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In last week’s post, I talked about the history of the flush toilet. The older gravity-fed toilets Boston homeowners are familiar with use several gallons of water to clear the bowl. Federal regulations and local building codes mandated the use of water-saving toilets, but the design of these devices didn’t

Power outages remind us of how difficult life can be without modern conveniences, but going without one relatively recent addition to modern households can be downright torture! I’m talking about the modern flush toilet. In Boston, there are a variety of toilet technologies in use, from the very old to

In my last post, I talked about winterizing a property that will be vacant/unheated over the winter. In this post, I’ll talk about how to drain and winterize a boiler-based heat system in your Boston home. If you have a boiler, you’ll need to turn off the heating source and

Many American neighborhoods are experiencing a new phenomenon: empty homes. The economic downturn has increased the number of vacant properties. In some cases, a vacant property is part of a foreclosure action; in others, the owner may need to wait several months to sell a home they’ve already vacated. Winterizing

If your furnace or boiler has a pilot light, you’ll want to know how to relight it. Newer models usually have an electronic igniter and don’t use a pilot light, but plenty of “vintage” heating equipment is still in service. In a furnace, the pilot light and the thermocouple work

Boston winters can bring surprises, including heavy snows and winter storms. Making sure your home is ready for winter before the snow flies is the key to staying comfortable all season long. If you’ve had your furnace or boiler inspected and all is well, here are a few more tips

In my last post, I talked about winterizing your Boston home from the outside. Making sure that water can get away from your home is key to preventing leaks. Draining sprinkler lines and faucets can help prevent freezing damage to valves and lines. Winterizing the outside of your home is

As the fall temperatures turn colder, most Boston homeowners are thinking about winterizing their homes. This post has a few tips for helping to reduce heating costs by winterizing your Boston home. In future posts, I’ll help you winterize a home that is (or will be) vacant during the winter

Some Boston homes are heated by way of a steam boiler. Steam heat can be efficient or inefficient, but good maintenance can keep a steam boiler system working well for decades. In this post, I’ll talk about steam boiler inspections in Boston and what should be included in one. Steam

Fall is quickly approaching, and with fall comes the need to add heat to our homes. Because of its history, Boston has a large variety of home heating systems, including both hot water heating systems and steam boilers. Like other types of heating systems, hot water heat systems can range