HomeKeepr Blog

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Staff @ HomeKeepr

Bee-Safe: Pest Extermination Tips

It can’t be overstated just how beneficial bees are to our ecosystem. Bees pollinate an astonishing 80 percent of the world’s plants, including fruits and vegetables that feed up to 90 percent of the world’s population. Certain nuts and beans would likely go completely extinct, as well as fruits like blueberries and cherries which are almost entirely pollinated by bees. Meat scarcity could arise as cattle feed on pollinated plants, and some common medicines may become difficult if not impossible to manufacture. Life as we know it would become a lot harder to maintain without our friend the humble bee.

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What Do You Get with a Home Warranty?

By now, you’ve likely seen the ads, gotten the emails and maybe even hung up on a few robocalls going on and on about the benefits of a home warranty. Are they actually worth getting, though? Let’s take a closer look at home warranties and what they really have to offer. This will help you to decide if a home warranty is right for you or if it would just be a waste of your money.

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Video Doorbells and Privacy: Maintaining a Balance

Advancing technology has played a large part in improving home security in recent years. This is due, in part, to the rising popularity of the Internet of Things, or IoT; these “Things” are devices that connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or other wireless networks to perform various functions without the need to be hard-wired or attached to a computer. Security-focused IoT devices include things like window monitors, smart door locks and video doorbells – even security lighting.

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Heating Sources Explained

There are a lot of different options available when it comes to heating your home. Some of them, you’re likely really familiar with, while others are newer options that you may not have heard of. Regardless, understanding how different heating options work is an important part of deciding how to best heat your home. Whether you’re building the home of your dreams or just remodeling your existing home, here’s some info on some of the heating options you might encounter.

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Selling Your Home in the Off Season

Spring and summer are traditionally seen as the best times to sell your house. Research has actually shown that homes sold during the first half of May tend to sell faster and sell for a higher average price than house sales at any other time of the year. Once you get into fall and winter, buyer competition doesn’t seem as fierce and average prices start to drop. This doesn’t mean you can’t sell during the off season, of course; it just means that you need to maximize the value of your home to get the most out of your property.

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Care and Feeding of Brick Siding

Having brick siding installed on your house gives it a classic look. Unfortunately, a lot of people view brick as an install-it-and-forget-it option and allow that look to deteriorate over time. Brick homes require basic maintenance and care just like vinyl and wood siding do, though the specifics of maintenance may be a little bit different. It’s just like with anything: If you want the look, you have to put in the work to keep it up.

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5 Tips for DIY Paint Disposal

A lot of DIY projects involve paint. Unfortunately, the majority of them don’t use the exact amount of paint that comes in the cans you buy. This leaves you with extra paint that you don’t have anything to do with, and over time you might even build up quite a collection of excess paint cans. Don’t just dump them out or throw them away, though… doing so is illegal in most areas. If you’re not sure what to do with all of the paint you’ve got left over, here are a few things to think about.

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Alexa, Am I Out of Milk? Smart Appliances 101

It seems like everything is getting smart these days. First the phones were smart, then the thermostats. Now you can buy smart lighting, smart locks, smart cameras and even smart little sensors that can tell you when there’s a water leak or a window is unlocked. What about your appliances, though?

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The Dirt on Septic Tank Ownership

Septic tanks are common in rural areas, though depending on where you live, you might have a septic system, even close to town. So long as things are going smoothly, it’s often difficult to tell that there is even a septic system in place. If your septic tank starts having problems, though, it may not take long for it to become very obvious that something is wrong.

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