How we work
Editorial Policy
Our rules for independence, safety limits, sources, updates and corrections, plus how we choose parts and tools and how we use brand names.
Last updated
These are the rules every page on Before You Call a Pro follows. Our research methodology explains, step by step, how a guide is researched and checked.
Independence
- No company pays to be mentioned, ranked or recommended. We publish no paid placements, sponsored posts, guest posts or other third-party content.
- We don't accept free products, payments or favors in exchange for coverage.
- Guides list the free checks first, even when that means you never need to buy a part.
- The site shows no ads and has no affiliate links, so no advertiser or retailer pays us anything.
Safety scope
We publish the checks a careful homeowner can do safely, and we stop where licensed work begins. Past that line, a guide describes the symptom and tells you which pro to call.
| Hazard | We publish | We don't publish (call a pro) |
|---|---|---|
| Gas | Checking the gas valve position; relighting a pilot exactly as the appliance label or manual says | Cleaning or replacing a flame sensor or igniter; gas line or connector replacement; gas valve replacement; pressure or orifice adjustments; venting changes |
| Electrical | Resetting breakers and replacing fuses; user-replaceable plug-in parts; 24-volt thermostat wiring with the breaker off | Panel work; 120- or 240-volt circuit wiring; discharging or replacing capacitors |
| Refrigerant | Signs of low refrigerant; cleaning coils and filters | Charging, recovery, brazing or leak repair |
| Carbon monoxide | Alarm placement and testing; symptoms; "get out and call 911" | Heat-exchanger or flue repair |
| Hot water and pressure | Testing the temperature and pressure relief valve as the water heater manual describes; draining and flushing with the power or gas off | Replacing that valve on a system under pressure without a shutoff; sizing expansion tanks |
Every guide that involves gas tells you what to do if you smell gas: leave right away, then call 911 from a safe place well away from the leak. Safety warnings sit before the first step they apply to. They use four signal words, from most to least severe: DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION and NOTICE.
How guides are written
Guides are drafted with AI assistance from manufacturer and safety sources that we collect first. Each draft is checked claim by claim against those sources, passed against our safety limits and run through automated checks before it can go live. That review is also AI-assisted. No licensed technician writes, tests or reviews the guides, and no page may claim otherwise.
We never invent people, credentials, quotes, test results or reader reviews. A guide carries the byline of the site's Editor & Researcher, Evrenus Fırat Polat, and a note that says how it was made.
Sources and citations
- Every guide cites at least three sources. At least one is a primary source: a manufacturer manual or support page, a government agency, or a standards or safety body.
- Cost ranges may come from a named cost survey. Procedures never do.
- We don't cite forums, Reddit, YouTube, other repair blogs, Wikipedia or AI chatbot answers.
- We paraphrase. We don't copy manual text, tables or figures.
The three source tiers are explained in our methodology.
Updates and dates
Each guide shows the dates that matter, and only real ones.
- Published is the date the guide first went live.
- Updated appears when the main content changed in a way that matters to you: steps, causes, safety information or facts. Typo fixes, design changes and new links to other pages do not change it.
- Reviewed is the last date the whole guide was checked again against its sources. It appears only when that review happened on or after the publish date.
- The review log at the end of each guide shows the review date, the first publish date and, when there is one, the Updated date.
We never change a date to make a page look fresh. Titles carry a year only when the content really depends on it. Guides are reviewed again at least once every 12 months, as the review cycle in our methodology describes.
Corrections policy
- How to report. Email [email protected] with "Correction:" and the page title in the subject. Include the page link, what is wrong and, if you have one, a source.
- When we reply. Within 5 business days.
- Safety-critical errors. If an error could lead to injury, fire, a gas or carbon monoxide risk, electric shock or major water damage, we fix the page or take it down within 24 hours of the report.
- How we record it. Every substantive correction is listed on the corrections page with the date and what changed, and the guide shows a new Updated date. Spelling and layout fixes are not listed.
How we choose parts and tools
- Parts and tools are chosen by the specification the repair needs, such as size, rating or fitting. We never claim to have used or tested a product.
- Order model-specific parts (an anode rod or a drain valve, for example) by the model number on your unit's rating plate, and check the fit against your manual or the manufacturer before you buy.
- We don't publish "best" lists, product roundups or product reviews. Honest reviews need products used in person and measured, and we can't provide that.
- We don't show prices, star ratings or customer reviews next to products. Prices change often, and we have no live price feed.
- We show no testimonials and no "people found this helpful" counters anywhere on the site.
Trademarks
Brand and product names on this site, including manufacturer names, are trademarks of their owners. We use them only to identify the products a guide or an error code applies to. Before You Call a Pro is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any manufacturer, retailer or utility named on the site. Manuals and support pages belong to their publishers. We link to them instead of copying them.
Contact
Questions about this policy go to [email protected].