If you are like most of the estimated 54 million homeowners who cut their grass every weekend, then you have a lawn mower powered by a gasoline engine.  Just like the engine in your car, there are a few key maintenance items you can take care of to restore your mower to peak performance.

1. Change the Oil: Most mowers will have a drain plug underneath the engine.  Lift your mower on to a pair of saw-horses to get easy access.  Drain the old oil out, remember to put the plug back in, then fill with new oil.  An of course, take the old oil to a legitimate waste or recycling station.  Cost: $5 or less for new oil.  Time: 15-30 minutes.

2. Replace the air filter: Gasoline engines need to breath, and your mower’s air filter keeps it from wheezing like a broken accordion.  The air filter should be replaced every year, and cleaned after every 3 or 4 mowings.  Cost: $5-10 depending on your engine.  Time: 10 minutes.

3. Replace the Spark Plug: Unlike your car, which probably has 4 or 6 spark plugs, your mower has only one.  On most mowers you will not need a special wrench or socket to get the spark plug out, an adjustable wrench should do. It is very important to get an exact match for the spark plug part number.  If your mower has a hard time starting up, a new spark plug will probably help.  Cost: $5-10 depending on your engine.  Time: 20 minutes.

4. Sharpen or replace the blade. In truth, your mower doesn’t care if it is spinning a razor sharp blade or a butter knife dull blade.  But your grass sure does.  A sharp blade will actually cut the grass, instead of tearing it, and that will lead to a healthier lawn.  Under your mower where the blade mounts to the engine there is normally only 1 or 2 bolts to remove.  Be sure to put the blade on facing the right direction – most blades are marked with what side should face the grass.  Cost: $10-20.  Time: 30 minutes.

5.  Generally clean and polish: A basic cleaning of your mower will help prevent grass and dirt and dust from causing problems in the long run.  Use a putty knife to scrape the underside of the mower deck to get any caked on grass.  You can wash the rest with soapy water.  Cost: $0.  Time: 20 minutes.

With a well spent hour in the cold of winter, you can get your mower ready for the long spring and summer months.  Or, if you would prefer to outsource, many local hardware stores offer small engine repair services and can do a full tune up for between $50-75.  Either way, your mower (and your grass) will thank you!

1. Zillow Zestimate® Integration: Your HomeSpot home profile now comes with a direct link to your home’s valuation provided by Zillow.  To see your Zillow details, click on the ‘Details’ link shown below your home’s photo and address on the ‘My Home’ dashboard page.  If Zillow can find your address, your Property Valuation details will be shown on the ‘Location Details’ tab.

2. Printable Home History Report: We received plenty of requests from users about having a way to generate a printable report from your HomeSpot account.  Well, we’ve put forth the first edition of the HomeSpot HQ Home History.  To generate your report, click on the ‘My Account’ link in the upper right hand corner, then click on the ‘Reports’ tab.  You’ll see a link there to generate your Home History Report.  The report will open in a new browser window, and has been pre-formatted for printing.

3. Default Avatars for Locations and Spaces: In order to dress up your HomeSpot account a bit, we’ve now set up default photos for your location and spaces.  You can still upload your own image, but let’s face it, that pale green placeholder image got old quick.

We also did our best to go through any bug reports we’d received and address those issues.

Here’s a few of the features we are working on for our next release:

• support for multiple properties
• Optimizations for tablet and mobile devices
• Improved image uploader
• Improved catalog of projects and maintenance items

As always, when new releases are made, we’ll post updates like this to the blog.

I had a bed of lettuce still growing – volunteers from my harvesting of seeds from the spring crop – and I didn’t want to let it die when we could have fresh salad through the winter.  So I grabbed two of the storm window panes I had picked up in a batch from someone on Craigslist, took measurements, and built a cold frame to fit the window dimensions.

A cold frame is a simple and inexpensive way to enjoy fresh vegetables without having a full greenhouse.

The following list of to-do items for January and February is an example of one of these resources, which is of even greater value since it is specific to the climate and unique growing conditions here in NC.  Check out your state’s Cooperative Extension office to find similar insights for your locale.

Flowers

• Cut back ornamental grasses; divide large clumps and replant.
• Plant bare root roses.
• Cut back flowering vines.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Perform a soil test by your county extension office.
• Plant fruit trees while the soil temperature is still cool for strong root structure.
• Prepare your vegetable garden: loosen soil; add organic matter; browse seed catalogs;
• Begin starting vegetables from seeds indoors to get a jump on the spring season.
• Plant cold hearty vegetables like sugar snap peas and onion sets.

Lawns

• Watch for cool season weeds like chickweed, hairy bittercress and henbit.  Remove or treat with post-emergent weed control when temperature is above 40 degrees.
• Fertilize fescue lawns in February at a rate of one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
• Sharpen lawn mower blades, repair or replace broken tools and power equipment before spring.

Trees and Shrubs

• Water evergreens during dry weather.
• Clean up camellia blooms.
• Prune woody ornamentals like hydrangea and butterfly bush that bloom in the summer.
• Survey trees and shrubs for breakage from winter storms.  Prune any damaged areas.
• Add mulch around trees and shrubs – leave 3-6 inches clear around trunks.

In January, 2011, we launched HomeSpot AgentPro as a way for real estate professionals to leverage HomeSpot HQ as a unique marketing tool to help grow their business.  We have many new opportunities for real estate agents to make HomeSpot a key part of their marketing toolkit in 2012, so if you are, or know, a real estate agent, we invite you to tell them about HomeSpot AgentPro.

Over the summer we had the pleasure of including several guest bloggers as contributors to the HomeSpot HQ blog.  We want to thank John Sams at DoMyOwnPestControl.com, Becky Cunningham at Swimtown Pools, and Amanda Goldberg at Erie Construction for their insightful and helpful articles.

We also hit a couple of milestones with our users, surpassing 50 ‘Likes’ on our Facebook page, and over 4,000 registered HomeSpot HQ users worldwide.

Finally, in the Fall of 2012, HomeSpot HQ received a string of fantastic reviews on sites such as Lifehacker.com, ProductiveWebApps.com, FeedMyApp.com, and MakeUseOf.com.  It’s a great honor to be recognized by these sites, and we want to thank their editors for their reviews.

We have lots in store for 2012, including an upcoming product update, new tools for home improvement professionals and contractors, and new advertising partnerships.  We are looking forward to making 2012 another great year for HomeSpot, and helping you, our loyal users, maintain your home for the year to come.

Thank you to all our users and friends.  HomeSpot HQ is better because of your feedback, suggestions and

All of these gift ideas are immediately available online at www.AceHardware.com.

	Dewalt 24in 2-in-1 Power Tool Tote This is more than a tool box.  The heavy duty Power Tool Tote has a removable top case for power tools and accessories.  The reinforced metal handle is easy to grip and will handle up to 70 pounds of cargo. $19.99 (was $27.99)
	Dewalt 16 pc. Gold Ferrous Pilot Point Drill Bit set It’s easy to just say “I’ve already got drill bits” and pass over this item.  But settling for old, dull bits is no way to make your projects go smoothly.  This handy kit contains bits from 1/16″ all the way to 3/8″, and includes a magnetic bit driver guide with philips bit.  The bright Dewalt yellow plastic case is compact and easy to find in your tool bag. $9.99 (was $20.99)
	Cooper Lighting Halogen Work Light (500 watt) Let’s admit it, sometimes that project we think will be done before kickoff ends up taking us well in to the night.  And nothing is more frustrating than fumbling through the dark to try to find where to drive a nail or drill a hole.  Enter the Cooper Lighting 500 watt Halogen Work Light!  This awesomely bright work light will stand tall on its 46″ tripod, or stoop low with its quick release detach. $17.99 (was $29.99)
	Stanley Professional Top Read Aluminum Level Level and square.  Two ideas that seem simple, but prove over and over again to be rare and elusive.  Using this Professional Aluminum Level from Stanley will help keep your projects and pictures hanging straight.  The 360 degree vials are accurate, and can be replaced if necessary. 24in – $6.99 (was $17.49) 48in – $21.99 (was $31.99)

Act now to get these great items before Christmas, but even if you miss it, these prices are good until January 1, 2012. And all orders on AceHardware.com can be shipped to your local Ace Hardware store for Free!

All of us at HomeSpot hope you have a great holiday season, and thank you for helping us in the process of improving or maintaining your home.  Merry Christmas!

1. Check and seal drafts. An easy test to find drafts in your home is to use a “smoke test”.  Using a stick of incense, trace around the inside of your doors and windows to see if and where a draft blows the smoke into your home.  As you locate cracks, gaps and other points of air infiltration, mark them with painter’s tape or a small pencil mark.  Then you can focus on reinforcing the seals and weatherstripping around these problem areas.

2. Schedule an HVAC checkup. The switchover from warm weather to cool weather represents a pretty significant change in how your home’s heating and air conditioning systems function.  Before you get deep in to winter and have a major issue, schedule a routine check of your systems to ensure they are ready to perform through the colder months.  Many HVAC contractors will offer annual maintenance programs that include both summer and winter checkups for one annual fee.  I can assure you that annual fee will be far less than the cost of a service call or worse, a replacement system.

3. Reschedule your programmable thermostat. You do have a programmable thermostat, right?  With the switch to heating mode, it is important to review and reset your daily program to make sure that you are not over- or under-heating your home, especially during times when you are at work or otherwise out of the house.

4. Store away hoses and tuck in faucets. Outside water spigots are highly susceptible to freezing when not prepared.  Many homes (particularly in Northern climates) are equipped with specific shut-off valves just for the exterior spigot.  Also, adding pipe insulation and insulated covers will help prevent freezing.

A few hours spent in November will help your home to stay warm and comfortable through the winter.  As with all home maintenance items, your HomeSpot HQ account can help you keep track of your completed maintenance tasks, and remind you of what is upcoming.

Wallpaper can be tricky business. Depending on how old the paper is and how it was applied, you may have to vary the technique. Older paper tends to be more stubborn and takes a little more elbow grease. However, you should never need to bring in any equipment, like a steamer to remove the paper. Steamers are expensive and can damage the drywall behind the paper. Not to mention, steam burns hurt!

What You Need

• Tarp or sheet
• Step-stool
• Broad knife
• Garden sprayer
• DIF Ultra Concentrate
• Perforator
• A friend to help (This is optional, but it really speeds up the process)

Steps

• This first thing you’ll want to do is spread out your tarp to protect your floors and furniture from the mess.
• Use your perforator to puncture tiny holes through the wallpaper. The small holes allow the solution to soak through the paper and access the glue keeping it stuck to the wall. Run over the walls once. If you over-perforate, the wallpaper will come off in little tiny pieces that will be very hard to remove. A quick onceover will allow the wallpaper to come off in bigger sheets for quick and easy removal.
• Mix the solution according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I prefer using DIF Ultra Concentrate. Its non-toxic, has no odor, and is VOC-free. Mix the DIF with warm water and transfer it to a garden sprayer.
• Spray the solution liberally on a small section of wall (4×4). Let it hang out for 10 minutes, giving the solution time to set into the paper. Don’t get too excited and start trying to remove it before. If it doesn’t have enough time to absorb, you’ll end up fighting with the paper.
• After 10 minutes, lightly spray the section again and start scraping using a broad knife. Be careful not to gouge the drywall. The paper should come off easily; you may have to put a little more effort into removing the backing paper if it doesn’t come up right away. Just give it another spray.
• Repeat the process working in manageable sections until all of the wallpaper is removed. Once the paper is off, repeat the process to remove any excess glue or spots.
• Wipe the walls down with a damp sponge and allow the walls to dry completely before priming.

From the article,

Lining the oven bottom with foil can void your warranty if the manufacturer advises against it in the manual or has stamped the warning on the oven cavity. This applies to gas and electric ranges. So even though reading the owner’s manual can be a snooze, we recommend it.

It is important to recognize how a seemingly simple approach to save a few minutes cleaning up after baking can have significant long term impact on the warranty coverage of your costly appliances.  Most modern ovens have ‘self-cleaning’ features that eliminate the need to provide your own method for reducing the cleanup effort.

If you are baking something that you are concerned may spill over, Consumer Reports suggests putting a baking sheet on the rack under your baked item.

How to Put Your Home Maintenance on Auto-Pilot and Keep Your Pad from Turning into a Money Pit.