Home Safety
Safety Gear Recommendations for DIYers
Most safety gear won’t cost you an arm and a leg, however, a hazardous work environment might. Keeping your body protected must always be your first priority, so it’s imperative that you invest in equipment that ensures that you’re kept safe from potential harm.
Vivint Smart Home Security Review
In this Vivint review, we break down the company’s home security equipment and monthly monitoring plans. Keep reading to see if it’s the right security system for you.
Best DIY Home Security Systems
If you don’t want to be held down by long contracts, you may benefit from a DIY home security system. In this article we discuss the best DIY home security systems to help you choose a system for your home.
SimpliSafe Home Security Review
SimpliSafe is an established home security company that offers alarm systems and monitoring services to keep your home or business safe. This review of SimpliSafe includes everything the company has to offer and shows how it compares to competitors.
Understanding the Dangers of Thirdhand Smoke
Ask This Old House home technology expert Ross Trethewey and painter Mauro Henrique discuss how to remove a cigarette smell from a home and why it is important to do so.
Ring Security System Tested and Reviewed (2024 Guide)
In this Ring Security System Review, our team installed and tests Ring’s alarm system. Read on to find out how it performed during our tests.
Best First Aid Kits (2023 Guide)
In this review and buying guide, our team evaluates some of today's top-rated, best first aid kits for quality, inventory, and usefulness.
Give Back During the COVID-19 Crisis
If you have spare, unused masks, respirator cartridges, nitrile gloves, safety goggles or face shields, please donate them.
How to Deep Clean Your House
Go beyond the weekly dust swipe-and-sweep and gear up for what pros call a "deep cleaning." Read our tips for deep cleaning your living room, bathroom, kitchen and laundry appliances.
How to Wire a Portable Generator
Ask This Old House master electrician Heath Eastman explains a few different methods for hooking up a portable generator to a house.
What to Know About Household Safety
While accidents and hazards in the home seem to happen randomly, we can do a great deal to reduce their likelihood by being proactive about household safety. Read our tips for keeping you and your family safe.
How to Safely Dispose of Oily Rags
Ask This Old House general contractor Tom Silva discusses the proper disposal techniques for oily rags to prevent spontaneous combustion.
How to Safeguard Your House from Wildfires
Ask This Old House host Kevin O’Connor learns about ways to make a home more resistant to wildfires.
Staying Safe with Natural Gas
Ask This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and host Kevin O’Connor discuss how gas regulators work and how their malfunction caused gas explosions in Lawrence, MA
How to Retrofit a Home for an Earthquake
Ask This Old House host Kevin O’Connor travels to Portland, Oregon to learn how to protect homes from earthquakes.
Changing Locks on a New Home
Here’s how to change a door lock on a new house to keep your home safe and secure.
3 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Smoke Alarms
The end of Daylight Saving Time (November 4, this year) serves as an informal reminder to replace smoke-alarm batteries. Changes to fire code mean now’s a good time to consider these Qs, too
How to Install Your Own DIY Security System
In this DIY Smarts, Ask This Old House home technology expert Ross Trethewey installs a DIY security system.
3 Things to Do Before a Storm
Do these simple tasks before severe weather hits to help minimize or even prevent costly damage to your home
Keep Basements Mold-Free
Planning to create or redo a below-grade living space? Finished basements are vulnerable to damage from storm-water intrusions, leaking pipes and hot-water tanks, or simply high humidity. Lower the risk of mold or mildew taking hold by remodeling with materials made to shake off damp conditions
How to Select and Use Hearing Protection
Ask This Old House host Kevin O’Connor discusses the importance of hearing protection when working around power tools
Brookline Asbestos Detective
Tom Silva and a hazmat expert put their heads together before work begins
Things to Do Before You Leave for Vacation
Avoid mere inconveniences—as well as potential catastrophes—by taking care of some not-so-obvious to-do list items
Creating a Comfortable Home as You Age
This post originally appeared at mykukun.com
Best Air Purifiers to Get You Through Allergy Season
Some people love the warm weather that comes with spring. But allergy sufferers dread this time of year. Here are a few doctor-approved home air purifiers to help you through the season
Whole-House Battery Backup
Their numbers are still small, but home battery backup systems may be the wave of the future.
How to Prevent Holiday Fires
Ask This Old House host Kevin O’Connor travels to UL Laboratories to learn about preventing fires from holiday decorations.
How to Monitor a Home with a Smart Phone
In this edition of DIY Smarts, Ask This Old House host Kevin O’Connor shows general contractor Tom Silva a new home monitoring device that works with a smart phone.
10 Summer Fixes
Easy ways to improve your home during the summer
How to Create a Drainage Swale
The plant-populated channels can redirect storm water to specific locations
How to Stop Garage Break-Ins
From a burglar’s point of view, an attached garage can mean access to the entire house, even if an automatic door operator keeps it locked up tight. A whole-house security system is your best safeguard, but these DIY moves can also help defeat intruders at this potential entry point
A Personal Story on the Dangers of Carbon Monoxide
Ask This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shares a personal story on the dangers of carbon monoxide and how an operational CO detector could be the difference between life and death..