There's a product you've probably seen advertised for chandelier cleaning — a spray-on solution you mist over the crystals and let drip dry. The idea is appealing: no ladder, no fuss, no one in your house. Here's the honest truth about it: it works. But only under one very specific condition — your chandelier has to already be clean. If it's been more than six to twelve months since your fixture was properly cleaned by hand, that spray isn't going to do much beyond moving the grime around and...

It's raining again in Windsor-Essex. And if your eavestroughs are full of last autumn's leaves and this winter's debris — which most of them are — that water isn't going where it's supposed to go. It's going over the edge, the front or even worse - the back side. Down the fascia. Into the soffit. Along the foundation. Quietly, steadily, every time it rains. This time of year I get called in to clean eavestroughs and I see the same thing over and over: homeowners who had no idea there was a...

If you've watched a window cleaner work recently, you may have noticed two very different approaches. One involves a squeegee, a bucket, and careful hand technique. The other uses a long pole with a brush on the end, fed by what looks like a garden hose. Same job — very different methods. Most homeowners assume one is better than the other. The truth is more useful than that: both have a place, and knowing which one is right for your situation is part of what separates a knowledgeable window...