Invest in quality tools while they’re on sale this month.
Temps start to soar in June when days start to get longer.
Stop your energy and water bills from soaring, too, with these summer home maintenance tips:
Happy Father’s Day to everyone: It’s tool-sale month! Repairs and home improvement projects go much smoother with quality tools — and you’ll like the results more. This month, take advantage of sales to buy quality brands for less, or buy used tools at a local auction or estate sale. Then ditch those make-do tools that have always frustrated you.
You’re already paying extra to pump cool air into your house. Don’t pay even more to use the heat-dry setting on your dishwasher. It can double your electrical load.
Instead, open the dishwasher immediately after it runs, and pull out the racks. The evaporating steam will speed-dry the dishes. Some dishwashers have an air-dry button that will automatically prevent heat drying.
Lawns are a bit picky about their drinking schedule. Rather than daily soaks, they prefer deep, infrequent watering, which promotes deeper root growth. In general, lawns need about 1 inch of water per week. In a well-watered lawn, you can stick a screwdriver 6 to 8 inches into the dirt without resistance.
Summer may be water-conscientiousness season, but putting a brick in your toilet is the wrong means to that well-meaning end. Brick crumbles when exposed to water for too long. Instead, switch to a high-efficiency toilet. At $100-$300 per toilet, the $230 annual water savings is worth it. Or just swap your brick with a half-gallon milk jug filled with sand.