Here are a few more items that caught Greg's eye at the International Builders Show in Orlando this past weekend: The Geospring hybrid water heater. This nifty unit can save up to 62% on water heating costs and features a demand response system called "nucleus" the...
Plumbing
Weekend Project: Prevent Outdoor Faucets from Freezing
A few weeks ago, our weekend project was to prevent your indoor pipes from freezing. Now, as winter draws ever closer, our project again involves plumbing, but this time, of the outdoor variety. The outdoor faucet that you use to hook up a hose or fill a watering can...
Delta’s New Wash The Day Away Game
What's better than taking a shower? Taking a virtual one, of course. Or, better still, washing a virtual person. Confused? Just check out Delta's new Wash the Day Away game, where you can play around with their new In2ition Two-In-One shower head, selecting filthy...
Weekend Project: Protect Your Pipes
As winter draws ever closer, it's time to batten down the hatches and prepare for the cold months. As you put on storm windows and rake leaves, don't forget to consider your pipes. Pipes can freeze up on you when outside temperatures drop below 20 degrees. And when...
Pumpkin III: The Revenge
With less than one week left to All Hallows' Eve, it's time to make one final costume store run, order that scary movie off Netflix, and stockpile candy corn. Of course, it's also time to take a knife to a pumpkin. But beware — butchering a pumpkin has its...
The Mystery of the Rainwater Collection System | Plumbing and Roofing Materials
I went on vacation last week to Allendale, Nova Scotia, where my Loyalist ancestors came way back in the 1780s. Allendale is just up the road from Lockeport, a small port and fishing community settled back in 1762 by Jonathan Locke and Josiah Churchill. In 1876 Henry...
July Is “Change Your Refrigerator Water Filter Month” | Plumbing and Water Filters
There's a month for everything, apparently. And this month is "Change Your Refrigerator Water Filter Month," according to the Whirlpool Corporation. I happen to be the target market for Whirlpool's semi-annual initiative, which started in 2009. I have a water...
Water Saving Tips from Moen | Water Saving and Water Conservation
Moen recently released "20 Ways to Save Water Without Sacrificing Performance." Since we are big on water conservation here at BobVila.com, I thought I'd pass along the link to the article and cite a few examples here. Just a few ways: Choose fixtures certified to...
Exploding Hot Water Heater | Water Heater Safety
A note came in recently from a homeowner who had a leaking pressure release valve on her home's hot water heater. She was collecting about 2 cups of leaking water a day from the faulty valve. She asked if she should wait until the problem worsened or if she should be...
Fixing a Flooded Basement | Basement Flooding
You know what's worse than a midge plague? A flooded basement. In a sequence of events that smacked of the Book of Revelation, the swarms of midges gave way to basement flooding, leading my housemates and I to predict that Lake Champlain will soon run red with blood....