As the weather warms up, so does the market for home improvements--and home improvement scams run by shady contractors. Whether you're on your first-ever home project or your fiftieth, a qualified contractor is key to getting the job done on time and on budget. Take the following steps to avoid...

Filed under: News Based on scary specimens spotted in refrigerators and deserted lunch bags, you may think of mold as soggy, dirty, disgusting and, above all, obvious. However, that element of the obvious isn't always present in household mold mysteries. The most pristine, well-kept home can...

Filed under: News Big talk about your next home improvement project may be exciting, but don't skip the step of securing a formal, written contract from your contractor if you want to make that dream a reality. Verbal contracts with home improvement professionals may be binding by law, but the...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just made it easier to report product safety incidents, allowing them to identify product hazards more quickly and provide consumers like you with safety information on products in and around the home.  They’ve created a database at...

Do you live in a tornado-prone area?  The safest place to seek shelter from the storm is in a “safe room” right in your own home. 

The average tornado victim has less than 60 seconds’ warning that a tornado is going to strike their home.  Unfortunately, when most people hear that urgent...

Putting a grandparent or other elderly relative into a nursing care facility is never an easy decision.  Most of us would prefer not to do it, and our older loved ones would almost always rather stay in their own homes, too.  It’s an issue that looms for many of us, as 78 million baby boomers...

If you want to keep your home’s interior from looking like it’s falling apart, you need to resign yourself to some annual maintenance.  That one neighbor on the block whose rooms always manage to look brand-new understands the importance of routine care.  Believe me, that interior doesn’t stay...

We’re in the thick of tax season, and that means it’s also prime time for identity theft. 

Take a look around your home office, the family computer area, or that corner of the kitchen that attracts paper.  Somewhere, you’ve got a mounting stack, and I’m willing to bet it includes credit card...

2010 saw some stubborn insect infestations in the United States, from bedbugs to the dreaded stinkbug.  But will last year’s pests bug us for yet another year?  Look out for the return of these guys, who took the top prizes for unwelcome guests in 2010:

Bedbugs.  Bedbugs popped up all over the...

Americans may have experienced some downsizing in their careers over the past couple of years, and that seems to be reflected in what’s happening in their homes, too. 

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) unveiled its findings about the predicted future of the American home at the...