If you’ve ever had a water heater go out on you, you’re aware of just how much you actually need a water heater. In fact, it’s sort of an unsung appliance in the home, as it’s rarely seen and the benefit of it, from afar, seems small. However, that couldn’t be anywhere further from the truth.

Hot water is the difference between the indoor plumbing of the 1840s and the indoor plumbing of today. Beyond the hot showers, you’re looking at inconvenience every time you want to cook something, be it tea or rice. Without instant hot water at your call, everything will take an extra step to make or achieve. That being said, it’s important to recognize when your hot water heater is started to act up as it’s often a sign of a soon needed repair or potential replacement. Let’s take a look.

If you’re not a plumber, you drain likely seems like some sort of gross hair and gunk net that works about half the time. Mostly, you can rely on it to carry away the things that you’re literally trying to flush down the drain, but sometimes there’s a little hiccup in that process and things get stuck, and then water starts bubbling up from the drain and resisting going down. Suddenly, you’re standing in a shower with water up to your ankles, or you’re wrist-deep in your sinks drain, trying to fish whatever caused this blockage out with your fingers. And to be fair, sometimes that works, but in the event that it doesn’t work, it can be easy to start panicking. However, you can avoid this issue entirely by being careful and really watching what’s going down your drain.

Even though you can’t see the interior of your home’s plumbing system, you can protect yourself from clogs and worse, corrosions in your pipes, by acting quickly when something goes down the drain that’s not supposed to, watching what goes down the drain and maybe making a few...

In 1840, indoor plumbing swept the British Isles and became one of the best innovations since the agricultural revolution. Now, we no longer had to leave the house to get water or go to the restroom. Instead, we could just go indoors. Now, indoor bathrooms had been in style for some time, as Hampton Court was equipped with an impressive array of indoor toilets. There was even one in the waiting room where Henry VIII would make his courtiers wait for him to rise and start petitioning him with requests. Toilets have come very far since then, and thankfully, they’re nothing close to the fixtures in Hampton’s Court water closets any longer. In fact, there’s quite a variety of toilets available, although, perhaps you wouldn’t know it. After all, a toilet is a toilet. Perhaps you’re familiar with the difference between a residential and industrial toilet, but past that, it’s understandable for your knowledge on the subject to be limited. Don’t fret, if you’re shopping for a new toilet, Above and Beyond is here to introduce you to your options and help you determine what will fit your...