Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

More and more materials for countertops and floors are available that are both beautiful and environmentally friendly. One product called shetkaSTONE is made from recycled paper, plant, and cloth fibers. While it has the look of stone, it can be cut and screwed like wood. It is water and stain resistant and comes in a number of colors. Best of all shetkaSTONE can be recycled again if it is ever replaced.

Concerned about what’s in your drinking water? Well, you should be! While municipal drinking water in the U.S. is among the safest in the world, almost all of the 25 largest city water systems have reported violations of federal drinking water standards. These include samples that contained significant levels of chlorine, lead, E. coli bacteria, and other contaminants.

Denise asks “Danny, On one of your episodes, Joe Truini said that muriatic acid would remove scum and water deposits from tile in a bathroom. What I need to know is where can I purchase muriatic acid?”

In this episode we’ll give a whole new look to a vintage 1970s house that is in need of some serious updating. Not only is the kitchen to be completely remodeled, but the wall between the den and living room will be removed to open up the living space.

Richard asks, “I would like to know which brand offers showerheads that don’t use a lot of water.” With drought gripping parts of the country, more and more homeowners are concerned about reducing their water usage, and replacing your showerhead is a good place to start. Not only will you be conserving our natural resources, but you’ll save money on water and utility bills at the same time.

The bath we are renovating is about 50 years old and measures only 4’ wide by 9’ long. With the exception of the shower, all of the fixtures will be replaced and a vent fan mounted in the ceiling. While many of the items we used were available on the shelf at the home center, we were able to special order hard to find items from their catalog.

Capitalizing on a popular new trend, a morning bar was added to our Today’s Addition. Merillat helped design the cabinets maximizing convenience by integrating a high end coffee maker, a water supply, refrigerator, and microwave. The cabinets are from Merillat’s Classic line. Although the cabinets are very affordable, they included some great features including fluting, a tilt-out sink tray, a refrigerator door panel, and self-closing drawers. The end result is not only a mecca of late night convenience but also appealing to the eye.

A toilet that runs constantly or doesn’t flush properly can be quite a nuisance and waste of water. There are several common problems associated with toilets that are fairly easy to diagnose and repair. When you remove the cover of the tank, you’ll notice that the toilet contains an overflow tube to keep it from flooding, a float to control the water level, an intake valve to let water into the tank, and a flapper valve on the bottom that is connected to the handle by a chain.

From state-of-the-art appliances to stone countertops, kitchens have come a long way in recent years. So it’s no surprise that kitchen renovations are one of the most popular home improvement projects around. We’ll walk you through the process of revamping your kitchen and examine the many important decisions you’ll have to make along the way.

After years of daily use, a faucet may develop a leak around the handle when it is turned on, or drip constantly from the faucet no matter how hard you try to turn it off. Both problems can often be solved by replacing the washer and sealing the valve threads with Teflon tape. Start by turning off the water, then remove the screw in the handle of the faucet.