How To Fix Your Home from Winter's Wreckage

Mold on the lawn. Shrubs broken from storms. Roofs ravaged by ice. After a season or record snowfalls and lengthy cold spells, homeowners are finding their houses and landscapes brutally battered.

In this WSJ story, you'll find a cheat sheet for spring cleanup - and a list of new tools out to make the job less taxing. (Make sure to click on the Tools graphic!)

How to Battle an Ice Dam. (What's an Ice Dam? Read On...)

Heavy winter storms coupled with long cold spells can leave homes, and homeowners, facing the wrath of the dreaded ice dam.

These often form when an under-insulated home's heat escapes through the attic, warms the roof and melts snow. As water runs down the roof it can refreeze into an icy dam along the overhang, which is cooler—much like a bridge.

If the dam gets big enough, it can then block water from running off the roof and force it to back up under shingles, triggering leaks and other damage. Icicles are one symptom of dams forming.

Here at WSJ, we write about warning signs - and list solutions. For more solutions to combat ice on the roof and ground, watch the above video on Good Morning America.

New Tools to Make Clearing Snow Easier

From shovels and snowblowers to self-melting driveways, the latest ergonomic and low-maintenance snow removal gear is designed to ease consumers' backs and joints, be less taxing on the heart and less stressful to operate.

We show you the goods in today's WSJ and give them a go in the video above on Good Morning America.

Now if it'll ever quit snowing...

Behind-the-Scenes in Consumer Reports Labs

Following their triggering of the Lexus GX 460 recall, I spent a day inside Consumer Reports labs to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the rigorous and unusual tests they perform on products they rate.

A sample: treadmills get pounded repeatedly with a spinning metal drum imbedded with rubber green balls the mimic running feet. (The device's nickname: Johnnie Walker.) Stainless-steel grills are pelted with salty spray to test for rust potential. Bike helmets get strapped on a metal head form and dropped onto sharp objects.

The most curious? The Maine Coon cat hair showdown. Watch the above video or read the story to find out more.

Update: we also explored this here on CNBC and on ABC News' "Good Money" show.

Dear About the House, Whatever Happened to ...

Did the compost worms escape in the house over winter? What about the deck garden - did those potatoes ever grow? And the wood stove, how much money did it really save?

This week is readers week for the About the House column. I went back and updated reporting on several stories from the past year, from no-fuss composting and EZ gardening tools to gas-less mowers and other outdoor power tools.

What went right, what went wrong - read more here today and watch the video above.

The New Gentler Breed of Snowblowers

Today in The Wall Street Journal, I wrote about my recent testing of snowblowers and the surge in demand of multiple models across the U.S. Driving sales: a heavy bout of early-season snow and, surprisingly, the recession, which is forcing people to make sure they get to work on time. It's also due to manufacturers courting more women by making models more user-friendly.

The video above shows several of the models tested in action. I also discussed the trend on CNBC with Larry Kudlow.

To dig deeper... Here's a Consumer Reports study and ranking on snowblowers.