It's bone-chilling cold out there this winter!

Frozen pipes are a problem you never want to deal with but are all too common during extended cold snaps in winter like the one we are having.

I want you protected, so do me a favor and as soon as you are done reading this blog post, remove any hoses you have attached to your outdoor faucets and then go in the house and turn off the water to the outside faucet (also called a hose bibb or sill cock).

It is critical to remove any hoses attached to the outside faucet! An attached garden hose is sure recipe for frozen pipe damage this winter. Use a hair dryer if necessary to thaw out a frozen hose connection to the sill cock in order to remove the hose.

The sill cock only turns water on and off outside, there is (or is supposed to be) a water shut off valve inside the house for the outside faucet. You may have to do some investigating in your home following water supply lines to try and find the shut off valve. They are usually located near the outside faucet.

By removing any hoses and turning off the water supply to the sill cock you have averted major risk of water damage done by a burst frozen pipe.

Frozen water exerts thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch on a pipe and can burst it, causing flooding and major damage to your home. But there are right ways and wrong ways to thaw out a frozen pipe, and knowing how to perform this critical repair and prevent it from from occurring can save your home.

So read Thawing a Frozen Water Pipe and just chill out, don't freeze up! (Ouch!)

Is your chimney safe for Christmas this year? How about your furnace? Is it working properly and maintained? Heating systems need maintenance or else you're stuck!

Whether it's seasonal furnace maintenance or making sure your fireplace chimney is safe for a visiting Santa this Christmas, you'll find the information you need right here to keep your home's heating systems working properly. So check out these tutorials and don't get stuck this winter season!

Home Winterizing Checklist

Seasonal Furnace Maintenance

Troubleshooting a Gas Furnace

How to Light a Gas Furnace Pilot

Electronic Furnace Troubleshooting

The thermostat is the brain behind your furnace or boiler operating properly, and these little guys come in a variety of different types. Some have mercury switches inside, some use mechanical switches, some are digital, and programmable electronic models will do everything except wake you up in the morning!

With Anatomy of the Furnace Thermostat you'll learn the differences between these thermostat types, how they work and see if you want to upgrade. And learn how to troubleshoot and fix a faulty thermostat too!

And if you want to replace your old thermostat or decide to get an electronic model to save energy and money this heating season, then go ahead and do it because installing a thermostat is easy and I'll show you how.

Gotta love the water heater! Definitely a most convenient appliance. Hot water virtually on-demand is a luxury we've come to take for granted.

But like anything else, it takes energy to run. In the tutorial Water Heater Tips for Saving Energy and Operating Costs I'll explain how to easily save water, energy and money in your monthly utility bills.

If your water heater is on the fritz and needs a little TLC, then Troubleshooting a Tank Type Water Heater is what you want to read. From problems such as not enough hot water to a leaking water heater, it's covered.

And when it's time to replace that old water heater with a nice new, energy efficient unit, you'll just love it. And it's really not that hard to do. In the tutorial Replacing a Water Heater I'll walk you through the process, step-by-step. Doesn't matter if it's a gas or electric water heater. I'll show you how.

Then you can get that warm, cozy feeling yourself!

When the gas burner in your furnace does not turn on or your pilot light in an older furnace is out, you may find that the problem lies in a little device that controls the gas valve. In an older standing pilot furnace the device is called a thermocouple. In newer electronic furnaces it is called a flame sensor. However they both perform the same basic function, and that is to control gas flow.

In the tutorial Replacing a Furnace Thermocouple or Electronic Flame Sensor I describe how to easily replace a furnace thermocouple in an older style standing pilot furnace or an electronic flame sensor in a newer style electronic ignition furnace.

Of course determining if the thermocouple or flame sensor is your problem is something you need to do. I outline how to troubleshoot a standard furnace in Troubleshooting a Gas Furnace and how to troubleshoot an electronic furnace in Troubleshooting an Electronic Furnace.

Is it really almost dark at 5:00 PM already?! I am always amazed at how fast the Fall season arrives. It's a beautiful season but it is the last window of opportunity to get your home ready for winter if you live in a colder climate.

In the Tutorial Easy Home Winterizing I'll walk you through an easy to implement, comprehensive list of things to check. From plumbing systems to your roof, we'll walk through each system and hit the major things to check before winter comes so you can enjoy the snow and not worry about your home.

So read on and let Fall, well, "fall in!" 'Cause you'll be ready!

This LED Hard Case Swivel Head flashlight by Energizer is part of the Hard Case® Professional® series and is a must have for your toolbox. It's also available in Headlight (head mounted) and small Inspection Light versions.

This swivel head version is reviewed by me in Review: Energizer Hard Case Swivel Head LED Flashlight.

The flashlight operates on 2-AA batteries and is only 7 inches long but produces a very impressive bright white light surpassing many conventional flashlights. Also gone is the wimpy blue LED light that plagued early LED's. The Energizer unit uses new LED technology and is very bright and very white.

It comes with some nice features such as an impact resistant ABS plastic case (rubberized for non-slip), self standing with an adjustable swivel head to get the light where you want it, dual level lighting controls, separate switches for white and colored LED's (red and green for low light applications), a belt clip and more.

This little guy is a workhorse and will be at home and ready for action in your truck, car, toolbox or kitchen drawer. I recommend you give this tool a look.

It's Halloween and one of my favorite horror movies is Hitchcock's Psycho.

The shower scene with Janet Leigh (as Marion Crane) is the iconic scene from the classic 1960 film.

But you know, as a Home Repair Guide, I have to say the Bates Motel provided pretty nice shower heads for their guests, although they weren't low flow heads. Of course Marion never noticed since she was dealing with other issues in the shower.

In the tutorial Replacing a Shower Head, I'll show you how easy it is for you to upgrade to something nicer than what Marion Crane used and definitely make your shower experience a lot less frightful!

Furnace ignition problems and solutions vary according to the type of furnace ignition system you have. Not all furnace pilot light ignition problems relate to a standing pilot in your furnace as I describe in How to Light a Gas Furnace Pilot.

Most all modern furnaces use an electronic ignition system having either an intermittent pilot or hot surface ignition.

Modern electronic ignition systems are more reliable than the standing pilot systems of old, but just as your new car has an electronic brain, so do some of these furnaces. And that means you're somewhat limited as to what can be done "under the hood" when they don't work

But take a read of the tutorial Overview and Repair of the Electronic Ignition Furnace and you'll learn how they work, and what you can do when they don't.

Maintaining your furnace is essential for the safety and health of your family and the proper operation of your furnace which, unlike many people we know, we want to be full of hot air.

Make sure you're ready for the coming cold weather. It's quick and easy with the tutorial Seasonal Furnace Maintenance. Just follow the simple tips I outline for seasonal maintenance on your furnace to help keep it running efficiently and safely. From furnace filter replacement to checking the fan belt and carbon monoxide testing, it's all in there!

And if you have an AprilAire Space-Gard 2200 or a unit with a similar deep pleated filter, see the tutorial AprilAire Furnace Filter Replacement.