Editorial policy

How every page is made

1. Check our own site first. If a page already answers the question, we improve that page rather than publishing a near-duplicate.
2. Study the real search results. We read what currently ranks, what each page covers, what it cites, and what all of them leave out. A new page has to answer something the others don’t.
3. Go to primary sources. We rely on government agencies (NOAA, USDA, CPSC, CDC, DOE, NIST), university extension services, standards bodies and manufacturers’ own manuals and spec sheets. We quote them exactly, link them, and list every source at the end of the page with what we used it for.
4. Add local data, then check it. Where a published rule depends on climate, we apply it to NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for each ZIP code and compare the result with published local calendars or charts before using it. If a rule needs data we don’t have, the page says so.
5. Write the answer first. Pages open with a direct answer, then the details, tables and worked examples behind it.
6. Check before publishing. Each page goes through a figure check against its sources and an automated check that every link resolves, every image is licensed and described, and the page structure is complete.

Sources we accept, and ones we don’t

We accept primary research, official data and published technical documents. We don’t cite forums, AI summaries or other sites’ unsourced claims. When a claim we would like to make has no reliable source, we leave it out and say what is missing.

How we use AI

We use AI tools to help with research, drafting, code and consistency checks. AI is not a source: every number on a page must come from a source cited on that page or from our own published code, and pages state this in their “How this guide was made” box. We don’t publish pages at volume, and we don’t publish a page that doesn’t add something useful.

Images

Charts and diagrams are made by us from the data on the page. Photos are public domain or openly licensed, with the photographer and license credited in the caption. Some decorative images are AI-generated illustrations; they are credited as illustrations and never used to document a real event or result.

Safety topics

We don’t publish wiring, gas-line, refrigerant or structural instructions. Pages that touch on electricity, carbon monoxide, pesticides or pool chemicals point to the official guidance and to a licensed professional.

Updates and dates

Each page shows a last-reviewed date and a change log. We change that date only when we have actually rechecked the page, and seasonal guides are rechecked before their season.

Corrections

We fix confirmed errors promptly, note them in the page’s change log and list data corrections and clarifications on our corrections page.

Independence

No company pays for, reviews or influences what we publish. If we carry ads in future, ad networks will place them automatically, away from tool results. See our advertising disclosure.