You can lower your risk of drowning by wearing a life jacket — but it can’t be just any life jacket. To truly be effective, a life jacket needs to be the right type and fit correctly. You probably know you should wear a life jacket when you’re on the water, and you probably know […]
August 28, 2017
That oh-so-covetable experience of taking a dip in your very own pool? Millions of American households enjoy it, at least when the weather’s nice. With the summer heat ratcheting up, you may be coming down with a serious case of pool envy, obsessed with having a pool right outside your door for cooling off and […]
August 14, 2017
As a busy homeowner, it is easy to fall into the trap of pushing off tasks that maintain the long-term value of your home in favor of more pressing problems. That’s OK, to a point, as certain house-cleaning projects should be in the “long-term maintenance” category. But putting them on hold for too long can […]
July 17, 2017
Your home protects you from the elements, but heavy rains can weaken that protection. With a little maintenance and a lot of vigilance, it’s not hard to stay safe and dry. Spring rainstorms are a fact of life in many areas of the country, and they help keep things green, even if they keep you […]
June 15, 2017
Home improvement: It’s a never-ending process for many people, and for those of us who aren’t necessarily handy, it can be a hassle, too. But there are plenty of simple maintenance tasks and other improvements you can handle to make your home safer – whether you’re handy or not. And you won’t have to break […]
May 17, 2017
“Never trust a mechanic who drives new cars. They’re either charging too much money for their work, or they can’t keep an old car running — maybe both.” —Patricia Briggs, author Okay, maybe that approach is a bit simplistic when your car breaks down and you need to choose a mechanic. But for many people, […]
March 22, 2017
Shopping online. Visiting the doctor. Buying gas. In nearly all of the things we do from day to day, there’s the risk of identity theft. You could unknowingly give your information to a fraudster thinking you’re shopping at a legitimate site. Your doctor’s office could experience a data breach. Or, you could come across a […]
February 27, 2017
Every year, unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning (not linked to fires) sends 20,000 people to the emergency room and causes more than 4,000 hospitalizations. And, you might consider them the fortunate ones. CO also is responsible for more than 400 deaths in America each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. […]
February 17, 2017
The Internet and social media in particular have made it easy to share more of our personal lives with our friends. But, it’s also become easier to share with people we don’t even know. Online privacy isn’t just about protecting your personal information — name, address and birthdate — to help prevent identity theft. It’s […]
January 24, 2017
No matter how safe you are behind the wheel, you’ve probably done things like: Shift into drive while the car is still rolling backward. Ride the brakes on steep hills. Roll into the gas station on empty. Guilty? If so, you may not have even realized you were doing everything wrong. After all, most everybody […]
January 4, 2017