Reuben's Home Inspection Blog

In approximately 99.2% of the houses that I inspect, there's a 3/4" hole in the air conditioner ductwork that lets air blow out where it shouldn't. Can you guess what it is?  Here's a clue. Do you see it?  It's that clear tube coming off the condensate drain pan on the air conditioner's evaporat...

I've always been proud of the home inspection reports that I produce, but a recent peer review of my reports turned my pride to embarrassment.  I swapped home inspection reports with a couple of home inspectors in different parts of the country for a brutal review of each others reports, and had ...

While I try to make most of my blog posts somewhat generic and appealing to most, this one ain't that.  This post is about a very specific electrical defect that I frequently run across, and I'm writing this post so I can give my clients a better explanantion of this defect.  Oh, and also so I c...

  I've read a lot of water heater installation manuals, and they all give the same advice on water heater maintenance, but most people don't do any type of maintenance on their water heaters, period.  Today I'm going to go over the routine maintenance that water heater manufacturers recommend, an...

  Carbon monoxide alarms are required in just about every type of dwelling in Minnesota, and it's been this way for several years now, but there is still a lot of confusion about this requirement.  General Requirement  - This text comes directly from Minnesota Statute 299F.50: Every single family...

As I'm sure you already know, May is Deck Safety Month, so it's a good time to talk about deck inspections.  Is your own deck safe?  Now is the time to check.  If you're going to have a party or a large gathering, you better be sure.  The best way to be sure is to pack as many people on to your ...

Do you remember the telephone game? You'd get a bunch of kids in a circle, and the first kid would whisper a phrase in the next kids ear, and then that kid would whisper it to the next, and so on. Once the last person heard the message, they'd say aloud what they heard, and everyone would have a...

Dirty bathrooms are a huge turnoff for home buyers.  Mold is another huge turnoff.  Combine the two and the 'yuck' factor multiplies.  I think everyone has seen moldy bathroom caulk before, and if you've tried cleaning this stuff, you know it's impossible.   I recently moved in to home with some...

  Back in 2008 there was a media scare related to radon in granite countertops.  The scare went something like this: radon causes lung cancer.  Granite contains radon.  Therefore, granite causes lung cancer.  There was even an article published in the New York Times, where some guy was actually q...

  If you're buying a home in Minnesota, get it tested for radon.  There are two reasons I give for having radon tested; lung cancer and money. A few quick facts about radon Radon is a gas formed by the breakdown of uranium and radium, both of which are found in high levels in Minnesota. Every hom...