As many homeowners find out all too late, just because you have insurance, doesn’t mean you have the coverage you need. Besides having an emergency kit and evacuation plan, homeowners should check their insurance policy to make sure they have enough — and the right kind of coverage.

Don't let an antique's value go down the drain,

Cleaning some family heirlooms can reduce the value tens of thousands of dollars. Consider the poor lady on an Antiques Roadshow episode who scrubbed her Tiffany lamp base clean. The polished bronze base and sparkling shade looked absolutely stunning. But where an untouched lamp may have been worth $50,000 or $60,000, hers was worth something like $10,000.

The upholstery of our sofas has become very dirty but we do not want to change it. Is there any way of cleaning the sofas?

You can get your sofas shampooed or dry-cleaned. There are companies that will execute this job for you at your residence.