Diamond Certified Blog

Kitchen cabinets collect more grease, food spills and moisture than most other parts of a house. Grime builds up fastest around door and drawer handles, because they’re constantly being opened. To effectively preserve your cabinets, consider the following tips:

• Painted wood, metal, laminated plastic and wood-grain vinyl surfaces can be cleaned with a solution of detergent and warm water. After cleaning, rinse the cabinet with a cloth or sponge dampened in clean water. When wiping the surface dry, use a dry cloth or paper towel to prevent streaking. Painted, plastic and metal surfaces can occasionally be cleaned with a creamy liquid wax, which leaves a protective coating that repels soil.
• Feel free to use an all-purpose household cleaner,

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Most people don’t need the help of an accountant to prepare their taxes, according to Geoffrey Kulik, a Partner of Sterck Kulik O’Neill. But, Mr. Kulik says, many taxpayers wind up signing up for too much or too little help in March and April because they panic and decide on a professional based on who’s available rather than who can best help them.

Fall is the right time to decide how you’re going to prepare your taxes next spring. Taxpayers with complex returns can meet with CPAs to see if the firm is a good fit. Salaried employees with simple returns can interview preparers about their price and schedule requirements. For simple returns, Read more

Before you drop off your vehicle at a body repair shop or have it towed in for repairs, you should talk directly with the shop owner or service manager. The questions you ask and the responses you get will help you choose the best collision repair facility for your particular needs. You may want to write down the shop representative’s answers and take note of any strengths, weaknesses and impressions that could influence your decision.

Questions to ask auto body shop owners on the phone:

• Does your shop work on my make and model (Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Lexus, BMW, etc.)?
• Do you specialize in the type of body repair work my vehicle needs (fender repair,

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Deciding whether it’s still safe to eat an older item from the cupboard or refrigerator can be a gamble: Waste what might be perfectly good food, or risk a bout of intestinal upset or worse? In the absence of obvious warning signs such as the smell of sour milk or a green layer of mold fuzz, it can be difficult to know when food has gone bad.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a sell-by date is a guide for retailers to know when to move old stock off the shelves and replace it with new stock. You should purchase the item before the sell-by date, but you don’t necessarily have to eat it by then for it to be safe. Read more

The law was passed in 1974 to protect consumers who were pressured into signing contracts with pushy and unrelenting salespeople. The 3-day “cooling off” period allows you to cancel SOME contracts signed in California by midnight of the third business day. According to Laurel Pallock from the S.F. District Attorney’s Mediation Unit, “This has to be in writing in the contract and explained to you in advance of signing. You just tear off the form and send it back to the company, saying you want out.” Here are some types of contracts covered by the law: dental services, job listing services, home solicitation sales, employment counseling services, home improvement agreements, discount buying services, dating services, Read more

Green flooring can be a great option for your home, but before you make a final decision, you should evaluate if you really need new flooring in the first place. Generally, the most sustainable approach to flooring is to use what you already have. Removing and throwing away old flooring creates more landfill waste, and the manufacturing process of new flooring creates greenhouse gasses. Find out if your flooring can be renewed with a deep cleaning, sanding or polishing. If not, see if the wood flooring underneath can be sanded and polished.

If you decide to purchase Green flooring, be sure to choose a product that best fits your lifestyle and budget. Here are the most common types of sustainable flooring:

Concrete
Concrete can be stained, Read more

If you’re like me, you probably don’t think much about your home’s plumbing. Of course, the day the bathtub won’t drain or the toilet won’t flush, we’re reminded of just how dependent we are on free-flowing pipes. When the time comes to call in a professional, you’ll be relieved to have a great plumber programmed into your speed-dial. Although plumbing problems can be expensive and inconvenient, the right plumber will provide value for your money and make the repair process as painless as possible.I’m often asked what you should look for in a plumber. Based on interviews with both customers and plumbers, I’ve developed a “great plumber” checklist. Here it is:

A great plumber:
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Do you want to handle your personal finances like a professional accountant? According to Charles Sterck, Managing Partner of Sterck Kulik O’Neill Accounting Group, Inc., the most critical step in planning for your retirement is simply starting to save.

Get started by participating in your company’s 401k program and put money into your IRA today. Don’t wait until next April 15th when you’re looking for a tax deduction to open an IRA. Put money into this year’s IRA as soon as you can so that your money will grow tax free starting right now. This savings is not a rainy-day fund to be used for emergencies or to pay off credit cards. Treat the money in your retirement accounts as belonging to someone else: tell yourself that the account is owned by the future and not by you. Read more

Preventative measures and regular maintenance go a long way toward preserving the beauty of your upholstery. To increase your upholstery’s longevity and keep it looking like new, consider the following tips:

Dust and clean upholstery on a weekly basis. Use the brush attachment on your vacuum to remove dirt from all the corners and folds of your upholstery. Remember to clean the back and legs to maintain a consistent finish.

Only use manufacturer-recommended cleaners. Every piece of upholstered furniture has a care label that indicates the cleaning materials that are safe to use on it. Make sure you follow these instructions. If the recommended clean
er doesn’t take care of a stain, Read more

We’re all familiar with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution that were ratified in 1791. But have you ever heard of the Consumer’s Bill of Rights? President John F. Kennedy outlined them in a speech to Congress in 1962, at a time when the consumer movement was just blossoming. I think you’ll agree with me that these rights are still as important today as they were nearly 50 years ago when they were first articulated.

The six basic rights are:
1. The right to be safe. Manufacturers should cause no harm. The Consumer Product Safety Commission was formed in 1972 to uphold this right.
2. Read more