Household News

Maintenance makes a difference; contact a licensed professional for assistance There’s nothing quite like warm laundry right from the dryer. But to keep your dryer going strong and drying safely, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has some tips for you. According to USFA: 2,900 home dryer fires are reported annually,…

Licensed professionals stand ready to help make your home safer You can’t see it, hear it, or smell it, but it causes more than 400 U.S. deaths and 50,000 emergency-room visits each year. But you can stop carbon monoxide (CO) from harming you and your family. Carbon monoxide is an…

California is roasting in the middle of a historic heatwave. Electric utility providers across the state have instituted rolling blackouts. Death Valley shattered a high temperature record that stood for over a century. We’ve been warned to stay indoors and preserve the cool. And, in the midst of it all,…

Decades of change to save children “Ready or not, here I come!” When kids heard that famous hide-and-seek phrase in the early and mid-20th century, several turned to a unique place to hide: the refrigerator. An innocent-looking refrigerator—whether new and running in the kitchen or abandoned and cast off in…

Tragedy turns into safety for Californians’ commonly used household items You may have heard of the Great San Francisco Earthquake of April 18, 1906, which ranks as one of the most devastating earthquakes of all time. But the massive fires that followed in its wake are what truly laid waste…

Looking to get rid of an old mattress but not sure how? Whatever you do, don’t just dump it. Dumping a mattress on the street, in an alley or even a dumpster isn’t just an eyesore, it’s illegal, too, and can result in hefty fines—as much as $10,000—and/or jail time. There…

When Martha and Enrrique Gallard packed up their belongings in Georgia and sent them off in a moving truck headed to their new home in California, they had no idea what problems were awaiting them. But the Gallards were lucky: they found an ally in the Bureau of Household Goods…

Dishwasher sprung a leak? Diamond ring losing that special sparkle? TV on the fritz? Lawnmower stopped lawn-mowing? When a big-ticket item like a major appliance, jewelry, or garden equipment breaks, you may have a service contract or extended warranty contract to bail you out of trouble. These contracts cover your…

SACRAMENTO—If you’re working with a damage restoration company, the chances are you’ve already been the victim of a catastrophe. But if a damage restoration company moves and stores your goods while restoration work is performed, they are obligated to follow the same laws and regulations that govern household moving companies,…

Spring is in full swing, and summer’s just around the corner. As temperatures rise in California, so do home sales, and that means people start thinking about moving. May is National Moving Month, and the California Department of Consumer Affairs’ Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS), regulator of the…