Here are the most-read Rosie on the House blogs of 2017

It’s time to look back on what happened at Rosie on the House in 2017. We focused on what questions homeowners asked about their houses, what guests came on our radio show and what were the most popular blogs on our website for the year.

The electronic record of page views for the blog gave us a little insight into what our radio listeners want know about their homes and gardens.

We came up with seven must-read blogs for our listeners. Four of them focused on heating and air conditioning and electric bills – not surprising in Arizona where most residents are blessed with triple-digit temperatures every summer.

The most-read blog in 2017 was “Have you tried super-cooling yet?” This June blog described how to save money on electricity in summer by cooling a home at the right time of day. We had been promoting this concept for years, but it really caught fire recently.

The only problem? A couple months later, Arizona Public Service raised rates on off-peak hours so that super-cooling savings became much less for customers, who make up the majority of Arizona residents. Rates elsewhere in the state with other utilities still make super-cooling fairly easy.

So another blog a little bit later was titled “What the APS rate increase means for you.”

Other must-reads on electricity dealt with whether solar power was still a good buy, how to cool your house with fans and six common air conditioning problems and how to fix them.

There were also lots of readers for “The great plumbing bowl” about a contest we held for Benjamin Franklin plumbers who made videos about their adventures on the job.

The other popular blog was “Should you buy a flipped house?” that described the possible problems if you buy a home that had been bought a remodeled quickly and poorly before being resold by a flipper.

Although we concentrated on 2017 blogs, the truth is that two July blogs from 2016 remain especially popular as well with readers:

• A blog about plants that love Arizona, grow easily and maybe grow too well – “Plants that can take over your yard.” Then, when you decide to get rid of them, it’s hard to make them go away. Tops on the list is a tree commonly known as a sissoo or Indian rosewood.
• A blog titled “The toughest stuff to grow in Arizona – six finicky plants and why we crave them.”

For more homeowner advice, DIY tips and videos, and information about all the projects around your house, home, castle or cabin, visit Arizona’s largest collection of homeowner DIY advice and information at RosieontheHouse.com.

And if you are in need of a quality contractor you know you can trust, visit our list of Arizona’s very best contractors or service providers for your home improvement projects at RosieontheHouse.com – Arizona’s most-trusted referral network.

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