At the end of the year, it's fun to look back at the last 12 months, to see where you were, how you've grown, and your accomplishments for the year. Here at Landmark, we like to do this as well "“ and we'd like you to benefit from it. We've published over 150 articles over the past year, some of which you've liked, some of which you haven't. Either way, this upcoming year we have high hopes that we'll be able to become your go-to guide for any question you have on homes.
Let's take a look back in the past year to see what posts we've published were the most helpful to our readers (and something you can use, just in case you missed them!) Here are our top 10 most visited posts this year:
10. How does a Sink Pop-up Mechanism Work?
There are thousands of things in your home that you probably don't know the proper names for "“ you know where they are, and what they do, but you don't know what to call them. That's what prompted this article, and the subsequent animation of how the drain that plugs up your bathroom sink works. This ranked 10th in our most popular blogs for 2015.
A Sink-pop-up drain is one of those things that are essential to a working sink. Most people have no idea how it works or how to fix it. That's why this post was so popular for our readers: we explained how to replace the pop-up drain using a relatively inexpensive kit found at most hardware stores.
If you've ever had a furnace go out, you may have heard about having cracks in your heat exchanger. This is something that often happens as furnaces age, and can prove problematic for homeowners. This post explains (with an animated cut away of a furnace) on how a furnace operates, what a heat exchanger does, and why a crack can cause problems for homeowners. We'd like to think that the post did well because of our impeccable animations, but it's more likely that people want to understand how a cracked heat exchanger can hurt their air quality.
Not only did this article reach our top 10 most popular articles for 2015, but it was also our most pinned article on Pinterest. It included important information about how to make sure your house is ready to be rented out, such as including a home warranty to protect the systems and appliances, as well as cleaning, painting and steam cleaning carpets.
Buying a home has ins and outs that even some realtors forget about, which is probably why our Complete Guide to Purchasing a Home was one of our top posts for 2015. This guide goes through every step of buying a home and even includes a vintage-style infographic that you can download and keep for further education.
Who knew that so many people wanted to learn how to clean and repair their dishwashers? Coming in at the fifth most popular article this year, this article wins the most surprisingly popular post. Maybe it was the fascinating animated photos of cleaning strange debris out of a dishwasher spray head, or the detailed instructions on how to make sure your dishwasher is cleaning better than ever ... either way, it's one of our top posts for the year. (Of course, we should mention that we have our other post about how a dishwasher works that just missed the cut off for the top 10 posts.)
Real estate agents have thousands of things on their to-do lists. They only have time to do so much, and they know they have to make every second count if they want to be successful. That's why if they can write their listings using the tips we outline in this article, they can sell their homes faster and for even more money.
Our real estate agents are some of our most important partners. We want to help them succeed, which is why we provided this excellent list of applications that can make their lives easier. Some applications are simple (Google Maps, anyone?) but others like DotLoop (a paperwork signing app) or Magic Plan (use your camera to create a floor plan of any home) are more complex but add real value to their lives.
Everyone wants to know how to increase their home's value, and how to get more money when selling their home, so is it any surprise that this was our second most popular post this year? This post teaches readers what Return on Investment is (how profitable a home project will be when selling a home) and the top 7 home improvement projects you can complete that will generate the most revenue when selling a home.
Our very most popular blog taught homeowners how to get rid of the lime scale in their pipes. This blog details through animated graphics how a simple solutions of water and vinegar can dissolve and clear the most stubborn parts of your pipes. Of course, with a home warranty your pipes are covered through leaks and stoppages "“ as long as you're properly maintaining them with techniques like this, as well as your manufacturer's recommendations.
Want more awesome and informative content this year? You can explore more about Landmark on our blog or main page.