Tried and True Tips For Keeping Your Grout Looking New

Seal regularly

Grout sealer blocks the tiny microscopic pores in cement-based grout, preventing dirt from penetrating deep into its surface. It makes grout more stain-resistant, helping it stay looking good. “Seal grout if you want it to stay fresh and more durable longer,” Podeyko says. “Sealed grout is also easier to clean and can tolerate more aggressive scrubbing and steam cleaning.” Sanded and unsanded cement-based grouts should be sealed a few days after initial installation and once a year.

Use neutral-pH grout cleaning products

When cleaning grout, always use low or neutral-pH cleaning agents like grout-specific cleaners, degreasers, dish soap or hydrogen peroxide. “A pH-neutral grout cleaner cleans effectively without breaking down the grout, which helps it stay cleaner longer,” Gelfusa says.

While it might be tempting to use bleach, resist the urge. “These products slowly dissolve the surface, creating microscopic pits that collect grime even faster,” Gelfusa says. Bleach also strips away protective sealers.

Dry tub and shower areas after use

To keep grout looking clean in the shower, keep standing water to a minimum. Squeegee tile walls after each shower and use a towel to wipe down ledges and shower floors, Rivera says. Water left to dry on its own encourages mold or mildew growth that discolors grout. This can show up as black, green or pink stains. Evaporated water can also leave behind mineral-based hard water stains that leave grout looking faded or yellow.

Sweep and vacuum regularly

Rivera recommends regularly vacuuming and sweeping tile floors to prevent dirt and debris from settling into porous grout lines. This practice not only helps maintain clean grout longer but also reduces the frequency of deep cleanings. The less dirt left on the grout, the cleaner it will stay. Sweeping or vacuuming before mopping is especially important to prevent pushing loose dirt deeper into the grout.

Consider a no-shoe policy

Outside shoes worn indoors account for at least a third of the dirt found in your home. If you have tile floors, this practice translates to dirtier grout that needs to be cleaned more frequently. Dirty shoes grind dirt deep into grout pores, making those cleanings more labor-intensive as well. To keep grout looking good as long as possible between cleanings, consider implementing a no-shoe policy in your home.

Regular grout cleaning schedule

Doing small maintenance tasks can extend the time between deep cleanings. Wipe down food splatters on tile backsplashes after cooking and quickly clean up any spills on tile floors, especially liquids that can stain, like coffee or wine. For spills, blotting works better than wiping, which drives stains deeper into grout pores. Include grout in your regular deep cleaning schedule to prevent dirt buildup and permanent stains. Consistent cleaning takes less time and effort than letting dirt accumulate over time.

Choose grout colors carefully

When choosing grout colors, opt for a mid-tone gray or brown grout, especially in high-traffic areas. While you may love bright white grout, it will be a lot of work to keep it looking clean, especially on floors. On the other end of the spectrum, black grout will hide dirt but will highlight any soap scum or hard water deposits in the shower and tub areas. And remember when choosing grout that it dries much lighter than it is applied, and color swatches typically represent a darker color than the actual product.

FAQ

Can steam cleaners damage grout?

Using steam cleaners to clean grout is generally safe, but they can damage unsealed grout.

What should I do if my grout is permanently stained?

Apply grout coloring products to stained grout or remove it and regrout the area.

ABOUT THE EXPERTS

• Mariya Podeyko is a deep cleaning specialist and the owner of :AM Cleaning in Alberta, Canada.
• Marisol Rivera is a cleaning expert and professional organizer with Sparkly Maid Austin in Texas.
• John Gelfusa is the president and CEO of HomeWorks, a Michigan-based remodeling company.

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• Why You Shouldn’t Crush Aluminum Cans Before Recycling

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This Smart Smoke Detector Works with Ring and Sends Alerts to Your Phone

If you’ve ever walked in the door to smoke alarms wailing, you know the instant adrenaline rush: What’s burning? How long has that been going off? Is everyone okay? Your brain goes from zero to emergency mode in about half a second.

Good news: that scramble might soon be a thing of the past. Kidde and Ring just teamed up on a new smart smoke alarm that sends alerts straight to your phone through the Ring app the moment smoke is detected, even if you’re miles away.

In other words, you can bring pro-level fire protection into your Ring ecosystem (yes, the same one as that smart doorbell on your porch). Here’s what we know about the new device, and why we’re pretty excited about it.

VIA MERCHANT

Product Launch

Kidde Smart Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm

This smart smoke alarm pairs with Ring to deliver real-time notifications when smoke is detected.

Shop on Ring

Shop on Amazon

What is the Kidde x Ring Smoke Detector?

Ring and Kidde joined forces to launch a smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarm built for faster detection and real-time alerts. If smoke or carbon monoxide is detected, you’ll get a notification straight to the Ring app whether you’re home or away. The alarm will also let you know when batteries are running low. And the best part? Those alerts don’t require a subscription (though you can add optional 24/7 professional smoke and CO monitoring if you like).

The new alarm comes in both battery-powered (no wiring required) and hardwired options, so you can choose what works best for your home. If you go the hardwired route, installing just one Kidde smart alarm can bring smart alerts to other compatible Kidde alarms in your home, too.

With advanced sensing technology, the Kidde Smart Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm delivers up to 25 percent faster detection and three times more precise sensing than the average smoke alarm, helping give families more time to react and get to safety.

How It Works

The new Kidde Smart Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm works like a traditional smoke detector but with a smart-home upgrade. When smoke or CO is detected, you’ll get a real-time alert in the Ring app telling you exactly when and where the alarm is going off.

If smoke or CO is detected, the alarm issues a clear voice alert announcing “fire” to warn you of danger. Kidde’s early, low-level CO detection is designed to help protect kids and pets who often feel the effects of carbon monoxide first.

Smart sensing also helps cut down on false alarms from everyday things like cooking, keeping the device reliable when it matters most. The alarm features a clean, streamlined design and an easy installation process.

Set up the Kidde Wired Smart Smoke Alarm in the Ring app, and you can also connect Ring cameras for instant visibility if an alarm goes off. One smart alarm can even extend alerts to your existing compatible Kidde hardwired detectors, so you’ll still receive real-time notifications if they detect smoke or CO. You’ll also receive notifications when batteries are running low, so you’re never caught off guard.

For added peace of mind, Ring offers optional 24/7 professional monitoring for $5 a month. Agents can call to confirm an emergency and request fire department dispatch if needed—but a subscription isn’t required to use the alarm or receive alerts.

Where to Buy

VIA MERCHANT

Product Launch

Kidde Smart Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm

Make the most of your Ring app with this compatible smart smoke detector that delivers real-time alerts to your phone.

Shop on Ring

Shop on Amazon

You can purchase the new Kidde Smart Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm on Amazon or directly from Ring. It’s available in both battery-powered and hardwired versions, with options that include carbon monoxide detection or smoke-only. Prices range from $50 to $75.

Designed to be a simple upgrade that brings faster alerts, smarter protection and a little more peace of mind to your home—exactly the kind of problem smart home tech should be solving.

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How To Get Dog Hair Out of a Car and Reclaim Your Ride

Go over everything with a vacuum

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, grab your trusty shop vacuum. No need to use any attachments, you just want to remove the easy, non-embedded stuff: dirt, debris, and any loose dog hair on the seats and carpets. Pay attention to the seat cracks and corners, as this is where hair and dirt build up.

Neutralize the static

If you feel like the dog hair is glued to the seats and carpet, static electricity is the culprit. Here is how to neutralize the static electricity:

• Fill a clean spray bottle with water.
• Set the spray nozzle to the widest spray pattern available to mist the seats and carpet.

Applying a bit of moisture neutralizes the static charge and releases the hair from the fabric. This makes it easier to scrape it with a pet hair removal tool. Don’t soak the seats, just mist them.

Scrape the area

Using a rubber-toothed pet hair removal tool, start agitating the seat fabric and carpet to pull the dog hair from the weave — this step requires some patience and elbow grease, and it works best when pulling the tool toward you. Work in sections, cleaning the tool between each, and piling the hair into a spot or line across the floor or seat for easy vacuuming later. If your tool has different-sized rubber teeth, start with the largest and work your way to the smallest.

Second vacuuming

Just like the first round of vacuuming, no attachments. You are cleaning up the clumps of hair you piled up and vacuuming the seats and carpet to get rid of any dirt or debris you scraped up.

Finishing touches

Use a lint roller to pick up any hair that may have fallen back onto the seat or carpet. Run a fan in the car, or air it out with the windows down, to dry any residual moisture from misting your seats during the static neutralizing step.

FAQ

What is the best dog hair remover for cars?

There are many different styles of pet hair removal tools, and many work for different applications. I find that rubber scrappers work best for most applications. To find the best tool for you, buy and test different options and see what works best for picking up your pet’s hair.

How can I minimize the amount of dog hair in my car?

You can minimize the amount of dog hair by using car seat covers and grooming your dog regularly. Although you will need to clean the seat covers, the amount of hair underneath the covers will be minimal.

What kind of vacuums do professional car detailers use?

Typically, professional car detailers use a combination of a powerful and durable shop vac with a specialty vacuum for car detailing, such as those offered by MetroVac.

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What the Color of a Fire Hydrant Actually Tells Firefighters

Most people, if you asked them to imagine a fire hydrant, probably picture a red or yellow structure at the edge of a curb. It feels standard. However, it turns out the color of a fire hydrant varies considerably, and often carries specific meanings that firefighters rely on.

So, why multiple colors? It’s all about varied water flow and emergency response. We’ll explain what fire hydrant colors mean and why they matter.

Why Fire Hydrant Color Matters

It should come as no surprise that fire hydrants are crucial to fire crews’ jobs. And a quick look at one can tell a firefighter a lot of information about the unit they’re working with, as crews are trained to quickly assess during an emergency.

Many municipalities across the United States follow the recommendations of the National Fire Protection Association, which publishes guidance through NFPA 291 to help crews identify water-flow capacity at a glance.

Most hydrants leave the factory painted chrome yellow for visibility; however, departments often add distinct colors to the caps or tops. Those added colors communicate performance details. Hence why you might see a fire hydrant in your neighborhood that isn’t a traditional color. And why graffiti or street art on a fire hydrant is more serious than many realize.

NFPA encourages fire departments to distinguish between private and public hydrants. In fact, many jurisdictions paint private hydrants red so firefighters can identify ownership and maintenance responsibility, while public hydrants more commonly appear chrome yellow with color-coded caps.

Of course, this is not a set practice across all departments nationally. Many cities have their own colors either for aesthetic, branding, or coding reasons. State and local governments set their own requirements as NFPA 291 functions as guidance rather than law.

This is why, city to city and even neighborhood to neighborhood, you might see different-colored hydrants.

Different Hydrant Color and Marking Meanings

According to NFPA:

• Red generally marks a hydrant that delivers fewer than 500 gallons per minute.
• Orange typically identifies a hydrant rated between 500 and 999 gallons per minute.
• Green often designates 1,000 to 1,499 gallons per minute.
• Blue usually indicates 1,500 gallons per minute or more.

This isn’t the case for all hydrants, which, as previously discussed, can vary from municipality to municipality. However, these ranges are common for many locations.

How much of the hydrant is painted isn’t standard either. A hydrant’s top or “nozzle cap” color often indicates how much water it can deliver. However, some communities paint the entire hydrant body.

The color coding isn’t primarily for aesthetic purposes. Local fire crews will know exactly what they’re dealing with and whether they should be looking at the entire body or just a portion.

Also, color is only one part of a fire hydrant’s messaging. In fact, there are other markings that can provide more details to fire crews. In some areas, hydrants may display stenciled information on the top alerting low pressure ratings. Crews also look for reflective paint that improves nighttime visibility. Also, if you’ve ever seen a bag over a hydrant, it’s likely a sign there’s a defect, or it’s out of service and that crews shouldn’t use it.

These visual systems reduce guesswork so that when firefighters arrive on scene, they can quickly assess all important information at their disposal.

While many of these color codes were initiated in pre-digital times, digital tools now store detailed hydrant data that crews can access on mobile devices or be alerted to before arriving at the scene. These visual codes remain important because technology can fail, smoke can limit visibility, and emergencies often require rapid decision-making.

Noticing those colors adds a new layer of awareness to everyday surroundings. What once looked like a simple fixture on the curb carries a functional code that firefighters read instantly.

Sources

• National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 291 Recommended Practice for Fire Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants
• American Water Works Association, Fire Hydrants Overview and Testing Practices

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You May Be Overpaying for Groceries at Walmart — These 6 Stores Are Cheaper

When it comes to shopping smart, there are a few categories to consider. For non-perishable items, or things you may want to take back if they’re not quite right, knowing which stores have the best return policies is key. But for groceries, it’s best to know where to find the cheapest items so that you can decide where and how to splurge versus where to cut costs. Consumer Reports recently released a study finding that Walmart is no longer the cheapest grocery store. Find out where you can shop to save the most money on your groceries instead.

Cheaper Grocery Stores

The Consumer Reports study used Walmart as a baseline and compared several other grocery stores “in six cities representative of their regions” to find out where the best deals are. Six retailers came in cheaper than Walmart.

• Costco Wholesale is 21.4% less expensive
• BJ’s Wholesale Club is 21.0% less expensive
• Lidl is 8.5% less expensive
• Aldi is 8.3% less expensive
• WinCo is 3.3% less expensive
• H-E-B is 0.2% less expensive

Based on this, you’re likely to find the biggest savings when shopping in bulk. But if that kind of restocking doesn’t make sense for you, you can still save money at other discount grocery stores.

Most Expensive Grocery Stores

Of course, given how many retailers were included in this study, Walmart is by no means the most expensive place to get your groceries. If you’ve been feeling the pinch in your wallet, you may want to switch stores. The six most expensive stores in the study were:

• Vons is 26.7% more expensive
• Mariano’s is 27.6% more expensive
• Jewel-Osco is 29.7% more expensive
• El Rancho is 30.1% more expensive
• Shaw’s is 31.9% more expensive
• Whole Foods is 39.7% more expensive

Mid-Range Stores

Some of the middle-of-the-pack stores will save you money compared to Whole Foods or Shaw’s, but still stack up a little pricier than Walmart.

• Target is 5.9% more expensive
• Wegman’s is 7.6% more expensive
• Food 4 Less is 9% more expensive
• Ralph’s is 21.9% more expensive
• Trader Joe’s is 24.6% more expensive
• Albertson’s is 24.8% more expensive

At the end of the day, you will be limited by the variety of stores available to you, but you can cut your costs a bit if you’re able to switch up your routine. Even if it’s just opting to get some items from the cheaper store and saving your favorites for your main one, every penny is helpful.

Source

Most and Least Expensive Supermarkets, Consumer Reports, 2026.

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Will Your Grass Grow Back After Snow Plow Damage? Here’s the Deal

Snow plows worked hard to keep your sidewalks and driveway clear and passable during the deep freeze, and now that the snow has melted, you can see the damage they’ve done to your lawn. You may have some work ahead of you to ensure complete grass recovery, but at least you get to do this work in pleasant weather instead of in the middle of a blizzard. And Massachusetts landscaper Greg Cuoco figures your chances of success are good.

“Grass is pretty resilient. How healthy and lush it will grow depends on how healthy it was prior to winter, the extent of the snow plow damage, and how much time and trouble you can spare to see to its well-being.” If you’re willing to give your lawn the love it needs, but you need some advice on dealing with damage from mild to severe, our lawn experts are here to help.

Why Snow Plows Tear Up Lawns

It’s pretty simple, really. As the plow blade scrapes along a sidewalk or driveway, it inevitably catches grass that is growing near the edge. This is pretty hard to avoid, since it’s impossible to see the lawn edge under the snow unless you have some kind of demarkation line, like landscape edging, a gravel buffer or a gulley.

Unfortunately, says lawn expert Steven Corcoran, winter conditions often contribute to more extensive damage. “When only a small spot is touched by the snow plow, a larger area ends up being damaged because of how it can all stick together more.”

Will Grass Grow Back?

Because of its resilience, most grass will grow back, but it may need help if the damage is extensive. In cases of severe damage, the grass won’t grow back at all, and you’ll have to reseed or plant new sod.

Grass recovery can be severely inhibited by any de-icing salt that seeps onto the lawn, but turf grass specialist Ryan Walts recommends a few ways to mitigate this problem, and we’ll get to those below.

Minor Surface Scrapes

Some minor damage might not call for any action at all. “Just leave it be until temps warm up to see if it naturally recovers. Grass most often will, especially if the roots are still intact,” says lawn care specialist Chrissie Handley. “If not, overseed to encourage re-growth.”

Deep Ruts and Exposed Soil

You’ll need to bring in topsoil to fill in deep ruts that have developed, and then rake the area level. The grass may grow back naturally after you do this, but if not, it’s time to reseed. Here’s the re-seeding procedure Cuoco recommends:

1. First, remove any debris from the area, then loosen the soil a bit with a rake.
2. Scatter the seed and lightly tamp it down to ensure it contacts the soil.
3. Add starter fertilizer before or just after planting, and water the area more frequently for four to six weeks until the grass is settled.
4. Keep foot (and paw) traffic away from the area to give the grass a chance to grow.

Completely Torn-Out Sod

Basically, you have three options for grass recovery in cases of severe damage, depending on the size and condition of the torn-out area.

• The first is to reattach the turf that was torn out. “Check the root system,” advises Cuoco. “If you can see some whole roots that look like they’re growing, put the sod chunks back in areas where it was uprooted from, pressing slightly to re-attach it.”
• The second is to lay new sod, which is a quick and easy solution for extensive damage, but also an expensive one, says Cuoco.
• The third is to bring in new topsoil and reseed, following the procedure above.

How To Help Grass Recovery

Cuoco recommends top dressing a severely distressed lawn, but before you do that, check the soil pH to determine the best dressing to use. If the pH is low (acidic soil), use compost; peat moss is a good choice for high-pH soil. “Regardless of the material used, apply no more than a half inch of any top dressing material and rake it over the area for an even distribution before watering.” And don’t forget to water regularly and keep pets and kids away.

A lawn exposed to salt and other deicers may need a little extra help. Salt dehydrates the soil, making it harder for roots to draw moisture, and it upsets the nutrient balance. To improve grass recovery, Walts recommends the following:

• Flush the area with water to leach excess salt from the soil.
• Apply gypsum to help break up salt buildup and restore soil health.
• Aerate the lawn to promote deeper root growth and improve drainage.

FAQs

Can compacted soil prevent grass from growing back?

All our experts agree with Handley, who says that compacted soil can prevent healthy grass growth. “You may want to aerate the area to help improve drainage and airflow in March to improve ground conditions before overseeding.”

Who is responsible for lawn damage caused by a city snowplow?

That depends on the city, because municipal rules vary. In some cases, the city may pay for rehabilitation of the plow skips over the curb or street boundary and scrapes the grass, but if the damage is caused by piling snow onto the lawn, that’s usually considered normal winter wear and tear. Check with your public works department if you aren’t sure.

About the Experts

• Greg Cuoco is the CEO of The Difference Landscapes located in Lee, NH.
• Steven Corcoran is the CEO of Lawn Love, a nationally franchised lawn care service.
• Ryan Walts is the training manager and business coach at Lawn Squad, a national lawn treatment franchise.
• Chrissie Handley is a lawn care specialist working for Online Turf based in the UK.

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Spring Cleaning Your Devices: How to Maintain Your Digital Ecosystem

Reduce Location-Sharing Apps

If you want to keep tabs on family and friends to make sure they are safe, then you’ll want to rethink how many apps you actually have downloaded on your phone — it’s easy to go overboard sometimes. “If you’re using multiple location-sharing apps, consider consolidating to one trusted platform,” says Russell York, CEO and founder of Cosmo. “While native tools like ‘Find My’ or Google’s location sharing are OK, there are also dedicated family safety apps with enhanced features and using just one reduces battery drain, confusion and digital clutter.”

Strengthen Your Passwords

It’s easy to set the same password across multiple platforms for convenience; however, you’ll want to consider strengthening it for your online safety. “Strengthen or update your passwords and enable two-factor authentication to protect your family’s personal information,” says York. “Don’t snooze on software updates and app permissions either, make sure you’re only sharing what’s truly necessary.”

Keep your passwords written down in a secure place and change them up so they aren’t the same across different websites and platforms.

Clean Out The Downloads Folder

If you’ve downloaded some PDFs in the past, whether tax forms, contracts or medical forms, then that folder is probably pretty full. Aside from eating up all your storage, excessive downloads can be a cybersecurity threat.

“This is the most dangerous directory on your computer and phone,” says Stanislav Kazanov, head of GRC, cybersecurity and sustainability at Innowise. “If a device is infected by malware, then its downloads folder is typically the first port of call.”

It is the graveyard of the many PDF contracts, tax forms and scans of your ID that you downloaded “just for a minute” and forgot. He recommends sorting by date, deleting anything older than 7 days and moving critical documents to an encrypted drive.

Remove Unused Apps

Think about the apps you downloaded from the internet to order pizza or edit a photo years ago. “They are most likely outdated, full of security flaws and still tracking users,” says Kazanov. “If you don’t use an app in 3 months, then you should uninstall it.”

For the rest, go to the privacy settings and revoke any permissions they have to access location, contacts, and the microphone.

Do A Screenshot Cleanse

Screenshots are something many of us take, whether to keep something on file or even for easy access. “We have all been guilty of this: saving a screenshot of a Wi-Fi password, a credit card number, or a recovery code,” says Kazanov. “In the event that your iCloud account or Google Photos account is hacked, they aren’t going to look through someone’s vacation photos, but instead simply write a script to find the exact screenshots.”

Make this easier on yourself by opening your gallery and searching for images with keywords such as “password,” “login,” “card,” or “passport.” Delete those images and also clean out the recently deleted folder.

Get Rid Of Two-Factor SMS Authentication

These days, it seems like every platform, especially for work, wants you to have two-factor authentication. “​​If you are still getting login codes via SMS, you are susceptible to a SIM swap attack, which involves a hacker stealing your phone number,” says Kazanov.

Do this by going to your primary email and financial account security settings and changing it from “SMS” to an “authenticator app” (e.g., Google, Microsoft), or “Passkeys.”

About The Experts

• Russell York, CEO and founder of Cosmo.
• Stanislav Kazanov, head of GRC, cybersecurity and sustainability at Innowise.

RELATED:

• See a Green Dot on Your Android Phone? Here’s What It Means
• If You Get a USPS Scam Text, You Need To Do This Immediately
• This Is How Often You Should Restart Your Phone

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