Editorial Standards

How every article on HomeFixer101 gets researched, written, fact-checked, and updated. These are the standards we hold ourselves to. If we miss any of them on a specific article, that's a bug worth flagging.

Who writes the articles

Every article on HomeFixer101 is written or edited by Chris Mendenhall, a homeowner with real hands-on construction experience. Chris is not a licensed plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, or general contractor. We say so on every article, in the byline, and again in the bottom-of-article bio.

The non-credentialed framing is intentional. The guides here are written from the homeowner-doing-the-work perspective, not the contractor's-manual perspective. Many home-repair sites lean on a thin claim of expertise. We lean on real grounding plus an explicit "When to Call a Pro" line so readers know when they're past the safe-DIY boundary.

How articles get researched

Every article draws from one or more of:

• Real first-person experience. Chris has done the job himself on his own home, his nephew's house, or for a friend. When this is the primary source, the article references specific tools and parts he keeps on hand.
• Manufacturer documentation. Korky, Fluidmaster, Moen, Delta, Trane, Carrier, Lennox, and the other major manufacturers publish spec sheets, lifespan ranges, and installation guides we reference directly.
• Federal and code-body guidance. EPA (refrigerant Section 608, duct cleaning guidance), Energy Star (HVAC maintenance, filter ratings), US Fire Administration (dryer-vent fire data), International Residential Code, National Electrical Code, NFPA. Linked directly when cited.
• Pro consensus from forums and trade publications. Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC sub-Reddits where credentialed pros answer homeowner questions; trade publications like JLC and Fine Homebuilding. Paraphrased when used, never invented quotes.

The no-fabrication rule

This one is non-negotiable. Articles never invent:

• Specific narrative events ("last winter the regulator in my 1970s ranch failed at 2am") unless the event actually happened
• Manufacturer specs, lifespans, or product claims that can't be verified
• Code section numbers or regulatory citations that don't exist
• Forum quotes attributed to specific users
• Star ratings, prices, or reviews on products in buying guides (these stay omitted from schema until structured data exists from real retailer integrations or reader feedback)
• Credentials Chris doesn't have

If a statistic can't be verified, the language softens ("usually," "most cases," "nine times in ten") rather than fake a citation. If a recommendation calls for a specific story we don't have, the article leaves it out.

Safety and YMYL handling

Articles touching electrical (anything past the outlet), gas (lines, valves, appliances), structural (load-bearing, foundation, roof structure), or other safety-critical territory include an explicit "When to Call a Pro" subsection before the FAQ. The trigger threshold is stated plainly: what's safe DIY and what isn't.

The articles never recommend bypassing safety devices (e.g., jumpering an AC float switch, defeating a GFCI, ignoring a tripped breaker). When a tool would make a job safer (non-contact voltage tester, multimeter), the article calls it out by name and links to it.

Update cadence and corrections

Articles get revisited when:

• Product recommendations shift (a brand changes formulation, a tool is discontinued)
• Code requirements or federal regulations change (e.g., refrigerant phase-outs)
• Reader feedback surfaces a mistake or a missing nuance
• Search Console data shows the article is failing to satisfy what readers actually look for

When an article gets a substantive update, the byline shows "Updated <date>" and the article's dateModified structured-data field updates automatically. Typo fixes don't bump the date. If you spot something wrong, the contact page is the fastest way to flag it.

Conflict of interest and affiliate disclosure

HomeFixer101 currently runs Google AdSense ads (in review as of mid-2026). Ads do not influence article content; the slots are auto-placed by AdSense and are excluded from the privacy, contact, and 404 pages.

The site will eventually participate in Amazon Associates and similar affiliate programs. When affiliate links are added to "Best of" buying guides, the disclosure will be visible on those pages, and the recommendations remain editorially independent. If a cheaper alternative is better than what would pay a higher commission, the cheaper alternative is the pick. We've turned down recommendations from manufacturers offering affiliate-only inclusion because the product wasn't actually the best in its category.

What we don't do

• No AI-generated filler. Articles aren't dropped raw from a model. Every published piece has been read by Chris, voice-edited against the rules in our internal style guide, and grounded in real costs, real specs, and real lifespans.
• No fake reviews or testimonials.
• No clickbait titles. We use the keyword and a benefit hook, never a "you won't believe" lead.
• No drop-in Reddit self-promo. We research on Reddit and other forums for trending homeowner questions, but we don't drop article links in threads. Reddit is for input, not output.
• No paid backlinks or SEO ranking services. Those tactics get sites deindexed by Google and we have no interest in that risk.

What we want from you

If you've used one of our guides and something was wrong, missing, or unclear, tell us. The feedback loop is how the articles get better. If you have a specific home-repair question we haven't covered, that's also useful, we use reader questions as input to the editorial calendar.

Last reviewed: May 2026. This page itself is reviewed quarterly.