Diamond Certified Blog

I started thinking about my preparedness a lot last fall when fires were raging in Northern California. One day, I came across an article in Consumer Reports magazine that made six key points about fire extinguishers:

1. Make sure you know where yours are.
2. Make sure they’re not coated in dust.
3. Put them on every level of your house.
4. Keep small extinguishers in your car and kitchen.
5. Keep a multipurpose extinguisher in your garage.
6. Make sure the arrows on the indicators point to green, which means they’ll work when the pins are pulled. Read more

Two weeks ago, we mailed the 2018 Diamond Certified Directory to more than 800,000 homes and businesses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area (if you didn’t get your FREE copy, click here). We’ve made some exciting changes to the Directory this year, so it’s time to get reacquainted!

Every April, American Ratings Corporation publishes 10 versions of the Diamond Certified Directory, covering all of the Greater Bay Area (including Monterey). Read more

With Dane Marcy of Kelly’s Appliance Center

Previously, we published an article featuring general tips for buying a home appliance. In this follow-up article, we’ll look at four major home appliances and list some specific considerations for choosing each. Read more

A home appliance is an important investment, but with the many brands, models and styles out there, it can be hard to find the right one. To help you make a wise purchase, we’ve teamed up with Dane Marcy of Kelly’s Appliance Center in Cotati to provide some tips for buying a home appliance. Read more

Before hiring a moving company, you’ll need to inquire about several things, from licensing and insurance to scheduling and payment. However, there are a few questions many homeowners don’t think to ask, but should. Here are five things to ask a mover: Read more

Interior painting may have once been a simple task, but during the last couple of decades, it has become a lot more complex. This is primarily due to the widespread transition from oil-based to water-based paint products. Because of this fundamental shift, you need to be careful when repainting—otherwise, you may find yourself in a real “oil and water” situation. Read more

It’s springtime, and with the longer days and milder weather, the last thing you probably want to do is your tax return. But the deadline for filing returns is just around the corner. If you’ve been putting off the inevitable, or if doing your taxes was a more harried experience than you would have liked, review these tips for getting through tax season. Read more

In mid-March, our design team flew to Las Vegas to oversee the production of the 2018 Diamond Certified Directory. “Press check” takes place while the directory is actually being printed on the big publishing machines at Creel Printing. During press check, our team stays up all night (the presses run 24/7!) and checks to make sure everything looks exactly as it’s supposed to. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look. (We’ve already started mailing 840,000 copies of the Diamond Certified Directory to consumers throughout the Bay Area. You can order one by signing up to become a Diamond Certified Preferred Consumer here—it’s free!)

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Welcome Aboard!

We are pleased to introduce these Bay Area companies that recently earned Diamond Certified. Each has passed our rigorous 12-step ratings process and scored Highest in Quality and Helpful Expertise™. Read more

If you’re going to be laid up for a couple of weeks with the flu, the Bay Area is a good place to do it. A remarkable number of services and conveniences are a phone call or swipe away.

For example, take-out food and grocery delivery services are a godsend when you’re sick. During a recent illness, I couldn’t leave the house for almost a week (my husband was out of town) and needed some basic groceries. The first delivery service brought canned chicken noodle soup, eggs, juice, bananas, ginger ale and a dozen other things in less than 90 minutes. I used a second grocery delivery service for a larger order, placed 24 hours in advance. Read more