each register had a damper about 6" inside the duct. I had to remove the register and put my hand inside to adjust it.
  
  
• Clogged A-coils. This is the radiator-like device inside your air handler (the box inside the house with the blower motor). This can be difficult to inspect, as you need to look inside the cabinet and underneath the coils. If they are clogged with dust and debris, you can either use a gentle brush or an air comb to blow it out with compressed air. Obviously if the coils are restricted, you won't get good air flow, and you won't have good cooling.
  
  
• Poor insulation. I am amazed at how many homes I have seen that have 3" to no insulation in the attic. Short story, blow in at least 12" to 18" of insulation and you will be stunned at the difference in comfort.
  
  
• Leaking doors and windows. Check the weatherstripping on your door and replace as needed. It's cheap. Same for windows.
  
  
• Exposure to sunlight. Sun through windows accounts for something like 50% of heat in summer. Either get curtains that are white on the glass side and dark on the room side, or look into reflective exterior window films or solar screens. Do not use interior reflective window films on double-pane glass as it can cause damage. Alternately, plant fast growing trees to provide shade over your house and around your outside AC compressor. If you can provide 20' of shade around your compressor, it will help it work 10% less or more.
  
  
• Poor HVAC system design. I had one system that had two main trunks coming off the air handler, but one was at the top, and one was on the right side. Air is like water, and travels in the path of least resistance. As a result, probably 70% of the airflow went up to the top duct, and about 30% went to the side duct. As a result, all the rooms served by the side duct had poor airflow. I reconfigured the trunks to come out and then have a perfect 50/50 split.
  
  
• Closing registers does not always work as intended. In fact, it can change the load on the blower motor and reduce efficiency.
  
  
• Undersized or poorly placed returns. In my current house, I have a loft office and it had a 8" return ... at ankle level. 8" is only about 200 CFM, and not really sufficient for getting all the heat out when it's on the floor. I moved it and upgrade to a 10" duct (400 CFM). I achieved an immediate 10 degree drop in temps. I have another return that is oversized but on the north side of the house, and an undersized return in the middle of the house (where it's much warmer). I am going to remove the undersized return and upgrade the small one. This will pull the warm air out of my living space (living, dining, kitchen, and family rooms) instead of a little office near the garage.
  
  I personally found a small handheld FLIR camera was invaluable for finding leaks and problems. For example, I discovered the ceiling in one bedroom of my new house has zero insulation on one half, which is contributing to it being over 80 degrees even though it is not exposed to sunlight.
  
  Edit - I should also mention - many techs won't address many of these issues and instead will push to sell you a new system. I used to be afraid that my 18 year old AC system would die at any time. Well, it lasted 7 years with just a few issues. Now I am of the opinion that I'd rather maintain and fix an old unit rather than replace it. Also, upgrading to a higher SEER unit often is not worth the added expense - it's simply not that much more efficient.
  
  Bottom line? Don't assume your HVAC system has been designed properly. Look at it critically and ask yourself ... "Is this the best way to get air from the air handler to the rooms?"

You can easily do it yourself with something like this. I am sure you can find a longer one if necessary or buy 2 and use the rods to make it longer.

It really is a simple DIY project.

Have you tried a strong magnet to find the nails in the studs? Something like this might work http://www.amazon.com/CH-Hanson-03040-Magnetic-Finder/dp/B000IKK0OI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408676127&sr=8-1&keywords=magnet+stud+finder

I can imagine the USB socket busting off the phone mounted ones under actual use.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to get one of these things.

Amazon.com links

TG130 - $199 USD, no image capture [https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01ALSO84E/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501424183&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=FLIR%2Btg130&dpPl=1&dpID=41oghPRgdOL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01ALSO84E/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501424183&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=FLIR%2Btg130&dpPl=1&dpID=41oghPRgdOL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1)

TG165 - $349 USD, save images to SD card https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NXJDQV0/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501424183&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=FLIR%2Btg130&dpPl=1&dpID=41oghPRgdOL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

Also

• Get yourself one of these and clean the dryer vent. Good to do about once a year too.

Thank you, TheSingingKid! Seems I have spend a bit more (although I have already spent a lot to set things up) I found two types. One is conventional and cheap, like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UWP07LK/

The other is crawlspace specific and expensive, like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LW8WRUP/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Do I need the 2nd one, powerful but almost 5 times pricier, to make things right?

Yeah it's these traps. The first one I put in looks pretty full and I've added two more since then.

$83: https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Programmable-Thermostat-RTH6580WF-Requires/dp/B00Y6M2OUC/

I use this one and it's great.

Oh god this is giving me PTSD from the house I bought last year.

It had one of those Honeywell programmable thermostats and I was shivering at 2am poking at it with a flashlight trying to figure it out. Programming it was a pain in the ass. Changing the temp? I was never sure if I was reprogramming it or temp changing the setting. I ripped it out day 2 and put in a Nest. That's super clear.

In the basement I put in a round mechanical thermostat to keep the pipes from freezing in winter and that's it. No frills. Just a spring.

If I were you, unless you want a smart one, I'd get one of the old round ones and call it a day. If you want a smart one, get the cheap Nest.

I bought this thing on a lark. It's a bendable plastic strip with little teeth to catch on debris. You use it like a snake. It actually works really well to get hair out of there before there's a clog. It's absolutely disgusting, but it does pull lots of hair and other stuff out of the drain.

Edit: product says it's disposable, but I've used the same one for a year and a half; you just have to be willing to clean it after you're done using it.

Yeah, fireplace should be closed up - possible to lose more heat up the chimney than it provides. Is the damper closed? You can also stuff some insulation up into the chimney as a stop gap (don't want heat sucking up out of the house).

Now might be the time to put plastic on your windows. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Window-Insulator-5-Window/dp/B00002NCJI

Can make a big difference if your windows are drafty.

Also, curtains. The thicker the better, but any curtains are better than no curtains. Just close 'em up at night and they'll reduce the amount of heat your house radiates out to the night sky through the windows.

Before paying someone to come out, try using a zip it. It's cheap and could get all of the junk out very easily.

I recently purchased a home and we updated all the locks so they have the same key. It was fairly simple. You can buy one of these kits, just make sure you get it for the right kind of lock. They are different depending on which brand of doorknob/deadbolt you have - there are only really Schlage and Kwikset options. The kit we bought is good for 6 locks - just keep in mind that each deadbolt and doorknob is a lock so potentially 2 per door.



I'm assuming this means you will have a different key for your electronic keypad lock but those may also be changeable.

I have this one. It’s been great but can’t get my 2000 sq ft basement below 52% or so.

Like these

I recommend this electric mower I bought a few months back. It’s cordless and it works with their entire line of electric operated tools weed eater leaf blower etc...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GX9WNP2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_iGUWAb0EA6GCZ

Its a kit like this: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Window-Insulator-5-Window/dp/B00002NCJI

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You attach it with the tape then use a hair dryer to shrink it.

Just buy a Zip-It (or the generic version). These work really well on tubs and showers for me.

https://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-00412BL-Drain-Cleaning/dp/B000BO9204

> In the last couple days I found a decent layer of condensation water on water pipes, a/c coolant pipes and a/c ducts in the crawl space.

Are you on city water or well water?

Is the insulation also wet?

First I'd get someone to check every pressured pipe under there. It sounds like a hot water leak that is steaming the crawl space.

Purchase a hygrometer to measure the amount of humidity down there (get one with a wireless emitter) ASAP.

https://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-WS-70-8-Channel-Thermo-Hygrometer/dp/B00X4XVKAO/

If the number is above 70 then you'll need a dehumidifier. In addition you'll need a 3-prong outlet (extension cords are strongly not advised) and a way for the water to leave the crawlspace (unless you want to empty a bucket every 5-6 hours).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UWP07LK/

I bought this from amazon and followed a YouTube video to rekey it myself.

I bought a new house and didn’t want to spend $200 bucks to get my locks rekeyed. Payed $20 bucks and spent 1.5 hours on 3 locks, resulted in 3 same keys and opened all 3 locks.

Here it is

Here you go:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UWP07LK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1474225178&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=fridgeaire+dehumidifier&dpPl=1&dpID=316rM8FWZvL&ref=plSrch

Buying the kit for the first time. Thoughts on this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Deflecto-Cleaning-Remover-Extends-Synthetic/dp/B00IB4BMDQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1525707007&sr=8-4&keywords=dryer+vent+cleaner

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IB4BMDQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1525715320&sr=8-15&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dryer+vent+cleaner+kit

I should add, you can buy a FLIR TG130 for $200.

Depending on the model of lock you have, you can also rekey them yourself. I've got this sitting in a drawer right now, waiting for all the contractors to finish work on our new place:
https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Line-2402-Re-Keying-Kit-Rekeying/dp/B008RIDQD0/ref=sr_ph_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525798830&sr=sr-1&keywords=schlage+rekey+kit

Total waste in my book. All you really need is one of these magnetic ones. The fancy stuff didn't work for me but this does every time.

CH Hanson 03040 Magnetic Stud Finder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IKK0OI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_PT8gzbM75ASRP